PPT Slide
The final score should have given Perry coach Brian Dolph a feel for how his team did in Thursday night’s Federal League dual match with visiting North Canton Hoover. But even with his Panthers prevailing 70-3, Dolph was left wondering what he had learned about his squad. “I really don’t know how well we really wrestled,” said Dolph, whose team is now 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the Federal League. “I really thought we wrestled with too much of a laissez-faire attitude. I hope this really serves as a wake-up call for us. We can’t wrestle like that this Saturday (at the Big Eight Tournament), not if we want to win.” Perry had its margin of victory before a match was even physically wrestled, as Joe Brenner was awarded a forfeit win at 103 pounds to put the Panthers in front 6-0. Once the two teams actually got to the business of competing against each other man-to-man, the Panthers wasted no time flexing their muscles against the youthful Vikings, who are 4-11 overall and 0-5 in the league. “The score was bad,” Hoover coach Greg Donohue said. “But we fought. We fought in every match. We’re giving way to a lot of experience with Perry.” Counting Brenner’s forfeit win, Perry won the first nine weight classes contested to go in front 46-0. Included in that stretch were pins by Danny Genetin (112), Scott Rooney (119), Thomas Straughn (145) and Dustin Schlatter (152), as well as technical-fall victories by Chris Hartley (125) and Zach Mizer (140). Hoover’s first win didn’t come until Aaron Miller scored the final seven points – including a five-point move in the final :10 – of his match at 160 pounds to stun Corey Nelson 10-7. “We should have had the shutout,” Dolph said. “It still all comes back to discipline and consistency. You have to keep wrestling and trying to score points.” After the Vikings’ lone win, Perry racked up a trifecta of pins by Adam Phillips (171), Dustin Shilling (189) and Adam Richards (heavyweight). Devyn Hoffner was awarded a forfeit at 215. After the match, Dolph’s concern was getting his team’s focus squarely on this weekend’s Big Eight Tournament, which will feature four of the state’s top five Division I teams, including Perry. “This tournament is what we’re looking at,” Dolph said. “This is big for us. We have to make a statement. This is really our last big thing before sectionals.”
