Tribe falls to Quakertown in quarterfinals

by Dennis Weller, Special to The Pottstown Mercury

Posted on January 31, 2009

HOLLAND — Upper Perkiomen took a bit of a pounding in its quarterfinal match of the District 1-AAA Duals Friday night, but the Indians came back strong in the nightcap and stayed alive to wrestle another day.

Upper Perk (17-8) captured only three bouts in a 51-12 loss to the tough number two seed Quakertown Panthers, but got some key outcomes from underclassmen in a 37-30 consolation win over Central Bucks East.

The Indians will return to Council Rock South High School today for a consolation semifinal round match at 1 p.m. against Council Rock North, which beat Springfield-Delco (33-22) and lost to Boyertown (35-30). If Upper Perk wins that one, it will take on either Springfield-Delco or Council Rock South at 4 p.m. for third place and a spot in the PIAA Tournament.

"I wanted us to wrestle a little tougher against Quakertown," said Indian coach Tom Hontz, whose team came into the tournament as the seventh seed. "We lost some close matches and then got caught in a couple.

"But our objective was to finish higher than our seed. We're in the top six now. Everything from now is gravy."

Sophomore Nate Pompei, wrestling just his fifth varsity match of the season, got the Indians off to a good start against C.B. East (10-9) with a 7-4 decision at 152 pounds. Then after Upper Perk took a 21-15 lead on a forfeit at 103 pounds, sophomore Joey Hinz – in just his fourth bout of the year – pulled off a near fall in the third period for a big 5-4 win.

"It felt really good," said Hinz, who had been trying to make weight during the course of the season. "I had to get down to 112. That felt better."

"All year, he's been trying to get down to 112," said Hontz. "He finally did it, and it came at an appropriate time because we had lost our regular 112-pounder."

Marty McStravick followed with an 8-4 decision for the Indians. Then senior Garrett Fellman gave them a 33-15 lead with just four bouts to go with a second-period pin at 125. Freshman Dalton Fleming provided Upper Perk with an insurmountable 37-18 margin with an 11-3 verdict in the third to the last bout of the night at 135.

"A lot of people stepped up, freshmen and sophomores, and we had some big wins," said Fellman. "We're still in our rebuilding process. Gradually our team has come from being a bunch of young guys. Everybody's working hard in the practice room."

"I think Dalton Fleming, a freshman, did a really great job," said Hontz. "And Nate Pompei, a sophomore who filled in for us at 152. They (along with the victory by Hinz) were three big wins."

The Indians also got pins from Nick Edmunson and Jared Bennett against the Patriots. That came after they managed only a forfeit win and close decisions by Edmunson and Devyn Kerr against Quakertown, which went on to a 38-20 semifinal win over C.R. South.

"They're just solid all the way through," said Fellman. "But if our team is down in the dumps, coach Hontz does a good job of getting us riled up and ready. We didn't want to go home tonight 0-2."

"We just wanted to get focused for the match, and hopefully win," said Hinz.

Hontz is happy with his team's performance in the tourney, no matter what the outcome today.

"It's all gravy from here," he said. "This isn't one of our superstar groups, but it's a good group and we're proud of what we've achieved."

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