Clearfield Falls to DuBois, 51-20

Jessica Shirey, Team Reporter
December 13, 2011

DUBOIS - For the past four years, the Clearfield wrestling team has been “Goliath” when meeting district nemesis, DuBois. However, its role has changed after DuBois defeated the Bison, 51-20, Tuesday night in its season opener.

Going back, Clearfield finished last season 14-4 in dual meets and had posted a 15-2 record in 2010. And, in 2009, the team compiled a perfect 15-0 regular season record (a first since a Gary Barton-coached team in 1986), before it finished 18-2 overall.

However, the Bison lost nine seniors a year ago, of those, eight appeared regularly in the starting line-up. With only five returning letterwinners, this year’s squad is littered with newcomers who lack varsity wrestling experience.

“We need some seasoning, and there’s no better way to get it than from a seasoned team. You know, they have a lot of experience on that team, and it really showed in a lot of areas tonight,” head wrestling coach Jeff Aveni said.

“DuBois is really the team to beat this year. I think they have a real classy line-up, and they have a lot of good kids. We look forward to working to catch up with them.”

While DuBois claimed the overall battle, the teams split the two marquee matchups. The first showcased two returning state qualifiers, Clearfield’s Nolan Barger and DuBois’ Tom Sleigh, at 145 pounds.

Barger used a first-period takedown and a second-period escape for a 3-0 advantage. Sleigh would escape in the third and take down the Bison, knotting the score at three.

In the first overtime, Sleigh nearly garnered in the winning takedown, but Barger battled and prevented the Beaver from gaining control.

Barger started down in his tiebreaker period, where he reversed Sleigh to his back, propelling himself out in front, 7-3. Sleigh couldn’t overcome the four-point deficit but managed a reversal (7-5) in his tiebreaker period.

Following Barger’s win, DuBois engineered nine straight, and the scoreboard read 48-20 when the second major individual showdown occurred between returning state qualifier Christian Stone and regional placewinner Garrett Brown in the final bout at 126 pounds.

Stone took down Brown, who would eventually escape (2-1). In the second, the Bison junior started from the defensive position and escaped only for Brown to haul in a takedown (3-3). Stone escaped to go ahead by one, 4-3, with one stanza remaining.

Starting in the offensive position, Stone maintained control after Brown came to his feet twice. Brown would reverse the Bison for his first lead (5-4). However, Stone escaped with time winding down to force the extra period. But Brown would snag the winning takedown in overtime for the 7-5 decision.

“It’s early in the year. There are things that are going to change a lot. Kids are going to change weight classes, kids are going to get better and kids are going to stay the same. Things are going to change a lot between now and March,” Aveni said.

“It was a good read for both of them (Barger and Stone) of where they’re at. I really didn’t think either one of them wrestled that well in those matches. But they’re wrestling against good, quality opponents. Sleigh is a returning state qualifier, and Brown is a tough kid.

“But there were a lot of things that we could do to improve in those matches. Everyone thinks all Stone has is a dump. I’m not sure what made him want to be underneath because it’s obviously not where we wanted him to be. For some reason, he insisted on being there, and it cost him the match.”

The dual meet got under way at 132 pounds, where Bison junior Dylan Graham put on an offensive display in a bout that lasted two minutes and 16 seconds. Up 2-1, Graham tossed Beaver Andrew Williams to his back, making it 6-2.

The Bison would take Williams down again and turn him for three near fall points, stretching his advantage to 11-2 after one. Starting down in the second, Graham escaped for a takedown and three near fall points, setting the 17-2 final.

At 138, sophomore Wyatt Stucke landed himself in a back-and-forth affair with DuBois’ DJ Carney. Knotted at four apiece, Stucke started from the defensive position in the second and reversed Carney to regain control by two, 6-4.

Stucke would cradle Carney, coming away with two near fall; however, Carney turned the tables and reversed Stucke to his back. Carney took back control with a one-point favor (9-8) at which time Stucke broke free and spun behind for two (11-9).

In the third, Stucke locked Carney for the pin. The end came at the 4:22 mark. The first-year varsity starter and Barger, who decisioned Sleigh in the next bout, gave their team an early lead, 14-0.

Unfortunately for Clearfield, the Beavers dominated the next nine bouts, claiming six falls, a technical fall and a major decision between 152 pounds and 113 pounds. DuBois’ Geno Morelli (160, 1:06), Landon Hanna (195, 0:15), Austin Barr (220, 0:21), Kyle Dixon (285, 1:29), Bryce Swauger (106, 3:50) and Anthony Vizza (113, 1:34) all scored pins.

Teammate Shane Marshall won by a 16-0 technical fall (4:00) at 170 pounds, while Mike Kennelly posted a 13-4 major and Brady Haines a 5-3 regular decision at 152 and 182 pounds, respectively.

“It (DuBois’ line-up) was tough. We come up through that mess, and Jordan makes a mistake and gets pinned. Then, we bring out two freshman (Noah Cline and Jake Lancaster) at 106 and 113 against more of their seasoned kids,” Aveni said. “We were like scared deer staring into headlights at that point, and we didn’t get our best performances there.”

Clearfield didn’t get back on the scoreboard until 120 pounds where senior Frankie Aveni pinned Kody Cox in 51 seconds after giving up the opening takedown. DuBois finalized the scoreboard at 51-20 with Brown’s decision win over Stone in the dual meet’s final bout, 7-5.

“Christian had a little bit of momentum from Frankie’s fall. It probably wasn’t the best place. DuBois hasn’t beaten us in a while. Garrett Brown is on cloud nine going into the last match. Christian is pretty upset with the score, and he’s still trying to make it a bout himself,” Aveni said.

Clearfield wrestled DuBois for the first time Jan. 31, 1936. That year, DuBois proved victorious 22.5-17.5 in round one. But when the two teams met again March 1, 1936, the Bison reversed the outcome, winning by a 26–14 final score.

Since then, the two teams have locked heads for 88 dual meets. Clearfield leads the overall series with 68 wins to 18 losses and two ties. Aveni currently holds a 15-4 dual meet record against DuBois since taking over the reins in Clearfield in 2001.

Prior to Tuesday night, his Bison had strung together seven consecutive victories against their district foe. DuBois had not beaten Clearfield since Jan. 9, 2007 when they came out on top, 37-28, a year the Bison finished 3-10 overall.

Additionally, DuBois surpassed its greatest margin of victory over Clearfield with its 51-20 win, a 31-point difference. Previously, the Beavers’ greatest win margin stood at 29 points when they beat Clearfield, 44-15, Feb. 4, 1999.

Box Scores