Though it had to wait a couple of weeks, the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill wrestling team did not mind the delay of last Tuesday’s meet against archrival Oneida.
For when the two sides finally hit the mat last Tuesday night, the Red Devils were in firm command, delighting the home crowd by beating the Indians 50-20.
They were supposed to face each other on Dec. 2, but with several Oneida wrestlers still making the transition from football, it was agreed to move the meet back 13 days.
In all that time, though, the Indians could not make up the ground against VVS, despite a nice start where both sides got points.
Dustin Comings, at 140 pounds, opened the meet for the Red Devils by pinning Luke Lagoy in 2:47 before a tight 145-pound match where Comings’ teammate, Karl Frank, edged past Dan Collins in a 3-2 decision.
Oneida answered at 152 pounds when Lon Palmer pinned Marty Howroyd midway through the period and Matt Harp, at 160 pounds, took 2:58 to pin Shawn Erwin and give the Indians a 12-9 edge.
VVS would decide matters, though, by winning the next six matches, two of them forfeits to Nick Mieczkowski at 215 pounds and John Hudson at 112 pounds.
Alex Mieczkowski (171 pounds) and Collin Way (189 pounds) would begin the streak with second-period pins – Mieczkowski over Tyler Richmond, Way over Carl Finch.
In a fierce 103-pound match, Dylan Kavanaugh got challenged, but still beat Nick Hopkins 4-0, while Dan Walts (119 pounds) took just 55 seconds to pin Joe Casella.
Jeff Clark, at 125 pounds, gave the Indians a bright spot by earning a technical fall over Jon Owens, as Matt Fisher (135 pounds) beat James Stacy 18-9 after a forfeit to the Red Devils’ Nathan Walts at 130 pounds.