12/20/06
BY PETER GOBIS SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
MANSFIELD - It was seven years in the making, but the Mansfield High wrestling team finally beat Foxboro - and how!
Winning the first eight matches, all by pins, the unbeaten (9-0) Hornets scored their first victory under the regime of Coach Bryan Fraser over the Hockomock League powerhouse Foxboro Warriors 63-12 at the Albertini Gymnasium Wednesday.
"They've been the champs for so long, now that we've beaten them there's no limit to what we can do," beamed Mansfield High senior captain and unbeaten (7-0) 160-pound grappler Steve Kourteledis. "We hadn't won ever, never against Foxboro. We've been working so hard - now we're looking forward to North Attleboro and Franklin."
Beware Rocketeers and Panthers!
The match began at 119 pounds and Mansfield senior Dave Arnold wasted little time in sending Foxboro - and the rest of the Hockomock League - a message, pinning Foxboro's Pat Minken just 38 seconds into the match.
Hornet junior Adam King, competing at 125, took an 8-0 first period lead on Foxboro's Taylor Ryan and won his match on a pin with 19 seconds left in the second period.
The rout was on.
It wasn't until the sixth match that Foxboro even took a point, the Warriors' Justin Thomas facing an 8-0 deficit to Mansfield's Jacob Brolin at 145 before taking a third period point, but then being pinned with 47 seconds left in the contest.
Mansfield held a 60-0 lead before Foxboro High senior captain and heavyweight Chris Redd produced points for the Warriors, winning on a pin just 14 seconds into his match with Jim Cowell.
Foxboro's Charlie Grassia followed with a pin in the 103-pound class, but Mansfield had long stated its case. "We're pretty experienced," related Bryan Fraser, who beat his brother Jim Fraser, the Foxboro High coach. "That's never happened before. We're good from 119 on, that's where we started."
The pins just kept on coming for Mansfield. Senior John Fullerton won his match at 130 with 46 seconds left in the third period, having taken a 4-0 lead into the final two minutes. Senior Kevin Connors and Foxboro's Mike Kilroy at 135 were scoreless after two minutes, but the Hornet took a 5-0 lead into the third period and scored a pin with 32 seconds left.
Mansfield junior Antwon Robinson held a 2-0 lead after one period in his match at 140 with Mitch Connolly and scored a pin with 30 seconds left in the second period. Brolin, a Hornet senior, held a 5-0 lead after two periods in his match at 145 and won on a pin with 47 seconds left in the third period.
Al Galanis scored a second period pin for the Hornets at 152 and Kourteledis followed with a pin 15 seconds into his match at 160 for a 48-0 Mansfield advantage.
The most competitive matches occurred at 171 and at 215. At 171, Mansfield's Eric Kelley overcame a 1-0 deficit to Foxboro's Tim Mogan entering the third period, taking two points on a reversal with 38 seconds left to take the lead. At 215, Mansfield's Tom Hansen was scoreless in his match against Don Sallie after two minutes, faced a 1-0 deficit after the second period, but scored two points on a takedown with 30 seconds left to win.