Tuesday, January 20, 1998

Waynesburg solidifies position

BY JOE TUSCANO
THE OBSERVER-REPORTER

CANONSBURG -- At times Monday night, it looked more like a battle for survival than for first place in Section 5-AAA.

When it was over, Waynesburg was holding a few ice packs but also a 37-24 victory over Canon-McMillan here.

The victory keeps the Raiders (6-0, 11-2) tied with McGuffey (6-0, 10-0) for first place while the Big Macs (6-1, 7-5) hold a half-match edge over Trinity (5-1, 5-1) for third place.

The tie at the top will be broken Wednesday evening in Claysville when the Raiders and Highlanders meet.

"I think this team at Canon-McMillan is underrated,'' said John Yates, the Raiders' first-year head coach. "They have a solid team. We were a little nervous.''

Two bouts turned the match Waynesburg's way: a 4-3 victory by Jeremy Snyder over the Big Macs' Neil Maggi to start the dual meet, and Eric Bedilion's disqualification victory over C-M's Aaron Gibbs at 145 when the latter was called for an illegal crossface.

"It was an illegal crossface,'' Canon-McMillan coach Ken Smith said. "I never saw anyone not be able to finish after an illegal crossface. He (Bedilion) looked like he was hurt.''

Bedilion needed to be helped from the mat and a large ice bag was placed over his left eye. The six points pushed Waynesburg's lead to 22-12 after the Big Macs had clawed their way back to within four.

"I feel bad about the disqualification,'' Yates said. "I'm glad the outcome didn't affect the outcome. Eric told me he didn't even remember going out on the mat.''

Bedilion wasn't the only casualty for Waynesburg. Mike Seybold was sporting a bandage over his left thumb after dislocating it in practice, but won 7-1 over Steve Eiler at 135; and Justin Smith became ill after being pinned by Glenn Haynes in 4:50 at 152.

But the injury list also included two Big Macs: Brad Mockler, who hyperextended his elbow after winning by technical fall, 17-1, at 125; and Haynes, who injured his shoulder in his bout with Smith.

"We wanted to avoid a Seybold-Mockler matchup,'' Yates said. "We wanted to let them get their points. We asked a lot of Mike and he came through.''

Seybold was originally weighed in at 125 but he reweighed in at 130 so he could make it to 135.

"We wanted to get Mockler on Seybold,'' Smith said. "But we don't have the numbers to move people around.''

Haynes' pin cut Waynesburg's lead to 22-18 and Waynesburg's Pat O'Donnell and C-M's Brian Neuman traded pins at 160 and 171 to put the score at 28-24.

Lanfer Simpson assured Waynesburg's victory when he pinned Matt Woodhouse at 189 to make it 34-24. Charlie Kiger finished the scoring with an 8-5 decision over Lee Tornabene at heavyweight.

"We have one day to recover and then it's McGuffey,'' Yates said. "I told them injuries are unfortunate but we'll go hard with what we got.''

HOME	NEWS	SPORTS	WEATHER	@ LEISURE	EDITORIAL	FEATURES	COLUMNS
	OBITUARIES	RELIGION	YOUTH	E-MAIL	YACKBACK	FAQ	AP: THE WIRE

---

Copyright ©1998 Observer Publishing Co. Last updated 1-20-98