BEDFORD —
Josiah Koontz had not only the dual meet resting on his shoulders, but also the Bedford Bisons perfect mark and, ultimately, the fate of their season.
No pressure there.
Koontz scored takedowns in the second and third periods to lift top-seeded Bedford to a 34-31 victory over No. 8 Berlin Brothersvalley in a District 5 Class AA quarterfinal on Thursday night.
The Bisons trailed 31-25 when Koontz, a sophomore, stepped on the mat with Berlin senior Trace Heffner at 160 pounds, but with Bedford scheduled to get a forfeit at 170, all the pressure was on Koontz.
“That’s the pivot point,” Koontz said of his bout. “That’s why you practice all year, for matches like that. What I was thinking when I went out on the mat, I knew I had to win, but I knew I had to wrestle smart. Just hit what I know I can and take it from there.”
See more wrestling coverage on Eric Knopsnyder's blog
Bedford (13-0) had cruised through all but two of its matches with lopsided victories, but the Bisons never led in this one until Koontz beat Heffner 5-2.
“I knew as soon as the coin flip was and they got all of the choices, it was going to be a wild and crazy match,” Bedford coach Brian Creps said. “It sure lived up to its billing.”
Berlin (14-8) looked like it was in good position to pull off the upset after taking a 22-6 lead through the first five matches. Ben Miller got a pin for the Mountaineers at 182 before Bedford’s Michael Brett matched it at 192.
In what was one of the biggest matches of the night, Berlin’s Jacob Craig pinned Jacob Krupa at 220 pounds. The two have been rivals since junior high, with Krupa dominanting the outcomes before Craig’s 3-0 victory on Saturday at the Thomas Automotive Family Tournament.
“Jacob’s starting to get on a roll now,” Berlin coach Jason Cornell said of Craig, who moved into second place on the school’s list for career falls with the victory. “He’s starting to get a little bit of confidence.”
The Mountaineers also seemed to gain confidence, as Stew Trulick picked up a fall at 285 pounds and Tommy DeArmitt beat Jake Warren 11-1 at 106 pounds less than a week after getting pinned by the Bedford wrestler in the Thomas tournament.
The Bisons finally got going at 113 pounds, as Ryan Easter built up a 13-point lead before pinning Tyler DeArmitt. Garrett Thomas then beat Chris Miller
5-0 at 120 and Toby Brett scored a 9-1 major decision over E.J. Custer at 126 to make it 22-19.
“We got to the meat of our lineup and our kids really kept their composure well,” Creps said.
Bedford’s Caleb Grimes beat Cole Butler 4-1 at 132 pounds to tie the dual at 22.
“That was a real big match for him and for the team, for him to be able to go out and get a win,” Creps said.
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