Year after year, the battle between SJR and Bergen Catholic on the mat always comes down to the wire, and on a Saturday morning in Montvale, it was no different.
The Green Knights pulled off a dramatic 34-32 win, which was supported by four bonus point wins for the Green and Gold.
"It's about the fight in the team," said Coach Tom Farinaro.
"We're fighting to get bonus points, we're fighting to limit bonus points, so it's all about the fight in the team."
Early in the rivalry dual, the two North Jersey powerhouses found themselves in a back-and-forth match in the upper weight classes.
A forfeit at 175 and a major decision win at 215 for Mason Mark gave the Crusaders bonus points to start the morning.
At 190, freshman Adam Sepulvada gave the Green Knights a huge 8-4 decision win in a toss-up match. Moments later, #1 Christian Alvarez left no doubt, earning a first-period pin. The two teams were nose to nose, with the Crusaders holding a 10-9 lead heading into the lower weights.
The Green Knights carried the momentum of Alvarez's pin into 106 as Ray Burdette pinned #8 Ryan Halal in an upset that the Green Knights were looking for heading into the match.
"That win was big," said Coach Farinaro.
"Those three extra points were huge because it was the difference in a lot of the later matches of the day."
#1 Charlie Esposito followed the pin with a 1-0 decision win before the Green Knights forfeited 120, and the Green Knights held a lead at 18-16 going into another big deciphering match up at 126.
West Point bound senior Mikey Bautista faced off against #3 Matt Mulligan, and on paper, it looked to be a big toss-up match, but Bautista left that thought in the dust. The senior picked up a 16-1 tech fall, which gave SJR important bonus points heading into 132.
"I just knew I had score bonus points and I was just trying get some for my team," said Bautista.
"I just kept trying to score, keep on the attack the whole time and I eventually got the tech fall."
Jonathan McGinty grabbed a 13-7 decision win while #2 Brian Little continued his tear through New Jersey with a tech fall at 138. The following matches the Green Knights lost 144 and 150 by pins, and the Crusaders were right back on the heels of the Green Knights, as SJR's lead was held to just 31-28
With more drama building at 157, #5 Ryan Mitchell found himself in a critical match against Joey Canova, the #6 wrestler in the country. But rankings meant nothing in this match to Mitchell; he cruised his way to an upset 7-1 decision win over the Princeton commit, and SJR looked well on their way to a win.
"I knew the team score was close," said Ryan Mitchell.
"I knew he (Joey Canova) is a great competitor and they're a great group but I really wanted that win for us. I didn't want to lose to Bergen Catholic and I wanted to make sure it doesn't happen again."
SJR dropped the final match at 165 but this one was decided, as SJR went on to win 34-32.
The Green Knights are back in action Friday, January 30th at home against Northern Highlands.
