What he got was a dominating effort, and an early season statement, from his young team. The Knights won six matches via pinfall and rolled to a 58-21 Region 3 win over the visiting Cardinals.

“I’m kind of in shock,” Black said. “I thought it would be a tight match. The guys were aggressive and scored bonus points where we could.”

Eisenhower (3-0 overall, 3-0 Region 3) came out firing from the start with wins in five of the first six matches. Anthony Rivera picked up a forfeit at 106.

Kamden Ferrand found himself trailing Quinten Erdley, 4-1, after the first period of their match at 113. Erdley went for a shot early in the second, Ferrand reversed it into a pinning combination and picked up the pinfall at 2:21 for his first career varsity win.

Eisenhower’s Mikael Beaver puts Cochranton’s John Benninger’s shoulders to the mat during the third period of their 182-pound match.

“He’s our Hertel & Brown Wrestler of the Match,” Black said. “He was down and able to comeback for the win.”

Jack Martinec got Cochranton on the board with a pin of Ethan Nizzi at 120. Logan Jaquay answered with a pin of his own, over Shane Peterson, at 126 to put Eisenhower on top 18-6.

Easton Hedman couldn’t get Stephen Martinec on his back, but controlled the match almost from start to finish and came away with an 8-0 win.

“Our lighter weights really came through,” Black said. “Easton wrestled really well.”

Alex Hummel continued the hot start to his varsity career with a first-period pin of Willis Morrell at 138.

“Alex keeps surprising,” Black said. “He keeps getting better and he’s going to be dangerous.”

Josh Bortz dropped a tough decision at 145. Bortz nearly had Justin Boozer pinned twice in the second period and was leading 8-1 in the third. Bortz tried to lock in the same pinning combination he used in the second, but Boozer was able to counter and reverse into a pair of nearfalls to tie the match at 8-8. In the overtime, Boozer took a quick shot that Bortz tried to fight off. The official called Bortz for stalling and Boozer came away with the 9-8 decision to close the gap to 28-9.

Gannon Jaquay needed just 1:13 to get the points back as he decked Chris Maynard at 152.

Stetson Boozer (160) and Louden Gledhill (170) got quick pins over Benji Bauer and Steven Reilly, respectively, to get the Cardinals within 13 at 34-21.

Mikael Beaver sealed the dual match win by picking up his first career varsity win at 182. Beaver controlled John Benninger for most of the match, but Benninger had Beaver in a compromised position early in the third. Beaver fought out, reversed and hooked Benninger for the pin at 4:36.

“We have a lot of guys who are new or took a year off and are just coming back,” Black said. “They’re still learning. Once they start clicking, we’re going to be OK.”

Josh Parker put Kaden Tatters’ shoulders to the mat in the second period of their match at 195 and Cael Black did the same to Antonio Nieves at 220. Jesse Gourley took the forfeit win at 285 to close the match.

The Knights will have little time to bask in the glow of victory as they travel to Salamanca, New York today for the annual Southern Tier Wrestling Officials Association Holiday Classic Tournament. It should prove to be a good final test before Eisenhower breaks for the holidays.

“It was nice to come out of this week 2-0,” Black said. “This weekend will be more of a reality check. This is a good tournament. I’m excited to see how we do.”

——

EISENHOWER 58, COCHRANTON 21

106: Anthony Rivera (E) via forfeit

113: Kamden Ferrand (E) pin Quinten Erdley, 2:21

120: Jack Martinec (C) pin Ethan Nizzi, 0:55

126: Logan Jaquay (E) pin Shane Peterson, 2:45

132: Easton Hedman (E) maj. dec. Stephen Martinec, 8-0

138: Alex Hummel (E) pin Willis Morrell, 1:48

145: Justin Boozer (C) dec. Josh Bortz, 9-8, OT

152: Gannon Jaquay (E) Chris Maynard, 1:13

160: Stetson Boozer (C) pin Benji Bauer, 0:27

170: Louden Gledhill (C) pin Steven Reilly, 0:44

182: Mikael Beaver (E) pin John Benninger, 4:36

195: Josh Parker (E) pin Kaden Tatters, 2:45

220: Cael Black (E) pin Antonio Nieves, 2:33

285: Jesse Gourley (E) via forfeit