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SJ GROUP III: CENTRAL 38, SENECA 34

Freshman Loizos gets Central off and rolling with pin
Golden Eagles feed off crowd to reach final

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/15/06BY BOB BADDERS
STAFF WRITER

BERKELEY — Central's fans were eagerly waiting for a reason to explode in celebration, and Jack Loizos made sure they didn't have to wait very long.

Central's freshman 103-pounder fought off a near-fall and battled back to pin Seneca's Cain DeLuca in the opening bout, starting a three-bout winning streak that sent the second-seeded Golden Eagles on their way to a 38-34 victory in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III semifinals.

Loizos' pin was followed by back-to-back technical falls by Randy Faiges and Brian Powers to give Central (17-5) an early 16-0 cushion that proved insurmountable for South Jersey's Golden Eagles.

"Our team was really counting on the lower weights to get things going," Loizos said. "I was going in on pure excitement and once I heard the crowd roaring I knew I had to stick him. It was such an adrenaline rush. When I got off the mat my hands were shaking."

Sixth-seeded Seneca fought back with wins in four of five bouts from 125-145 to put a dent in Central's 19-point lead and close the gap to 22-16. Only Mario Lynn's pin at 130 kept Seneca from coming all the way back.

Nick Weaver started things up again for Central by earning his team six points at 152. The defending Region VI champ and NJSIAA fourth-place winner at 140 pounds needed only 1:19 to deck Jake Czepiel.

"It wasn't until I was right up ready to wrestle that I noticed that we were on a little losing streak there," Weaver said. "I went out there knowing that I had to pump up the crowd a little and get my wrestlers going on the bench again."

Ryan Lyons followed with a 15-4 major decision over Larry Welch and Nick Tenpenny pinned Tim Connor in 2:40 at 171. With a 38-16 lead and the match already wrapped up, the Eagles forfeited the final three bouts to avoid any possibility for injury.

Next up for Central is top-seeded Kingsway, which defeated Williamstown 54-9 in the other semifinal. The Dragons had won four straight South Jersey Group III sectionals before the Eagles knocked them off in 2005. Last season, the Eagles were at home for the final, but will have to travel south for a chance at back-to-back titles.