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CJ GROUP II: WALL 37, LONG BRANCH 24

Doyle jump-starts Wall run to sectional final
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/15/06B

Y MIKE KERWICK
STAFF WRITER

WALL - He looked. Of course he looked. Wouldn't you?

"It's a team sport," said Wall junior Drew Doyle. "So it's always going through your head."

Before stepping onto the mat for his heavyweight bout against Long Branch's Darius Williams, Doyle let his eyes wander up to the scoreboard. The numbers were not exactly smiling back at him.

After three bouts, Doyle's Knights trailed by 12 points. He needed a win. His team needed something more.

"We needed a boost," Doyle said.

What Doyle offered was more of a jolt. Doyle's dramatic 2-1 overtime victory was the first of six straight Wall wins, sending the Knights to a 37-24 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III semifinal victory over Long Branch Tuesday night.

Wall will meet Ocean in Thursday's sectional final. The Spartans have knocked Wall out of the NJSIAA Tournament during each of the past two seasons.

"I hate them," Doyle joked. "I hope we just beat them up."

Long Branch gave Wall a heck of a fight the last time these two teams met on a wrestling mat. The Green Wave lost by a single point. Long Branch raced to a fast start Tuesday, taking a 12-0 edge into the fourth bout of the night.

Doyle put a halt to the Green Wave's string of success. Dead even at 1-1 after three periods and a one-minute overtime session, Doyle picked up an escape in double overtime and held Williams to the mat in triple overtime to earn a 2-1 victory.

It was the bout that turned the match around. Soon Frank Labrusciano was pressing his opponent's shoulders to the mat at 103 pounds. Next Ryan Wilson was collecting a major decision at 112.

What was once 12-0 in favor of Long Branch turned into a 28-12 advantage for Wall in a hurry. Blaine Woszczcak's pin at 130 capped a six-bout winning streak for the Knights (12-5).

"We knew they were a tough team," said Wall's Bob Sprengel. "We knew it was going to be a tough match."

It was Sprengel who wrapped up the match for Wall. He trailed 5-1 in his 140-pound bout with Long Branch's Ryan Kirsch. But 49 seconds into the third period, Sprengel put Kirsch to his back.