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Clammy and Ricks match Report

Denny D'Andrea, thanks for the advise on getting their early and
saving me a seat in Jackson last night. It was sound advise for this
Shore Conference battle that had all the makings of and Ali-Frazier IV!

Now, I know that the talk throughout the state has to be the biting
incident in the 103 match between Southern's Jason Walters and
Jackson's Sean Cook, but let's curb that for later.

Earlier in the day, I had predicted Jackson-31 Southern 19, look how
close I had it! Ok, 75% of what I thought would happen didn't happen,
it was one wacky evening.

The match started at 125 where Jackson's Corey Biscaha tilted his way
to a 9-3 decision over Frank Miele.

Sophomore Sean Byrnes continued Jackson's riding supremacy by
majoring Nick Rossi 12-0. Byrnes used constant head pressure and gave
Rossi no room to even muster a single point. This set up the marque
match-up of the evening.

Jackson's Matt Bradley, 8th in the state tournament in 2005, was
patient with Southern's Luke Lanno and was victorious with a 4-3
decision. Lanno, who pressed the action early and often, could not get a
handle on Bradley.

"I spent a lot of time working on my balance with my (recreation)
coach this past summer and it appears it has paid off" stated Bradley.
"Southern is a very good team and coach (Goodale) said they would come
after us."

Another classic was at 145 with Jackson's Dave Concepcion and
Southern's Keith Dillard. Concepcion used a tremendous inside stand-up
and cut move to post a 5-4 victory. I was very impressed with Concepcion
and he will be heard from as the year goes by.

A star is born! Southern freshman Glen Carson, who bumped up to 215,
won an impressive 8-3 decision over Jackson senior Joe Cella. Carson
pumped life back into the vibrant Southern crowd pulling them within 6
points 20-14.

"I wasn't really nervous" stated Carson who lost an impressive
10-5 decision to 2005 5th place finisher Nick Parisi of Marlboro in the
Robin Leff Tournament. "That match helped me a lot coming into this
atmosphere tonight."

I don't want to dwell on this, but from the view I had of the 103
pound bout biting incident, I believe the right call was made. From the
view that I had, if Cook would have been able to free his arm, the arm
that was bit, he could have put Walters in a precocious position because
Walters' hips were glued to the mat at the time.

The atmosphere in the place was grand. Mom Goodale and Irene were all
Jackson'd up as usual. Next time ladies, we must meet for a few
"refreshments" before the match. And speaking of that, Jackson
folks, if I'm going to rank you #1, PLEASE build a pub or something
for pre-match festivities. All I found was a gas station and a Quick
Check in your area!

Lastly, I just want to say when I got to the match, I had the pleasure
of sitting next to and speaking with one of the most knowledgeable fans
I've ever had the chance of meeting. Ron Davis, a Jackson fan, never
yelled obscenities like others surrounding me, never complained about
the officiating, and stood-up and applauded after every single bout. See
you at the Groups Ron!