It requires so much to knock a giant off the top of the mountain.
Easton was getting so much of what it needed throughout Wednesday night’s EPC dual meet at Bethlehem Catholic, which owned a 15-match winning streak in the series dating back to 2011 and has dominated the state for much of the last dozen years.
Perhaps nothing was bigger than freshman 172-pounder Justin Cosover stopping an early onslaught with a pin in the night’s fourth bout.
Quentin Hammerstone (152), James Geiger (160), Ladearus Conyers (215), Ethan Krazer (121) and Ben Riehl (127) all saving points in setbacks were critical, too.
And, the Red Rovers had senior Ben Fanelli to send out for the deciding bout at 139. Every wrestler and coach in red and white shared a universal feeling.
“Ben was the perfect guy to be out there at the end,” Cosover said. “He’s been through everything, and he’s such a hard worker.”
With Easton leading 27-26 and each team with six wins to that point, Fanelli worked hard to get the first takedown in the winner-take-all bout with 13 seconds left in the first period.
The returning state medalist, who is a talented, defensive-minded wrestler, stayed offensive. He secured another takedown with 48 seconds left in the second period for a 4-1 lead.
Fanelli then put the match away with another takedown at the 1:04 mark of the third as he and Bethlehem Catholic’s Marco Frinzi bumped heads.
“They’ve been the top team ever since they came up to Triple-A,” Fanelli said of the Golden Hawks. “They’ve been dominating everybody. My first couple years, it’s like 45-12. It’s always been 30-, 40-point scores. Those hurt. Those are the matches where, ‘We’re there, but we’re not really there.’
“We beat Nazareth earlier this year, so [Bethlehem Catholic] was the next step. We knew we had a shot. Being a senior, obviously, this makes it even better.”
With its 30-26 win against the state’s top-ranked Class 3A team, Easton took a big step in avoiding having to beat Bethlehem Catholic and Nazareth for the District 11 3A team tournament title and securing a state berth.
With its loss, Bethlehem Catholic will return to work on three areas first-year head coach Mike Cole has been preaching since the first day.
“We need to get off bottom on really good kids,” he said. “We need to recognize when we’re in poor position and recover with a sense of urgency, especially against really good wrestlers. That hurt today. We didn’t recover from poor position at 172.
“And, these kids’ mindset. These kids have to stop worrying about losing. We spend a lot of time on that.”
Bethlehem Catholic led 14-0 after Shane McFillin’s pin at 145, Kollin Rath’s technical fall at 152 and Charlie Scanlan’s decision at 160.
But Cosover altered the match’s emotion in a huge way at 172. Bethlehem Catholic’s Dario Cruz took the first couple shot attempts before Cosover found himself in a comfortable position.
“Early on, I didn’t think I was wrestling all that well,” the Easton freshman said. “I wasn’t shooting at all. But I got to that front headlock the first time and didn’t do anything out of it.
“I said that the next time I get there, I’m going to pull the trigger.”
Cosover did that and funked himself right into a cradle of Cruz near the edge of the mat in front of the Easton bench. The Red Rover had to adjust himself but didn’t rush things before finishing it in 1:25.
The Golden Hawks then opted to bump up at that point, sending out James Bozzi at 189 against Shae Linegar, who won by technical fall.
Bethlehem Catholic then used James DeLuise at 215. Easton countered with its usually undersized 285-pounder Ladearus Conyers, who fought out of trouble several times to lose only 9-4.
Kurtis Crossman then beat Jacob Lance 5-2 at 285 to get Easton within 17-14 as the lineup turned over.
Noah Fenner’s first-period pin at 107 gave the Red Rovers their first lead. Nick Salamone’s escape with 10 seconds left was the difference in a 7-6 win at 114 for a 23-17 Easton advantage.
Keanu Dillard’s technical fall at 121 and Ryder Campbell’s major decision at 127 gave Bethlehem Catholic the lead back at 26-23.
Chris Kelly’s major at 133 pushed Easton back in front and set up Fanelli to play hero. More importantly, it gave the senior leader and his teammates the confidence to win against the state’s best.
“I said to the guys that everyone has a job to do,” Easton coach Jody Karam said. “They know who is favored and who is not favored. I said we need one hero. That’s what happened tonight. Cosover, for a ninth grader, showed amazing focus and toughness you don’t see in a ninth grader. He’s a special kid.
“The kids knew that they didn’t have to win their match for us to win the match. Every point was important.”
Karam added that Easton won Wednesday’s dual because it was better conditioned. He said that won’t be the case later in the season. He said the Red Rovers will need to do other things better in order for their special season to continue.
But for a few hours, at least, the head coach and everyone else involved in the program was going to enjoy what Easton accomplished.
“[My son and Easton assistant coach] Sage [Karam] took nine green flags at the Indianapolis 500,” Karam said of his auto racing son. “For Sage and I to say that this is right up there with that, that’s a pretty big statement.
“We embraced after the match, saying what a wonderful feeling it is that so many people can share in what happened tonight. I’m so happy for the Easton fans.”
Easton last won in the series 35-22 in 2011. Bethlehem Catholic captured the next 15, including the last five by an average of 33 points.
Prior to the Golden Hawks streak, the Red Rovers won 28 in a row in the series after a tie in the 1975-76 season.
Easton leads the series 39-14-1.
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com
Easton 30, Bethlehem Catholic 26
145: Shane McFillin (BC) pinned Jaron Trimmer, 3:23
152: Kollin Rath (BC) tech. fall Quentin Hammerstone, 25-10
160: Charlie Scanlan (BC) dec. James Geiger, 7-2
172: Justin Cosover (E) pinned Dario Cruz, 1:25
189: Shae Linegar (E) tech. fall James Bozzi, 22-7, 4:43
215: James DeLuise (BC) dec. Ladearus Conyers, 9-4
285: Kurtis Crossman (E) dec. Jacob Lance, 5-2
107: Noah Fenner (E) pinned Louden Hower, 1:34
114: Nick Salamone (E) dec. Reef Dillard, 7-6
121: Keanu Dillard (BC) tech. fall Ethan Krazer, 22-6, 5:02
127: Ryder Campbell (BC) maj. dec. Ben Riehl, 14-4
133: Chris Kelly (E) maj. dec. Mason Thomas, 11-3
139: Ben Fanelli (E) dec. Marco Frinzi, 6-1
Referee: Scott Kupec
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