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Home > Blogs > Springfield, Ohio High School Sports > Archives > 2009 > January > 24 > Entry
On this date in area sports history…
On this date five years ago, Jan. 24, 2004, Graham lost to Lakewood St. Edward in a battle of state wrestling powerhouses.
Today, the two schools will face off again in another dual for Ohio bragging rights.
Published in the Jan. 25, 2004 edition of the News-Sun:
GRAHAM LOSES MATS SHOWDOWN
SENIOR-LADEN SQUAD GIVES EDGE TO ST. EDWARD
By Kermit Rowe, Staff Writer
ST. PARIS — Once again, a scrappy Graham wrestling team came up short of beating perennial powerhouse and nationally second-ranked Lakewood St. Edward.
The three-time defending Division II state champion Falcons, ranked as high as sixth nationally, found out that at this lofty level of the sport, youth is usually served a hefty portion of defeat. Graham fell to the senior-laden Eagles 32-22 in what is becoming an annual meeting between Ohio’s two wrestling juggernauts.
But the Falcons and their faithful fans did manage to win something during Saturday afternoon’s national showdown in this quiet rural town _ respect.
Veteran St. Ed’s head coach Greg Urbas, shortly after the conclusion of the dual meet, sat happy but emotionally-spent, soaking in the electricity of the day.
“Like (assistant coach Jim) Heffernan said to us before the match, this is what it is all about,” said Urbas of the crowd of nearly 900 and the atmosphere they and the day’s intense competition had produced. “A big, loud crowd like this, everybody rooting for their team, every match so important.
“There’s only two colleges in the nation that can draw a crowd like this,” continued Urbas, whose team has won seven straight D-I state titles and 19 overall. “And the fans are extremely knowledgeable wrestling fans. They were in it every second. You’re not going to put anything over on them.
“It forces us to coach up a storm, to coach better, to look for every advantage. We know if we do less, we’re in for a long afternoon.”
Graham third-year coach Jeff Jordan knew his team was in for the above type of an afternoon when defending D-II, 125-pound state champ Cameron Doggett lost a controversial, last-second 9-7 decision to St. Ed’s D-I returning state runner-up Clayton Stark at 125 pounds.
With the Eagles up just 15-12, Doggett and Stark fought the entire six minutes in what everyone knew would be the match of the day.
Stark held 2-0 and 4-2 leads after the first two periods, respectively. But Doggett started dominating Stark on his feet in the final period, scoring a takedown with 1:25 left, then another with 40 seconds left to go up 6-5. But with less than 15 seconds left, Stark managed a reversal and two quick back points to come away with a 9-7 win.
It took the two referees and several scorekeepers several minutes to sort out what had happened in those last few seconds.
Instead of a having a 15-15 tie, the Falcons found themselves behind 18-12 _ a hole they weren’t able to dig out of.
“That match was the swing match for us,” Jordan said. “After Doggett lost, it took the wind out of our sails. He gets three straight takedowns, then a controversial call goes against us. It was just a tough loss for us.”
The Doggett-Stark match was created when Urbas chose to move Stark from his normal 119 up to 125, pushing state fourth-placer Albert Madsen up to 135 and normal 130-pounder Sean Nemec up to 135. That gave the Falcons three matchups that Jordan said were more unfavorable for his team.
“We were hoping that they would leave the lineup like it has been, maybe even get an upset at 119,” Jordan said. “In the three matches that were pivotal, we won one. But with their depth, they can make those kinds of changes.”
Indeed, the Eagles list more seniors (28) on their squad than Graham has team members (26). And 10 of those seniors were in the visitor’s starting lineup against the Falcons’ three seniors.
“That’s why they are ranked No. 2 in the nation,” said Jordan. “Everyone says St. Ed’s is down this year. They aren’t down. They are never down. Next year, they’ll lose those 10 seniors and again, they won’t be down.
“That’s why they have that confidence, because they have been dominant for 25 years.”
The 189-pound class was drawn to start the match, and a quick St. Ed’s pin put Graham down 6-0. But senior 215-pounder Joe Dennis remained undefeated by pinning returning D-I state fifth-placer Ryan Adkins at 3:45. Heavyweight Jason Marshall scored a 5-0 win, then 103-pounder Aaron Hart squeezed out a 3-1 win to put the hosts up 12-6.
But a pin by St. Ed’s defending state champion Lance Palmer evened the match at 12-12, and sophomore Jordan Current dropped a 4-1 decision at 119, leading up to the Doggett-Stark bout.
After Stark’s win, Madsen scored a major decision to give the Eagles a 10-point lead, which ended up a 10-point win as the teams traded wins the rest of the match. Seniors Tyler Schlater (10-8 at 135) and Jacob Frerichs (4-2 at 145) and junior David Erwin (11-3 major decision at 160) rounded out the winners for the Falcons.
And the mighty Eagles left St. Paris with a new-found respect.
“They are such a fine team,” said Urbas of Graham. “They are aggressive, but not reckless. Their technique is very sound, like what you see at the NCAA tournament. They wrestle like a college team.
“They wrestle like their coach (when Jordan was a four-time state champ and collegiate star at Wisconsin). That keeps us humble.
“We know we’re in for a battle no matter where the match is.”
Added Jordan: “This team has definitely been a team of momentum, and we didn’t have that today. But it was a good meet, a good crowd and good wrestling. Now we’ll have to wait 365 more days to get another shot at them.”
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