Swann perseveres to give Jaguars another win

BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Jackson’s Russ Wall tries to turn Freehold Township’s Jeremy Berger for control during their 152-pound bout in Jackson on Thursday. Trailing by two points with one bout remaining, Jackson High School wrestling coach Scot Goodale felt as if the Jaguars were right where they wanted to be.

After all, Jackson had taken one of the top teams in the nation and backed them in a corner.

“We were in the exact same spot two years ago,” Goodale said. “They are a big-time program. We knew then and this time that we just want to give ourselves a chance to win. Up to that point in the match, it had gone pretty much the way we figured.”

Indeed, Jackson hung tough against Paulsboro, which clung to a slim 26-24 lead with the final bout of the night to go. Jackson sophomore Rob Swann clinched the victory for the Jaguars with a come-from-behind win over freshman Josh Kline at 103 pounds to give Jackson a 27-26 upset win over Paulsboro last Saturday night.

“This is a great win for us,” Goodale said. “Anytime you knock off a nationally ranked program at home you have to feel good about it. We wrestled well and came up with a number of big wins. Guys did their jobs out there tonight. It was a total team effort.”

Swann, who wrestled on the varsity last year as a freshman, fell behind in the first period when Kline scored a takedown in the opening minute of the bout.

“He got taken down early,” Goodale said. “But he did a great job of keeping his poise. Putting him in a big spot like that isn’t easy. The atmosphere was crazy and there was a lot of pressure on him. He handled himself well and came back to seal the win for us. When we realized that the match would end with 103 pounds, we had a lot of confidence that if it came down to that bout that we could win.”

The turning point came in the third period. Swann scored a takedown and then rode Kline out for the final minute to set off the celebration by teammates and fans.

“It was pretty exciting,” Goodale said. “We love taking on teams that are that competitive. It only makes us better in the end.”

Goodale cited Swann’s commitment during the summer as paying handsome dividends in matches like this.

“He has really improved in the last year,” Goodale said. “Besides being more experienced, he put in a lot of time while school was out. It is evident in his technique. If he continues to wrestle the way he has he should be a contender for a Region 6 title.”

It marks the third year in a row that Jackson has defeated Paulsboro.

“All have been great matches,” Goodale said. “They’re a quality program. We like having them on the schedule. It is a match that we look forward to going to each year.”

Another big win came at 189 pounds. Jackson’s Bobby Van Volkenberg topped Ellis Hester 2-1 in double overtime.

“That was a huge upset,” Goodale said. “Bobby stuck to a great game plan. Both wrestlers scored an escape. He needed double overtime to win it. He went a grueling seven minutes out there on that mat. He did a great job and gave us a boost.”

Sophomore Ken Carney was an overtime winner as well. Carney downed Nate Dawson 12-10 at 171 pounds.

“Most of the matches were very close,” Goodale said. “We won a couple I didn’t think we would, and we lost a couple I thought we would win. When you have that many quality wrestlers going at each other anything can happen.”

Other winners for Jackson, which improves to 7-1 overall, include: Matt Bradley (119), Sean Byrnes (125) and Scott Winston (140).

“We got contributions all across the board,” Goodale said. “Everybody did what they had to do. Guys cut weight, guys put on weight and guys stayed off their backs. We did all the things needed to register a victory like this.”