Warden keeps Royal City down

Cougars strong in 39-17 win over Knights

ROYAL CITY - Neither team was surprised by the outcome, but neither team was disappointed.

"We knew we were the underdog on paper," said Royal head coach Ben Orth. "Their lineup was tough."

For Royal to get a win Thursday night, Orth said they needed to take some matches early.

The Knights had a chance to get on the board in the second match at the 160 pound division.

Knights' freshman T.J. Hunt was trailing Warden sophomore Joel Martinez late in the third round, but with a reversal, Hunt got Martinez in a pin hold and seemed poised for a comeback. Martinez was able to pull Hunt out of bounds and held on for the win.

The next two matches saw Warden senior Kevin Bowers dominate on a technical fall and senior Joseph Elizalde pinning Royal senior Carlos Villa with 1:14 left in the second round.

The Cougars jumped out to an early 23-0 lead and never looked back, topping Royal 39-17 Thursday night.

Royal did not go out without a fight. The Knights took the next two matches and had momentum heading into the marquee match-up of the night - Royal's Arturo Barajas and Warden's Stevie Elizalde at 112 pounds.

The wrestlers split their previous two matches and Warden head coach Rick Bowers called both the best wrestlers in that class. A Barajas escape with 45 seconds left in the second round knotted the score at 3-3, but he was soon penalized for a questionable stalling violation, and an Elizade reversal sealed the match at 6-4.

Warden's consistency and intensity was par for the course, Bowers said.

"It's just part of who we are," he said. "These kids wrestle big matches every week."

But Bowers added that he respected the battle Royal put forth.

"Most of the teams, the match is over before they get off the bus. But Royal comes to play," he said. "Every match was competitive."

In spite of the loss, Orth said he likes where his team stands as they gear up for district playoffs.

"We've started to show improvement over the last two weeks," he said. "We are where we want to be."

Bowers, too, likes what he is getting from his team.

"I'm happy with where the team is," he said. "Everything is fine, everyone is healthy. We've got goals and we're working to achieve them."