Warden handles Royal challenge

Cougars come back to beat Knights 37-24 in final dual of season

WARDEN — After falling behind 9-0 Thursday, Warden used a streak of eight straight wins to defend its home turf and SCAC league title.

"We wanted tonight to be senior night," said Warden coach Rick Bowers. "It's Royal."

Sam Villegas of Royal moved up a weight class to challenge Warden's Alan Martinez at 135 pounds. Villegas scored two takedowns and controlled Martinez for much of the match. The 4-2 victory by the Royal wrestler gave the Knights a 3-0 lead.

"(Sam) wrestled well," said Royal coach Ben Orth. "He had a pretty good ride, and some good shots."

The tightest match of the night occurred at 140 pounds. With 45 seconds to go, Royal's Nels Toftdahl escaped from Warden's Aaron Pruneda to take a 1-0 lead. With 20 seconds remaining, Toftdahl managed to keep the tips of his toes in-bounds to score a takedown and earn a 3-0 victory.

While Royal's lineup shuffle appeared to pay dividends early, Bowers chose to stick with his usual varsity lineup.

"I like to line up and say, 'bring 'em on,' " remarked Bowers. "We liked the match-ups as they were."

Warden's Anthony Martinez got the Cougars on the board with a 7-2 decision over Royal's Josh Mathis at 152 pounds. Martinez scored takedowns on the edge of the mat twice to build a 5-0 third round lead.

With the Martinez victory, the team score moved to 9-3 in favor of Royal.

At 160 pounds, Jose Velez earned a 14-8 victory over the Knights' Brian Gilbert. Leading by one point with under a minute in the match, Velez scored a reversal and 3-point near-fall on a grandby roll to secure the victory.

In the 171 pound match, the Cougars' Joel Martinez picked up a 12-0 major decision victory over T.J. Hunt of Royal. The win gave Warden a 10-9 lead in the match.

Pins by Justin Rollins, Freddy Gutierrez and Nathan Alvarado extended Warden's lead to 28-9.

"That got us going," said Warden coach Rick Bowers of his teams pins. "Getting 6 (team points) and giving up 3 helps a lot."

In the 275 pound match-up, Alvarado and Tranden Benson of Royal ignited the crowd. Fans of both wrestlers were chanting during most of the match.

"The crowd was great on both sides of the mat," said Bowers.

With Warden's victory at 275 pounds, the Cougars had taken control of the dual.

A 12-4 victory by Jesse Guerra at 103 pounds and a 17-1 victory by Steven Elizalde gave Warden their final wins of the night. Elizalde's victory at 112 pounds ended any possible chance of a Royal comeback.

Royal won the final three matches of the night, but it was too little too late for the Knights.

"We'll give them credit," said Orth. "They outwrestled us as a team."

"I really respect Ben (Orth)," said Bowers. "When I retire, I hope he wins a state title."

Warden 37, Royal 24

135 - Sam Villegas (R) d. Alan Martinez, 4-2; 140 - Nels Toftdahl (R) d. Aaron Pruneda, 3-0; 145 - Andrew Butler (R) d. Allen Phillips, 8-5; 152 - Anthony Martinez (W) d. Josh Mathis, 7-2; 160 - Jose Velez (W), d. Brian Gilbert, 14-8; 171 - Joel Martinez (W) m.d. T.J. Hunt, 12-0; 189 - Justin Rollins (W) p. Ernesto Deras, 3:41; 215 - Fred Gutierrez (W) p. Edwin Barajas, 1:36; 275 - Nathan Alvarado (W) p. Tranden Benson, 2:34; 103 - Jesse Guerra (W) m.d. Ritchie Villafana, 12-4; 112 - Steve Elizalde (W) t.f. Jerry Villa, 17-1; 119 - Jose Barajas (R) p. Robert Pruneda 3:03; 125 - Omar Avelar (R) m.d. Manuel Martinez 17-4; 130 - Arturo Barajas (R) t.f. Chris Kalous 21-4.