Late pin clinches Ephrata win over Quincy

EPHRATA — How sweet it is.

A pin is a pin and in this case a pin led to an Ephrata 39-33 win over rivals Quincy on Tuesday night.

Anthony Bush’s first round pin of Quincy’s Johnny Navarro clinched the dual victory for the Tigers in front of a raucous home crowd.

“It was huge everyone was screaming,” Tigers coach PJ Anderson said. “As far as the sound it couldn’t have been louder in here. It was pretty crazy. I had a lot of confidence in Anthony. If I could put the match in someone’s hands at that point I would put it in his. He was really ready. He’s really prepared himself his senior year.”

The match was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded pins and decisions to set up the ultimate ending.

“We wrestled a tough match and the score shows it,”Quincy coach Greg Martinez said. “It was very exciting. Our MVP’s were probably our freshmen who got pins at 103 and 125. Our young guys stepped up and did all you could ask for.”

Wins for Ephrata came from Benny Carter (112-pounds) pinning Hector Avalos in the second round, Kyle Pohle (140-pounds) 8-3 win over Jesus Chavarin, Kurt Nygard (145-pounds) 2nd-round pin over Efrain Alvarado, Robert Motzkus (160-pounds) 1st-round pin over Keaton Webley, Chris Davidson (189-pounds) 1st-round pin of Baldo Baldovinos, Curtis Treiber (215-pounds) 3rd-round pin of Mario Oliveras.

Quincy got wins from Christian Alejandrez (103-pounds) 6-0 over Mario Guzman, Uriel Heras (119-pounds) 9-6 over Tyler Childs, Manny Ybarra (135-pounds) forfeit win, Ben Horning (152-pounds) 5-0 win over Preston Hendrickson, Breck Webley (171-pounds) 2nd-round pin of Andrew Sconde, and Daniel Herrera (285-pounds) 5-3 win over Mitchell Brown,

“Going through the match they were key things that happened that we needed to have happen,” Martinez said. “We needed some closer losses and lost five by pin. We need to get off our backs better and then we won’t get pinned.”

Anderson says the win could be a springboard to future success.

“It’s a confidence builder,” Anderson said. “To come away with a win in a lot of different situations is big. They now start believing in each other and it pulls them together a little bit. It’s huge especially over a rival.”

Moses Lake 57, Kennewick 15

KENNEWICK — A win is a good thing for most teams.

But for Moses Lake coach Jamie Wise if a victory doesn’t sparkle, the luster is not what one would hope for.

So said Wise after his team’s convincing if not stylish 57-15 win at Kennewick last night.

“Some matches we did come out and totally dominate and that was nice,” Wise said. “We didn’t lose that many tonight but I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like to lose at all. Some of our guys didn’t wrestle better than the last time out and I want to see improvement.”

The Chiefs (2-0) pulled away behind seven pins, including Brian Chamberlain’s at 215-pounds that took all of 15 seconds.

Wise said Chamberlain lifted his opponent in the air and managed to put him down with a soft fall moments before securing the win.

“He had some height and had to get way up in the air for that,” Wise said.

Other pins came from David Peralez (125-pounds) at 3:49, Jordan Bishop (140-pounds) at 3:12, Ricco Moreno (145-pounds) at 1:54, Logan Phelps (171-pounds) at :49, James Fitting (189-pounds) at 5:00, and Kabe Fluaitt (285-pounds) at 1:14.

The Chiefs received wins by Beau Gleed (13-3 at 103-pounds) and Robert Leyva (17-2 at 112-pounds) and a forfeit victory at 119-pounds.

“There were some bright spots but there were some areas that make me worry,” Wise said. “Our leg defense was horrible by a couple of people and we can’t have that. That’s what a lot of our drills are centered toward and for the state tournament. They need to be automatic and they weren’t automatic tonight. We need to keep improving to be where we need to be.”

The Chiefs travel to Davis on Thursday night.