Moeller vs St. Xavier Varsity Dual

Gcl madness on Saturday. Moeller vs X for my last match of the regular season. It was originally scheduled a couple of weeks earlier but had to be rescheduled because of the snow. I was fortunately open on the make-up date.

It was Senior night for Moeller and they did recognize the class of '09 wrestlers. But after they finished they also recognized coaching legend from X, Dick Murphy. Class act by Moeller. I had Fairfield earlier in the year and they did the same thing for Beavercreek's head coach. Nice work everyone!

We started the evening at 145. There are couple of moments that stand out to me after doing this match.

At 189, it was in the third period and the Moeller kid was leading either 8-5 or 8-6 and was on top. The wrestlers get near the endline and the X kid ends up getting out and locks around the Moe kid's ankles. But when the Moe kid hit the mat it looked like his shoulders touched the hardwood floor. I gave one escape instead of two reversal. X coach wanted an explanation of the call and never got disrespectful. I told him why I had one and he didn't agree. His kid ended up losing the match either 8-6 or 8-7, can't remember exactly. I spoke to the assistant after the match and he thought it should have been two. I replayed it over in my head a few times after this and agreed that it should have been two. A couple of matches later there was injury time during a match and I got a chance to speak to the coach again. I told him that I apologized and think he was right it should have been a reversal. I Told him I felt bad. He was all class and said, "Don't worry about it, you're doing a great job." Class act! Thanks coach!

I should have checked with the assistant before going on and it wouldn't have hurt if he came to me to discuss it. It's a good learning experience and hope we can improve from the situation.

The other moment was the 130 match. I was told that earlier in the year when these two met it was a 1-0 score. Well they did not disappoint the fans. Right off the bat the Moe wrestler took down X near the endline. X wrestler got a couple of escapes and the Moe kid got one as well. Now it's 3-2 in the third period and the clocking is winding down. I can probably count on one hand how many times I've called stalling to tie a match up with seconds to go. This was one of those times. The X wrestler had the Moe wrestler's arms locked up. The Moe wrestler had his head right in his opponent's chest with hips back. As usual I was being very vocal with the wrestlers to turn it up, but then with about 8 seconds left I hit the Moe kid for stalling. He had already been warned once so this one cost him a point and just like that it's tied 3-3. Must have lit a fire to him because he immediately took the X wrestler down near the endline with 2 seconds left and there you have it, 5-3.

Awesome match and the fans were appreciative of it. The match of the evening. It was a lot of fun to be a part of and a great atmosphere to end the regular season!

Just like that it's post season time!