Point Boro Makes A Statement With Convincing Win over Jackson Memorial

POINT PLEASANT — It’s hard to call it an upset when a win is earned as thoroughly as Point Boro did on Friday night against Jackson Memorial.

Panthers head coach Pat Brady cautioned that the season is just a week old and his team has plenty of work to do, but for a program looking to get over the hump against the blue bloods of the Shore Conference, Friday’s resounding 35-16 Shore Conference nondivisional win over the three-time defending Central Jersey Group IV champion Jaguars sent a clear message.

Ben Sabo’s 5-2 win over Vinnie Scollo at 120 pounds to begin the match set the tone and the Panthers won six of the first seven bouts to take a big lead and never look back on their way to their first win over Jackson in many years and possibly ever. Sophomore Jake Magley and senior Anthony Bonavito each won by fall, and it was the latter’s victory at heavyweight that gave Point Boro a 32-13 with two bouts left to clinch the win. Junior Spencer Robinson added a technical fall at 145 pounds while freshman Jack Bailey at 126 and senior Francis Marshall at 160 each earned key decisions.

“It’s about the close bouts and coach told us everybody has a job and if you go out and do your job we’re going to win,” Bonavito said. “I want to do anything I can to contribute to the team so going out there and getting six points was my job.”

“The guys showed up tonight but we have to build off this,” Brady said. “It’s not what happens in December that matters, it’s how you grow, learn and get better for B South and beyond.”

With regular 113-pounder Lance Hobbs out with an injury Jackson had to get creative with the lower half of its lineup. The Jaguars made the aggressive move of bumping Scollo up from his usual spot at 106 to face Sabo at 120. Both were region qualifiers last season. Tied 2-2 heading into the third period, Sabo escaped to take a 3-2 lead then secured a takedown to win 5-2.

“He’s a senior captain and that’s what we need from our 18-year olds,” Brady said. “We need that leadership and that drive and we need them to win big matches. If we’re going to get to where we want to be at the end of the season we need them to show up.”

Bailey followed with a 2-1 win over Chris McDonald at 126 pounds in which he reversed McDonald early in the second period and rode him out for the rest of the period and the entire third period. Magley then pinned Nick White in 1:24 to give the Panthers a 12-0 lead.

“That was a great way to set the tone,” Brady said. “To come out win, win, pin, our crowd was into it and it was a nice building block to where we finished.”

Carsten DiGiantomasso got Jackson on the board when he used takedowns in the first and third periods to defeat Ty Bailey, 5-3, but Point Boro would respond with wins in the next three bouts to take a commanding 23-3 lead.

Robinson dominated his bout with Justin Burkert at 145 pounds with three takedowns and four turns for a total of nine near-fall points to win by 16-1 technical fall in 5:58. At 152 John McTaggart scored the only offensive points in the bout with two takedowns in the first period, another in the second and a reversal in the third to win 8-5 over Hunter Smith and give Point Boro a 20-3 lead.

Marshall, who was a state qualifier at Manasquan last season, scored six takedowns to defeat Ryan Bohringer, 11-7, at 160 pounds and stretch Point Boro’s lead to 23-3. A takedown by Bohringer late in the second period gave him a 5-4 lead, but Marshall closed strong with an escape and three takedowns in the third period.

“We’re just a bunch of grinders, man,” Brady said. “We like to wear you down and win the match in the third period. These kids are training really hard and they know what they want to do and are working toward it.”

Brock Winston and Kyle Epperly stopped the bleeding for Jackson with consecutive victories at 170 and 182 points. Winston had a takedown and a reversal in the first period en route to a 7-3 win over Ryan Sansone and Epperly was an offense tour de force with a whopping 10 takedowns in a 22-8 major decision win over Dylan Ippolito.

Those wins closed the gap to 23-10, but Billy Borowsky followed with a 9-2 win over Brad Galassi at 195 pounds. Dave Lemay picked up another win for Jackson by besting Gabe Fattizzi, 7-1, at 220 pounds, but that still left Point Boro in position to clinch the match with a win at heavyweight. A state qualifier last season, Bonavito was the big favorite over Jackson freshman Jayden Persichelli and came through with a pin in 1:09 to clinch the match.

Freshman Nick Torre added a 7-0 win over Brett Blaess at 106 pounds before Jackson’s Luke Temple closed the match with a 5-3 win over James Latendorf at 113.

“This group, even the freshmen, have been wrestling for a long time so they get it, they understand the environment,” Brady said. “They know if they use their training out under that light they’re going to be okay. When it’s your turn to do your job you get your job done.”

Box Score

Point Boro 35, Jackson Memorial 16

120: Ben Sabo (PB) d. Vinnie Scollo 5-2

126: Jack Bailey (PB) d. Chris McDonald 2-1

132: Jake Magley (PB) p. Nick White 1:24

138: Carsten DiGiantomasso (JM) d. Ty Bailey 5-3

145: Spencer Robinson (PB) tf. Justin Burkert 5:58 (16-1)

152: John McTaggart (PB) d. Hunter Smith 8-5

160: Francis Marshall (PB) d. Ryan Bohringer 11-7

170: Brock Winston (JM) d. Ryan Sansone 7-3

182: Kyle Epperly (JM) md. Dylan Ippolito 22-8

195: Billy Borowsky (PB) d. Brad Galassi 9-2

220: Dave Lemay (JM) d. Gabe Fattizzi 7-1

Hwt: Anthony Bonavito (PB) p. Jayden Persichelli 1:09

106: Nick Torre (PB) d. Brett Blaess 7-0

113: Luke Temple (JM) d. James Latendorf 5-3.

Records: at Point Boro (2-0); Jackson Memorial (1-1).

Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.