It was a great start for the Sayreville War Memorial High School wrestling team in its dual meet against Hunterdon Central Regional High School on Feb. 5 in Sayreville.
The Bombers won four of the first five matches, including three by pins to surge to a 16-point lead over Hunterdon Central, a perennial state power and the Group 5 state runner-up last year.
Things changed quickly however, with Hunterdon Central winning eight of the last nine matches to defeat Sayreville, 47-24. The result dropped the Bombers to 18-5 on the season.
“We matched up well with (Hunterdon Central) and had a good game plan coming in, but lacked the execution we needed to win,” said Sayreville coach Marcus Ivy. “We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.”
Dylan Acevedo, a 113-pounder, 195-pound Ryan Bouchard and heavyweight Vincent Rebak all recorded a fall in the match for the Bombers.
Sayreville swept the 182-285 pound matches as Joseph Porcaro and Sohaib Safri each pulled out a victory in the dual meet.
Porcaro hung on to win the second match of the night at 220 pounds, fending off a late effort by Brandon Donoghue for a 7-5 victory.
Safri dug deep to come out victorious in his match at 182 pounds, pulling a reversal in the final 30 seconds of the match to beat Bennett Cayero by an 8-6 decision.
The Bombers will wrestle Montville High School, Piscataway High School and West Essex Regional High School in a quad meet on Saturday in Montville before facing off against Franklin High School in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 5 sectional tournament on Monday on Franklin.
Follow Steven Bassin on Twitter @SBassin_Sports
