Indians surge past Blue Bombers

Sometimes, all it takes is one.

Lehighton found an opening when Richard Fronheiser pulled out a narrow decision Monday against Palmerton.

It was a win that swung momentum – and put the Tribe squarely in the driver’s seat.

And the Indians weren’t about to take their foot off the gas.

A late surge aided by several key pins from its upper weights helped Lehighton rally past Palmerton for a 41-27 non-league victory.

Fronheiser’s 10-9 decision over Matt Lalik at 170 pounds started a run of five straight victories for the Indians, who trailed by 11 entering the bout.

“I knew coming in, that this one could go either way,” said Lehighton head coach Floyd Brown. “Palmerton is very well coached with some talented kids, and we matchup pretty evenly on paper, so I knew there were a couple of key matchups, especially at 170 and 195.”

Fronheiser and Lalik put on a show in a back-and-forth battle that had the gym buzzing. The score was knotted 3-3 after the first period, with Lalik gaining a late escape to tie it.

Lalik led 9-8 after the second period. Fronheiser tied it after getting an escape to open the third period before securing the win, cutting the Bombers’ lead to 27-19.

Alex Ziegenfuss delivered a pin at 182 pounds to bring the Indians (4-7) to within 27-25. Shaneef Carter delivered major blow at 195 pounds, pinning Chris Lucykanish in the second period to put the Tribe ahead 31-27 with two matches remaining.

“It was honestly really big,” Carter said of the momentum swing from Fronheiser’s victory. “With that win, it just put us in a better position to win out and get the win. And then I came up big in my match, getting the late turn to pin him.”

Brett Gasker’s fall at 220 pounds sealed the win before Michael Yeakel set the final score with a major decision at 285 pounds.

“The upper weights really helped a lot,” said Gasker. “They really helped create a momentum swing for us; without that, it would have been a much closer match.”

Palmerton (0-7) grabbed an early advantage with pins from Aaron Gardner (113), Daniel Lucykanish (126) and Colton Stroup (145), and a decision from Dennis Lombardi (132).

After Jon Ahner’s major decision for Lehighton at 152 pounds, Shawn Gardner picked up a forfeit at 160 to push the Bombers’ lead to 27-16

Then the Tribe dropped the hammer.

Or, hammers.

“I thought we might have had a little bit of an advantage at the upper weights, where I thought maybe they had a little bit more of an advantage down at the bottom (of the lineup),” said Brown. “And it kind of worked out that way. The matches at 170 and 195 were ones we needed to win, and the guys wrestled really well.

“Shaneef wrestled very well. He’s starting to come around for us. He just got in the lineup – he only had probably five, or six matches – and he’s working really hard.”

Nick Ziegenfuss (120) and Lucas Sangiuliano (138) also delievered pins for Lehighton, which finally broke through with its first three wins of the season Saturday at the Indian Duals.

Save for a 70-10 setback against Notre Dame Green Pond, all of the Bombers’ matches have been within reach. Matches against Northwestern (41-27), Southern Lehigh (36-34), Brandywine (40-36), Bangor (36-31) and Catasauqua (42-28) all could have gone the other way.

“We’ve had big swings in six of our seven dual meets, where you switch one match and essentially you get a win,” said Palmerton head coach Justin Petersen. We could be 6-1; instead we’re 0-7.”

Petersen knows the season is far from over.

“I can tell you right now ... our top guys, their goal isn’t to hang with good guys,” said Petersen. “They want to be on top of podiums. This is just Jan. 13. It’s a stepping stone. I’d rather make mistakes now. We’re going to peak in February – we’re not peaking now.

“We were in good shape tonight, that’s the goal. We made critical mental mistakes at critical times, that’s going to hurt us. We’ve been doing that consistently all year, and that needs to get better.”

UP NEXT ... Lehighton travels to Northern Lehigh on Wednesday, a match that was origianally scheduled for Dec. 16 while Palmerton visits Saucon Valley.

Lehighton 41, Palmerton 27

106 - No match; 113 - Aaron Gardner (P) pinned James Salerno in 1:00; 120 - Nick Ziegenfuss (L) pinned Dylan Shinsky in 1:47; 126 - Daniel Lucykanish (P) pinned Lukas Ferguson in 1:30; 132 - Dennis Lombardi (P) dec. Steven Fritzinger, 8-3; 138 - Lucas Sangiuliano (L) pinned Grant Scott in 1:23; 145 - Colton Stroup (P) pinned J.J. Marrero in 1:50; 152 - Jon Ahner (L) maj. dec. Colin Mertz, 12-4; 160 - Shawn Gardner (P) won by forfeit; 170 - Richard Fronheiser (L) dec. Matt Lalik, 10-9; 182 - Alex Ziegenfuss (L) pinned Aidan Melber in 2:28; 195 - Shaneef Carter (L) pinned Chris Lucykanish in 2:35; 220 - Brett Gasker (L) pinned Matt Garey-Hendricks in 0:57; 285 - Michael Yeakel (L) maj. dec. Jeremy Mooney, 9-1.