The Semifinal 1/3/12

This is a little later than normal because of the holiday(s).

First Period

Stars and studs: Forest Hills' R.J. Brydon gets a big thumbs up after winning the Southmoreland Holiday Classic. After tearing ligaments in his thumb two weeks earlier, I had wondered how Brydon would react to his new style, which he admitted was based mostly on wrestling on his feet as opposed to the mat. In essence, he's learning on the fly as he tries to adapt his tilt to the opposite side. He was still good enough to beat a solid wrestler in Freedom's Boe Bonzo for the 145-pound title. ... Berlin Brothersvalley's Trace Heffner has had an up-and-down year so far, but his high point came in a big spot. Heffner wrestled a very smart match in beating District 5 champion Josh Darr as the Mountaineers stunned previously unbeaten Somerset 33-27.  The victory, which clinched Berlin's upset, came after a knee injury that looked like it might force Heffner to default.  ... Westmont Hilltop's Josh Duplin might have finished a spot lower in the POWERade tournament than he did last year, but there's no shame in that. Not when his only loss was a 3-1 setback to Blair Academy's Brooks Black, who is ranked No. 1 nationally by Intermat. Black edged Canon-McMillan's Cody Klempay, who beat Duplin in last season's finals, for the championship. Klempay is ranked 16th nationally. Duplin isn't ranked by Intermat, but he certainly isn't far off the pace set by the nation's best.

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Upset-minded: Berlin Brothersvalley's victory over Somerset was easily the biggest upset of the young season. Yes, the Golden Eagles almost certainly would have won if not for Mike Laue being disqualified for a slam, but the fact that the Mountaineers were even close enough for that matter was a big surprise to me. I had spoken to a fan earlier in the day that said Berlin might win two, maybe three matches. I didn't disagree. Instead, coach Jason Cornell's squad won seven. The question now is if the Mountaineers, who lost to Conemaugh Township and Meyersdale to start the season, can build on the victory when they visit Chestnut Ridge tonight.

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Worth another look: If you haven't seen it yet and you consider yourself a wrestling fan, you really should check out the Southmoreland finals match between North Star's Nick Roberts and Kittanning's Jason Nolf. Roberts is a two-time state champion who's accepted a scholarship to Ohio State while Nolf is a one-timer who has never lost a varsity match. You can watch the full match for yourself here, but I'm still not sure how Nolf won it. Roberts dominated the action on his feet was the more active wrestler throughout. I don't mean to take anything away from Nolf - he's one of the nation's best wrestlers - but a stalling call (or two) could have changed the match drastically. He didn't make any attempt to turn Roberts in the third period or the overtime period. Of course, that's more of a criticism of the official than Nolf.

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Second Period

On deck: The beginning of the week's schedule was very light because of the holiday and no marquee matchups on Tuesday night. The best of a bad lot was Chestnut Ridge at Central Cambria, which I attended and will take a look at in the Tuesday night recap. Here's what I have for the remainder of the week:

Wednesday
Berlin Brothersvalley at Chestnut Ridge, 7 p.m. - This one is very intriguing. Is Berlin as good as it looked against Somerset? Chestnut Ridge is better than it looked against Bedford, right? We should know more about each of these teams by 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Thursday
Bedford at Cambria Heights, 7 p.m.
Westmont Hilltop at Central Cambria, 7 p.m.
Somerset at Forest Hills, 7 p.m.
Portage at Shade, 7 p.m.
Meyersdale at Conemaugh Township, 7:15 p.m. - Both of these teams have already beaten defending WestPAC champion Berlin. And while it's hard to imagine either of them challenging Somerset for county supremacy, the winner certainly puts itself in the mix.
Penn Cambria at Richland, 7:30 p.m.

Friday

North Star at Fort LeBoeuf pool tournament

Saturday
Cambria Heights, Greater Johnstown, Meyersdale, Shade at Everett Duals, 9 a.m.
Claysburg-Kimmel at Bedford, 7 p.m. - Each wrestled Chestnut Ridge with far different outcomes, but any matchup of the best team in District 5 and one of the best in D6 makes for an interesting dual.

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Third Period

Dual debate: To paraphrase (or blatantly ripoff) Mark Twain, the death of the dual-meet tournament has been greatly exaggerated. The changes made by the PIAA earlier this season were supposed to make the dual-meet tournament a thing of the past come next year. But as Ken Wunderley writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, coaches have been able to come up with a compromise that likely eliminates the two-day, monster tournaments like the Richland Duals, but makes one-day dual-meet tournaments as a real possibility for most teams.