PIAA semifinals

I'll update local guys. See the full brackets here.

Austin Buttry's bid for a state final fell a bit short. He lost 4-3 to Port Allegany's Nicholas Budd in the semifinal. Budd scored a first-period takedown. Buttry escaped, rode him out in the second and then tied it with a third-period escape. But Budd scored another takedown in the final 20 seconds. Buttry escaped but couldnt match the late drama of his semifinal victory. He'll face Southeast Regional champion Brett Sterner of Susquenita tonight. He pinned Sterner in the opening round.

Forest Hills' Cody Law is back in the state finals. He beat Mifflinburg's Ty Walter 5-1 in the 160-pound semifinals. Law scored a first-period takedown on a go-behind and rode out Walter for the final 30 seconds. He added a second-period escape and, though Law couldn't add to his lead, he maintained the 3-0 edge into the third. Walter escaped almost immediately. Law got a stall wrning with 1:13 left, but sealed the win with a takedown at the 15-second mark.
Law will face Northwest Regional champion Evan Delong in the championship tomorrow afternoon.


Bedford has the first local finalist, as Ryan Easter beat South Side Beaver's Nathan Reckner 9-2 at 120 pounds.
It wasn't nearly as easy as the score might indicate. After a scoreless first period, Reckner got a second-period takedown. He rode Easter for a bit, but at the first time Easter stood, Reckner released him. I couldn't figure why he would do that. There were 39 seconds left in the period. If he would have been able to ride out Easter, the 2-0 lead would have been huge.
Instead, Easter escaped nine seconds into the third to tie it. Then, Reckner tried a throw, which Easter countered, momentarily putting Reckner on his back. Easter didn't get any nearfall points for it, but he did tilt him twice in the period.
This was the most points out of Easter, who managed just five total in his first two victories. He's only given up five in three matches, but his defense will be put to the test in tomorrow afternoon's final as he faces Bethlehem Catholic's Darian Cruz, who beat Ligonier Valley's Josh Patrick 10-5 in the other semifinal.
I was concentrating on Easter's match and didn't see Patrick's, but Cruz took him down quite a few times. Patrick will have Benton's Matt Welliver in tonight's consolation round.