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Scotts Valley freshman Doug Peyser was ecstatic; he raised his hands in jubilation as he walked towards his bench after an apparent overtime takedown over Aptos High senior Allen Bjur.
He and Bjur had just battled back and forth in the 145-pound weight class into an overtime round with both wrestlers tied 11-11 tie heading into the sudden death overtime period.
The Falcon freshman countered a takedown shot by Bjur and rolled over on him into the dominant position for what he was sure was the win.
The Aptos wrestler sank his head into the mat in disbelief as Peyser walked to the center of the mat to have his hand raised, but referee David Baker was raising his hands in question. He hadn’t awarded the takedown points because Peyser, while in the dominant position, had not wrapped Bjur into a hold.
Baker looked on questioningly as he was being ignored by both wrestlers.
Bjur looked up from his position of defeat and saw Aptos Coach Reggie Roberts frantically motioning for him to get up. He jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the unsuspecting Peyser tackling him from behind for the takedown and the 13-11 win. Peyser, along with Head Coach Jared Norman were both in a state of shock after the match.
“We were just dumfounded,” Norman said. “That was a really tough way to lose a match.”
At that point in the match-up between the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s undefeated teams only one point was separating the two. Though the Falcons gave up two forfeits to the Mariners one, the wrestling in the lower weights had been going the Falcons way until the odd defeat.
“I had to go outside and clear my head,” Peyser said. “How that happened I don’t know, but I guess it did.”
The Mariners used the momentum to battle their way through the heavier weight classes and take home the victory with the final score 54-23.
The Falcons gave Aptos a number of scares at several weight classes as near falls and point totals in the final rounds seemed to favor Scotts Valley on numerous occasions.
“We wrestled better than we ever have as a team,” Norman stated. “I want teams to see that side of Falcon wrestling every time we take the mat.”
Jake Revino nearly won his match in the 120 pound class on a couple of near falls before being pinned by Aptos’ Jon Porter.
Teammate Josh Horchler was riding high on a 8-5 score heading into the final round before being pinned by Miguel Barranco at 5:26.
Scotts Valley earned wins from Kevin Edington over Jacob Porter by pin at 1:23 at 108 pounds, Domino Parrish won by forfeit at 113 pounds and Grant Margerum pinned Aptos’ Kevin Feeley in 5:06 at 126 pounds.
At 138 pounds Scotts Valley’s Anthony Smith earned a tech-fall over Jared Lalanne with a 15-0 victory.
The Falcons (4-1-0) wrestle next at 6 p.m. Feb. 8 at Soquel High for their final dual meet of the season before league finals on Feb. 17 at Santa Cruz High School.
