Ref’s decision upsets Devils coach
By Bill Evans
[email protected]
VINELAND — Penns Grove High School wrestling coach Ed Mahoney thought official Bob Furca took the match away from sophomore Eugene Montagna and the rest of the Red Devils on Monday night.
So Mahoney decided the rest of the match wasn’t worth wrestling.
Montagna was disqualified for picking up his fourth penalty point in the second period of a 112-pound bout against Vineland’s Apar Gunta. Montagna led, 9-2, before three penalties were assessed in rapid order and the match was stopped with five seconds left in the second period.
After the disqualification — which gave the Fighting Clan a 33-18 lead — Mahoney sent Jesus Casiano out to accept a forfeit at 119. But with three bouts remaining, and two wrestlers weighed in, Mahoney lined up his team for the post-match handshake and told Furca he was forfeiting the remainder of the bouts.
“We had two guys left to wrestle and one missed weight and the other has had dedication issues with not coming to practice, “said Mahoney. “So that’s why I forfeited.
“After Eugene had the match in control and they took that away from him, I didn’t want to be subject to the rest of the match. It’s upsetting when a kid who doesn’t win a lot of matches wrestles his heart out and it’s taken away from us.”
Two of the penalty calls were locked hands around the ankles when Montagna was working a double leg and the other two were full nelsons.
“I was mad and Coach was mad too, “said Montagna. “They were calling me for a full nelson when I had the other half and an arm. I had that match. I hope I face (Gunta) again (in District 31) because I want to beat him.”
Mahoney said the locked hands around the ankles hadn’t been called all match and he was still upset after the Red Devils’ Tim Proud was called for stalling up, 10-0, in the 189-pound match.
“I’ve never seen locked hands around the legs before, and unfortunately it got called twice, “said Mahoney. “The full nelson was a 1-on-1 and a half. How that could be a full nelson, I’ll never know.”
Vineland coach Rich Scarpa had his own issues because Furca didn’t call an unsportsmanlike on Proud and also because he felt Montagna should have been disqualified sooner.
“Proud would stand and jump to his knees with his hands over his head to get a locked hands call, and with a heavier weight, reaction time’s a lot slower and it works, “said Scarpa. “Knowing that and seeing it happen and not call an unsportsmanlike, it should have been 2-1 instead of 8-0. It’s my fault for not telling the ref he baits people into locked hands beforehand.
“With Montagna, I thought the referee gave him the benefit of the doubt because he locked hands and then locked twice more. The locked hands in control just came about a few years ago, so (Mahoney) seemed confused about it. We checked the last full nelson on tape, and he had a wrist and half and switched over to (a full nelson). (Mahoney) just had a bad vantage point.”
Scarpa wasn’t happy Mahoney forfeited out because Vineland had a senior ready to wrestle his final home match, but the long-time Fighting Clan coach understood the frustration.
“There’s been times I’ve been like ‘you know what, forget it, let’s get this team off the mat, I’ve seen enough.’ But your assistant coaches straighten you out, “said Scarpa. “He runs that team by himself, so he doesn’t have assistants to balance him out. If he had that, the match would still be going on, but when you’re that upset, it’s tough to get cooler heads to prevail.
“I’m sure somewhere down the line I’ll do something I shouldn’t do, so I’m upset but I’m not holding any grudges.”
Harold Jackson (152) and Kyle Handy (171) won by pin, while Joe Puglisi (140) and Proud (189) captured decisions for the Red Devils.
Wrestling Gear
