By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
DE PERE – In a stunning turn of events, De Pere senior wrestler Deven Tenor fought back from a 6-2 deficit in the final period to pin his opponent Dec. 23.
Tenor’s pin helped lift the Redbirds past West De Pere 45-36 in a nonconference match held at West De Pere High School.
“It was a heck of a match at (the) 220 (pound weight classification),” Zach Hendzel, De Pere Head Coach said. “West De Pere wrestled amazing tonight. I told the guys, when the cards are down and stacked against you, you must be resilient and finish matches. It’s not over until it shows zero on the scoreboard. I’m happy for (Tenor) getting this victory in his final season.”
With the Phantoms up 36-33 with two matches remaining, Tenor and Connor Hoerth put on a show at 220.
The two exchanged takedowns in the first period for a 2-2 score.
Hoerth registered four more points during the middle period and the start of the third period to go up 6-2 with 1:28 remaining.
With less than a minute remaining, Tenor was awarded a penalty point.
Seconds later, he brought Hoerth down to the mat for two points, cutting the lead to 6-5.
In a flash, Tenor used a move to pin Hoerth underneath him, and the official slapped the mat for the De Pere victory.
With a precarious 39-36 lead, heavyweight Ross Rowland slammed the door shut with a pin over West De Pere’s Jarret Milquet in the opening period to secure the victory for De Pere.
“Last year, West De Pere got the better of us,” Hendzel said. “It feels good to come into their gym and secure a win. It’s an amazing rivalry with good kids on both sides of the river. We need to stay in a good position on the mat. We got caught in some weird spots tonight. We need to get into the practice room and (have the kids) buy into the things we teach them every day.”
The Redbirds will next take part in the two-day Northern Exposure tournament which features 20 teams from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
De Pere 45, West De Pere 36
106: Lucius Janquart (WDP) def. Brooke Corrigan (DP) (fall, 3:27).
113: Mycah Beckett (DP) def. Gavin Janquart (WDP) (fall, 0:48).
120: Ethan Shaffer (WDP) forfeit.
126: Ethan Agnew (WDP) def. Connor Schenian (DP) (fall, 4:36).
132: A.B. Campbell (DP) def. Parker Benecke (WDP) (fall, 0:57).
138: Shane Corrigan (DP) def. Ryker Crooks (WDP) (technical fall, 18-2, 4:00).
145: Alec Ukkola (WDP) def. Ryan Rouse (DP) (fall, 1:08).
152: Collin Hansen (DP) def. Zac Wotruba (WDP) (major decision, 12-3).
160: Diesel Dekeyser (DP) forfeit.
170: Thomas Mudd (WDP) def. Austin Yedica (DP) (fall, 0:30).
182: Michael Alexander (DP) forfeit.
195: Spencer Francois (WDP) def. Brennan Kincade (DP) (fall, 3:13).
220: Deven Tenor (DP) def. Connor Hoerth (WDP) (fall, 5:17).
285: Ross Rowland (DP) def. Jarret Milquet (WDP) (fall, 1:33).