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Roseburg ekes out victory over Crater By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT - To say Greg Haga and his Crater wrestling team are embarking on uncharted waters might be the understatement of the year. Neither Haga nor anyone associated with the Comets can remember when Crater last went 0-2 to open a Southern Oregon Conference season. Roseburg helped clear up that mystery Thursday night. Using an advantage in back points thanks to four pins, the Indians earned their first win in six years over Crater, 33-31, and first ever on the Comets' home floor in Haga's 14 years. In the process, Roseburg left the Comets scratching their heads over an 0-2 start to the SOC dual-meet season. "The bottom line again is we have opportunities for our seniors to help us out in some areas and they don't do it," said Haga, whose team had two pins in its seven victories. "In these tough matches, we're not going to win them if we don't pull out the close ones. It's all training for later in the year, but I'll tell you what, later in the year needs to come soon." The Comets have now lost four dual meets inside the first month of the season. Haga won't make excuses for his team's youth - 75 percent are either freshmen or sophomores. "I'm not crying the blues because we're young," said the coach. "When it's time to get it done, you've got to get it done under the light when it counts. "Losing's losing. I don't care of you wrestle freshmen against seniors or seniors against seniors. It never sets real well." Roseburg jumped out to a 15-0 lead after three matches thanks to a 9-7 win by Josh Osborne at 171 and back-to-back pins by Levi Thomas (189) and Cody Parker (215). Thomas' pin came only 39 seconds into his match with Crater freshman Zane Yarnell. Crater senior Chris Dearmon cut into Roseburg's advantage with a pin at 2:21 of his heavyweight match, and freshman Bryson Gutches (103) added a 20-11 major decision to make the score 15-10. The match went back and forth from that point, with Roseburg's Kevin Beavers and Brian Walker adding pins at 112 and 125. The Indians were able to thwart a Crater rally with close wins by Seth Thomas, 10-7 at 135, and Matt Jacobson, 11-6 at 145, to provide just enough of a cushion for the two-point victory. "We knew we had a chance coming down here, but to get it done at Crater is still incredible," said first-year Roseburg coach Steve Lander. "I don't think we got any help at all. Our kids wrestled hard and we beat a good team. "Those (four) falls were definitely the match. We got close down to those last three or four weights but we were able to not give up a pin to hold on." Crater's Jeremy McLaughlin set the Comets up for a late run with his pin at 140 over Isaac Herbert. Trailing 30-18 in the team race, Crater needed a pin from McLaughlin if it was to have any chance at victory, and he broke open a 6-5 advantage with two takedowns and sealed the deal with 33 seconds left in the match. Unfortunately for the Comets, Jacobson broke a 6-6 tie in the third period with a takedown and three-point near fall to slip past Josh King. That close win gave Roseburg a 33-24 lead with only two matches left. Needing pins in both to pull off the comeback, Crater instead had to settle for an 11-3 major decision by senior Rudy Ramirez at 152 and a hard-fought, 10-8 overtime decision by freshman Ron Lee at 160. Lee's win marked the second straight SOC dual that he has won in overtime. "He never stops," Haga said of the freshman. "If you get worn out a little bit he's going to be going the same speed. No matter how long it goes, he always thinks he's going to be able to take you down." The Comets want to make that the mentality for the entire team. "Any competitor hates losing," said Dearmon. "Personally, it eats me up inside. I'm going to do my part to work hard and get better, and I know everyone else will do their part as well." And for those worried about Crater losing its grip on the SOC title, one must only look back to 1991. That season the Comets lost dual meets to North Medford, Roseburg and Eagle Point that season and still won the district title. 103 - Bryson Gutches, C, major dec. Trevor Lofstedt, 20-11; 112 - Kevin Beavers, R, pinned Jacob Vincent, :36; 119 - Cody Ponder, C, tech. fall Andrew Maldonado, 19-4; 125 - Brian Walker, R, pinned Chase Maloney, 3:34; 130 - Nate Gipson, C, dec. Tyler Spears, 7-2 OT. 135 - Seth Thomas, R, dec. Kyle Marci, 10-7; 140 - Jeremy McLaughlin, C, pinned Isaac Herbert, 5:24; 145 - Matt Jacobson, R, dec. Josh King, 11-6; 152 - Rudy Ramirez, C, major dec. Joel Oiler, 11-3. 160 - Ron Lee, C, dec. Nick Shaffer, 10-8 OT; *171 - Josh Osborne, R, dec. Corey Oxford, 9-7; 189 - Levi Thomas, R, pinned Zane Yarnell, :39; 215 - Cody Parker, R, pinned Cody Engbrecht, 5:02; 275 - Chris Dearmon, C, pinned Justin Troxel, 2:21. *starting weight JV score - Crater 39, Roseburg 33. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.