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After tough loss to Granby, Canton wins two and nearly grab a third victory

Canton’s Brian Connolly went 3-0 with a pair of technical falls Saturday as the Warriors won two of three matches. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

VERNON, December 23, 2017 – A year ago, Canton and Granby were the top two teams in the North Central Connecticut Conference. The Bears ran the table in the NCCC with a 6-0 record to win the league championship while Canton was second with a 5-1 mark. The Warriors did claim the NCCC championship tournament trophy.

Last week, the top two teams in the NCCC met again with Granby once again prevailing over the Warriors with a 47-33 decision. Granby erased an 18-point deficit and won seven of the final nine matches to beat Canton. The Fleming brothers (Hunter, Logan, Cooper) each won by pin to help the Bears, who also took advantage of three Canton forfeits.

Jack Whitney (285), Matt Webb (106), Jack Freedenberg (113) and Andy Thibodeau (126) had pins for the Warriors while Chayce Lucca (145) earned a 4-1 victory but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Bears, now 2-0 in the NCCC and overall.

Austin Kilduff tries to turn an opponent on Saturday in a four-team meet at Rockville High. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Canton (3-2, 1-1 NCCC) rebounded nicely on Saturday with a pair of victories over Rockville, 60-6, and Rocky Hill, 52-24, and a close two-point loss to Plainville, 34-32.

The Warriors had eight pins against Rocky Hill and including two in less than a minute. Freshman Nate Biega (182) had one of the fastest pins in team history, pinning Rocky Hill’s Christian Delisco in seven seconds. It’s one second shy of the team record of six seconds held by the late Adam Szychowski (215) in 2002 and Dan Delos (182) in 2013. Braydon Fluckiger (195) won his match with a pin in 10 seconds.

Against Rockville, Canton went 3-1 in the four matches on the mat and took advantage of eight Rockville forfeits. It was the first-ever meet between the two teams as league rivals. The Rams joined the NCCC in September.

Austin Kilduff (170), Biega (182) and Braydon Fluckiger (220) had pins for Canton against Plainville while Brian Connelly (132) earned a win by technical fall. But it wasn’t enough as the Blue Devils picked up two forfeits against Canton at 138 and 145 to close out the match and secure a two-point victory.

Braydon Fluckiger works hard in Saturday’s match against Rockville in Vernon. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

On Saturday, Connelly was 3-0 with two technical falls while Biega and Fluckiger were each 3-0 with two pins. Junior Donovan Mackin was 2-0 with two pins while Thibodeau was 2-1 with two pins.

The Warriors host East Catholic, Conard and Plainville on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the high school.

Canton 60, Rockville 6
At Vernon
138: Donovan Mackin (C) pin Shawn Copaiga. 2: 27; 145: Double forfeit; 152: Kyle Mackinnon (R) pin Chayce Lucca, 3:08; 160: Josh Newell (C) forfeit; 170: Austin Kilduff (C) forfeit; 182: Connor Clement (C) forfeit; 195: Nate Biega (C) forfeit; 220: Braydon Fluckiger (C) pin Hunter Ogren, 4:19; 285: Double forfeit; 106: Matt Webb (C) forfeit; 113: double forfeit; 120: Jack Freedenberg (C) forfeit; 126: Andy Thibodeau (C) pin Zack Larson, 1:12; 132: Brian Connolly (C) forfeit
Records: Canton 2-1

Canton 52, Rocky Hill 24
At Vernon
145: Alex Desroches (RH) pin Chayce Lucca, 5:05 152: double forfeit; 160: John Alicea (C) pin Joseph Ferreira, 1:54; 170: Austin Kilduff (C) pin Maurice DiMatteo, 1:25; 182: Nate Biega (C) pin Christian Delisco, 0:07; 195: Braydon Fluckiger (C) pin Kameron Wilson, 0:10; 220: Ryan Pierce (RH) forfeit; 285: Thomas DiMatteo (RH) forfeit; 106: Matt Webb (C) pin Gavin Henderson, 3:35; 113: Romney Tejeda (RH) forfeit; 120: Jack Freedenberg (C) pin Josh Young, 3:03; 126: Andy Thibodeau (C) pin Admin Nukic, 1:21; 132: Brian Connolly (C) dec. Josh Loza, 12-2; 138: Donovan Mackin (C) pin Pedro deMelo, 1:33
Records: Canton 3-1

Plainville 34, Canton 32
At Vernon
152: Kyle Vosine (P) forfeit; 160: Ty Pales (P) pin Josh Newell, 1:40; 170: Austin Kilduff (C) pin Alex Wyncoop, 1:27; 182: Nate Biega (C) pin Bhavya Patel, 1:06; 195: Connor Clement (C) forfeit; 220: Braydon Fluckiger (C) dec. Travis Boone, 10-3; 285: double forfeit; 106: Matt Webb (C) forfeit; 113: double forfeit; 120: Dom Pedlini (P) dec. Jack Freedenberg, 9-1; 126: Sebby Soli (P) pin Andy Thibodeau,1:11; 132: Brian Connolly (C) tech fall Simona Barbagallo, 16-0; 138: Nate Cyr (P) forfeit; 145: Esteban Torres (P) forfeit
Records: Canton 3-2

Canton’s Chase Lucca keeps the pressure on in Saturday’s meet at Rockville High. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Granby 47, Canton 33
At Canton
285: Jack Whitney (C) pin Devin Flagg 0:15; 106: Matt Webb (C) pin Matt Ginz, 1:26; 113: Jack Freedenberg (C) pin Samantha Bull, 2:49; 120: Lars Trumberg (G) forfeit; 126:Andy Thibodeau (C) pin Elizabeth TraunBaker 0:53; 132: Hunter Fleming (G) pin Brian Connolly 1:40; 138 Logan Fleming (G) pin Donovan Mackin 3:07; 145: Chayce Lucca (C) dec. Terrence Cotsonas 5-1; 152: Simon O’Neil (G) Forfeit; 160: Jacob Payton (G) tech fall John Alicia 20-4; 170:Cooper Fleming (G) pin Josh Newell 0:52; 182: Tyler Perez (G) pin Austin Kilduff 1:44; 195: Ben Kibby (G) Forfeit; 220: Braydon Fluckiger (C) Forfeit
Records: Canton 1-1, 1-1 NCCC; Granby 2-0, 2-0 NCCC

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 30 years.

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