Grizzlies stake claim to Payette County mats
Fruitland sweeps past New Plymouth, Payette in Wednesday duel
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Thursday, December 18, 2008 10:49 AM PST
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| Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer
Fruitland’s Torivio Gallegos (rear) cradles Payette freshman Woody Thomas in the first round of their match during Wednesday’s Payette County Duels in Fruitland. Gallegos picked up the first-round pin at the 1:59 mark of the opening round. Fruitland swept New Plymouth and Payette to take home top honors. |
Fruitland—The black and orange brigade was on the loose and left no stone unturned Wednesday in the Payette County Duels in Fruitland.
Fruitland swept past New Plymouth and Payette on its way to a team title, with brothers Daulton and Kyle Blackwell claiming a pair of wins each and Michael Villalpando claiming a forfeit and a first round pin.
In the first duel, the Grizzlies scored two decisions, a major decision, a pin and a forfeit for the 46-33 win over New Plymouth.
The duel started with Villalpando’s forfeit and was followed with a 6-5 decision win by Simon Esparza. Jesse Kirby notched a 20-10 match and Daulton Blackwell gave the Grizzlies a 16-0 lead.
Not to be outdone, the Pilgrims answered right back to an 18-16 lead with consecutive pins by Jaime Garcia (160 pounds), Kent Brown (171) and Casey Pfeifer (189).
Kyle Blackwell gave Fruitland a 22-18 lead with a first-round pin of Seth Gaskins, and Sylas Gaskins avenged his weekend loss in Nyssa with a 3-2 decision over fellow heavyweight, Jesse Aguilar.
Gaskins’ win gave New Plymouth a 24-22 lead, and the Grizzlies pulled away late with a 22-11 count to take the match.
The Pilgrims then battled against Payette in the second duel of the night, with the Pirates taking a come-from-behind 45-40 win.
Down 40-36, Payette’s Woody Thomas picked up a 14-11 decision in his match to bring the Pirates within one point at 40-39, setting things up for Taylor Gonzalez in the final match.
Gonzalez did not disappoint, as he slammed down a first-round pin to give the Pirates the win.
Payette’s win pitted a matchup against Fruitland with the Payette County Duels title on the line.
Fruitland tallied six pins, a technical fall and a forfeit for the 47-36 victory.
Jesse Kirby kicked things off with a first-round pin over Alex Haupt and Daulton Blackwell, followed with an 18-2 technical fall over Payette’s Gus Rose.
Down 11-0, Payette’s Damian Reynolds put Payette on the board with a first-round pin over Sam Hainey.
Payette’s Mike Jones (171) gave Payette a 12-11 lead with a second-round pin of Tyler Davis, and Joey Barbion (189) chipped in a first-round pin over Josh Villalpando to extend the Pirate lead to 18-11.
Kyle Blackwell, Aguilar and Pilo Martinez added pins in their matches to give Fruitland a healthy 29-18 advantage with six matches remaining.
A forfeit gave Fruitland a 35-18 lead, and Payette added back-to-back forfeits to climb to within a 35-30 deficit with three matches left.
Torivio Gallegos (130) quickly denied any comeback thoughts for Payette with a first-round pin over Thomas, and the Grizzlies were on top, 41-30.
Michael Villalpando (135) put the cherry on top with a first-round pin over Gonzalez to give Fruitland a 47-30 lead.
Payette’s Mario Flores (140) rounded the match with a pin of Esparza, but, by then, the match had already been decided.
Also on the Grizzly front, Tyson Flannery took two steps toward a varsity return with a pair of wins, one by pin. The win came on a second-round takedown of Payette’s Rusty Penson.
