Oxford thumps Hartland, gains date with Catholic Central for state title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
BATTLE CREEK — Oxford had a wish that it wanted another shot at defending state champion Novi Detroit Catholic Central.
That wish was granted Saturday morning.
The second-seeded Wildcats rolled past Hartland in a Division 1 state semifinal (36-21), with top-ranked Catholic Central getting past Brighton (39-16) in the other semifinals match to set up today’s 4 p.m. state championship bout at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
“This is what we have worked for all season,” said Oxford coach Brad Keeney, a first-year head coach but a member of Oxford’s staff the past few years.
Oxford reached the D-1 semifinals last season but lost to eventual state champion Catholic Central (35-25). Two years ago, the Wildcats competed in D-2 and lost in the state finals to Lowell (35-20).
Oxford also lost in the semifinals in 2008 to Easton Rapids (43-19) and in 1999 to Lowell (35-21) in its other Final Four appearance.
Oxford won two of the first three matches against Hartland and never trailed the Eagles.
Hartland was able to gain a pair of upsets, where Justin Charneski (171) topped top-ranked Ben Ralston 5-4, which closed the gap to 8-6 Oxford.
Freshman Austin Eicher (112) nipped Oxford senior edged Keegan Cantara 5-3. That brought Hartland to within 24-9 with five weights to go.
The Wildcats picked up consecutive wins from Rocco Borg (119), Kyle Hill (125, pin) and Jacob Peasley (130, major decision) to put the match out of reach.
“We had a couple of guys get beat, but they were to good kids,” said Keeney. “We had other guys step up. We did pretty much what we had to do in order to win.”
Matt Frisch (145, technical fall), Dakota Peasley (160), Matt Anger (189), Prescott Line (215), Nic McMaster (285) and Dylan Smith (103) also won matches for Oxford, including four straight by Anger, Line, McMaster and Smith that put the Wildcats in control, 24-6.
Hartland was making its 11th straight appearance in at least the state quarterfinals. The Eagles have four state runner-up showings since 2001 but will have to wait at least one more year to try to win the elusive title.
Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock felt his team didn’t overlook anyone heading into the state tournament. The Shamrocks (23-2) trailed Brighton 16-15 with six matches to go before going on a 24-0 run to clinch the semifinals win.
“We don’t look past anybody. We knew Brighton would come to compete. They weren’t going to lay down for us,” he said. “I expected a great match from them. I know we’ll see the same from Oxford.”
Catholic Central is making its third straight appearance in Battle Creek. After losing in the quarters to Lake Orion in 2009 (42-27), the Shamrocks came back strong to thump state power Rockford 39-24 for top honors in 2010.
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Category: High School, Oxford, Prep Wraps, Uncategorized
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