Jaguars top Rams (again) for SCT title
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

Above, Jackson's Sean Byrnes tries to turn Southern's Aaron Williams en route to an 8-2 win in their 160-pound bout at the SCT finals in Stafford on Saturday. At right, the Jags celebrate their fourth straight team title, while below, Jackson's Cody Biscaha works on Southern's Nick Maugeri en route to a 2-0 win at 130 pounds.

STAFFORD - With their fourth consecutive Shore Conference Tournament title in hand, now is not the time to sit around and celebrate, says Jackson High School wrestling coach Scott Goodale.

Instead, he wants his talented squad of grapplers to turn up the intensity and set their sights on bigger and more difficult challenges, like the district, group and state championships.

Following Jackson's 31-23 victory over Southern last Saturday in the SCT championship, Goodale applauded his troops for their outstanding effort and achievements, but warned them to remain driven through the next couple of weeks.

"This is an important time of the year for these guys," Goodale said. "They know what is at stake here. We still have a lot of difficult events to get ourselves prepared for. This is not the time to let down and celebrate. Yes, we want to embrace the win in the SCT championship and use that as motivation to push on."

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As was expected, the battle between Jackson and Southern came down to the very end. The match was decided in the final two bouts, which Jackson won to claim its fourth tournament title in a row.

"It was a typical Jackson-Southern match," Goodale said. "Both of us knew what to expect coming into the match. We bumped everybody up so that we didn't have to worry about the flip of the coin."

Both teams met earlier in the year, with Jackson prevailing, and there is a possibility the two will square off one more time in the NJSIAA Group IV championships at Toms River North. Goodale welcomes the challenge.

"Hey, if it happens it happens," he said. "We're not going to think too far ahead. We need to prepare for the next team and wrestler ahead of us. If we do meet them again, I expect it will be another very close and intense battle."

With two bouts remaining, Jackson trailed Southern by a score of 23-22. However, neither Goodale nor his team was too concerned.

"We were in the position that we wanted to be in," Goodale said.

"We felt real confident at that point in the match. We had a couple of wrestlers coming up who we knew could win. We have a lot of confidence in our guys to win big matches in key situations. This is just another example of that."

Derrik Russell (103) and Kyle Kinchen (112) put the finishing touches on what proved to be a drama-filled championship match.

Russell, a sophomore, pinned Rich Tieto in the early going to put the Jaguars ahead for good, 28-23.

Russell, who had defeated his opponent earlier in the season, was a key in Jackson's win last year over Southern in the SCT championship.

"He's been in some big matches for us," Goodale said. "He stepped up big and gave us what we needed."

After Russell's pin, all Kinchen had to do was stay off his back for Jackson to win the title. He did more than that. Kinchen dominated Jason Walters and posted and 8-4 win to seal the crown for the Jags.

"It was a great meet," Goodale said. "It is something for us to build on as we prepare for the rest of the postseason."