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Boyceville Bulldogs mauls Chetek-Weyerhaeuser

BOYCEVILLE — This dogfight was a lopsided affair.

In what has become the annual “Battle of the Bulldogs” dual, Boyceville won 12 of the 14 matches including six by pin falls and another four through forfeits to maul Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm 66 to 9 in front of a largely partisan Boyceville crowd  inside Boyceville’s Gymatorium Thursday evening, December 18.

The dual had originally been scheduled to be wrestled in Chetek but due to a double booking snafu, the match was shifted to Boyceville.

The Boyceville Bulldogs, now ranked fourth in both the Crossface and Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 3 polls this week, dominated their Bulldogs counterpart from Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm (CWPF) from the get go.

Senior Tyler Stroo got things started in grand style with a third-period pin of Michael Slagel at 132 pounds.

Freshman Cody Frederick followed with a hard-won 8-6 decision over Bucky Nelson at 138.

Justin Malean accounted for Boyceville’s second pin of the match as he stuck Tristan Stokes in 4:19 at 145 pounds to bump the Boyceville lead to 15-0.

The 152-pound showdown was the spotlight match of the dual. It proved to be the  most exciting and competitive of the evening and ironically was just one of the two Boyceville losses against CWPF.

It pitted Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm senior and Division 2’s third-ranked wrestler Johnny Chamberlain against Boyceville’s defending state champion and D3’s second-ranked Micah Johnson.

Chamberlain used a pair of first-period takedowns to open a 4-1 lead over Johnson after one period of wrestling. But the Boyceville grappler responded in the middle frame with an early escape and eventually his first takedown to knot the score at four all heading into the final two-minute period.

Johnson started in the up position and was able to keep Chamberlain for the first minute or so. But with 52 seconds left, Chamberlain scored the escape for a one-point advantage. Both wrestlers remaining in neutral position, dancing for an opening and a takedown opportunity. Chamberlain would find one with less than 10 ticks left in regulation, when he took Johnson to the mat for a two-point takedown and a 7-4 lead. But Johnson quickly worked a reversal to close to within a point and was looking to get back point when the final buzzer sounded to give the Chetek senior the win.

Boyceville, however, rebounded well with Jordan Morse taking a close 5-3 win over Sam Newell at 160 followed by Alex Lovett’s pin of Nathan Moen at 170.

CWPF would secure just its second and final victory at 182 pounds. Junior Mitch Wozniak was victorious with a pin of Boyceville’s Alec Schaffer in 1:57.

Boyceville would get back on the winning track in the very next match with a Jake Erickson pin at 220 pounds.

Austin Wolfe was impressive at 113 pounds as well, securing Boyceville’s final pin of the match, a 1:45 fall against Sam Peters.

Brandon Windsor (285), Dyllon Johnson (106), Brock Swenson (120), and James Palmer (126) all received forfeits to close out Boyceville’s 66-9 shellacking of Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm.

Boyceville was at Osceola last Saturday, Dec. 20 to wrap up its pre-holiday schedule. It will have a week’s rest before competing in the annual Northern Badger Classic on December 29 and 30.