The performance represented a stark contrast to the one Penn State (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten), which went 6-0 at home this season, compiled Friday against Michigan State. Yes, the team opened the weekend with a 26-13 win, but the Nittany Lions didn’t dominate the Spartans like they expected or thought they would. “I felt like we had to go in here, wrestle hard and dominate them like we did because our performance Friday night wasn’t really up to our potential,” Scott said. “We came in here and made up for what we did Friday.” Scott, coincidentally, didn’t have a chance to add zing to the weekend’s first dual. He received a forfeit against Michigan State because Jeff Wimberly failed a pre-match skin check. Scott’s performance against Purdue (10-7, 2-5) represented visual dominance to complement the takedown statistic. He needed just 30 seconds to drag Matt Redmond down. Scott then used a turk to gain leverage and forced his chest into Redmond’s to complete the fall in 1:28.
The pin represented one of many highlights during a streak where Penn State won eight straight bouts. The ending made it easy to forget that Purdue held a 6-4 lead after heavyweight Chris Kasten pinned John Laboranti in the match’s second bout. Despite the pin, which came off a third-period scramble, Laboranti scored the initial takedown, meaning Penn State recorded the first takedown in all 10 bouts. Eight Nittany Lions recorded first-period takedowns, including 125-pounder Mark McKnight and Davis, who earned major decisions in their final Rec Hall appearances. Davis started the match by recording six takedowns in a 16-5 victory over Logan Brown. Two bouts later, McKnight compiled five takedowns to defeat Akif Eren 15-5. Tim Haas completed the senior trifecta by defeating Sean Schmaltz 6-2 at 133. Haas was honored with McKnight and Davis before the match although he will petition the NCAA for a sixth year medical hardship season.
All three seniors received hearty applauses from the 2,862 fans. McKnight spent his first two years at Buffalo and multiple injuries have interrupted Haas’ career, leaving Davis as the only senior with four years of Rec Hall memories. Davis, a three-time All-American, went 23-0 during dual meets contested in the venerable building. Davis, who wore a “Sponge Bob” t-shirt under his warm-up jacket, didn’t turn the afternoon into a sentimental Sunday. “This feels good,” said Davis, who also went undefeated in home meets during his career at Harrisburg High School. “But not necessarily better than the other ones.” Davis set an example Sunday for younger teammates to follow. Brown raised Davis’ right leg early in the first period before whiffing on a trip attempt. Davis countered the move to record the first take-down.
Impenetrable defense and opportunistic offense led to the team rout, and sophomores Bubba Jenkins and David Erwin used similar tactics as Davis to defeat ranked opponents. Jenkins recorded first-and third-period takedowns and avoided one of the Big Ten’s best tilts to defeat 14th-ranked Jake Patacsil 6-1 at 149. Erwin recorded takedowns in all three periods during an 8-4 victory over 17th-ranked Nick Corpe. Patacsil and Corpe are Purdue’s only ranked wrestlers. “We needed this bad because coach wants us sprinting into Big Tens instead of walking,” Jenkins said. “I think this starts us off on a nice, fast-paced jog. The Michigan State match didn’t show how we work. Even though we won by a landslide, it was a drag-out win. Every match should have been dominant just like the match today.”
Sophomore Dave Rella recorded weekend’s biggest turnaround. Two days after leg cramps led to an injury default against Michigan State’s Rex Kendle, Rella scored on four takedowns, an escape and third-period cradle, and accumulated 2:20 of riding time to hammer Justin Fraga 13-4. “I don’t know what happened Friday,” Rella said. “I was cramping up real bad and my body felt subpar. I think today was just about showing everybody that it was a crap match and that is not how I wrestle.” Rella’s dominance created a difficult decision for the coaches who select the Ridge Riley Award winner. The staff decided on the three seniors, but coach Troy Sunderland praised Rella’s performance against Fraga. “It was so encouraging that we were debating whether to give him the Outstanding Wrestler or the seniors,” Sunderland said. “Rella made a 180-degree change from Friday night’s performance.”
The same thing can be said about Sunderland’s team, which also received decision victories from 157-pounder Dan Vallimont and 184-pounder Phil Bomberger. “Purdue matched up with us a little better and had stronger individuals than Michigan State up and down the lineup,” said Sunderland, whose team finished with five conference wins for a second straight year. “We wrestled so much better and made this look like a lopsided match moreso than what Michigan State was. Our guys gave a great effort from beginning to end.”
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article