Cardinals closing in on mat title

The Corning wrestling team is in the driver's seat for at least a share of its third straight Northern Athletic League crown, as the Cardinals dealt visiting Anderson a 35-25 defeat in Wednesday's dual.

The only NAL stop remaining for Corning is West Valley next week, but the Eagles already lost to Anderson so an upset is unlikely, especially with Corning continuing to improve and flash its depth.

Dakoda McFall, who Cardinals assistant coach Armando Romo said almost didn't wrestle this season, got a spot start at 105 pounds and pulled off a surprising pin.

The small-but-determined sophomore dispatched Bud Johns with 35 seconds remaining in the second period, overcoming a bloody nose.

He scored a near fall with 30 seconds to go in the first period and was dominant the rest of the way, his victory extending Corning's lead to 18-9.

The night opened with a third-period pin by Caleb Nelson, as he forced Anderson's 173-pounder Jon Creech into submission in four minutes, 53 seconds.

Thomas Marshall (191) battled Colt Little to a 2-1 defeat after a gritty third period by both wrestlers. Marshall needed an escape to tie the score and got the opportunity with 33 seconds left, but Little kept needling him out of bounds. In the final attempt, Marshall struggled to his feet but was unable to elude Little's iron clutches.

Nathan Morris only led 4-2 going into the second period against Steve Webb, but an early reversal led to a near fall and eventual pin as the match quickly spiraled out of control for the Cubs' 217-pounder.

Tyler Davis countered for Anderson with a first-period pin of Corning's Dillan Ramirez (287), but McFall's victory swung the momentum back into the Cardinals' favor.

Sean Lowe (114) wrestled an inspiring match against Steve Schepps despite his 18-11 loss. Lowe tumbled into an 8-0 hole just over a minute into the match, which usually signals an impending fall, but Lowe hung on and started to turn things around with a reversal halfway through the second period. Proving he still had plenty of fight left, Lowe proceeded to score a takedown and near fall in rapid succession to narrow the gap to 10-15 in the final period. Trailing by eight points late in the match, Lowe averted a major decision by a last-second escape, keeping an extra point off the board for Anderson.

Kodie Brown, who was wrestling up at 121 pounds, was clearly outsized by his foe, Chris Quinonez, but it didn't matter. The Cardinals senior, and 2008's Northern Section champion at 114s, attacked Quinonez with the same explosive energy that he uses on the sidelines to cheer and coach his teammates to record a second-period fall.

Tanner Johnson (127) prevailed against Spencer Larson in sudden-death overtime, breaking a 4-4 deadlock with a takedown to win 6-4.

Calvin Meister (132) made a pretzel out of Jerry Bjerkland, winning via 15-0 technical fall with 13 seconds left in the second period.

Nick Johnson was only scored upon once in the 137-pound bout, but it was enough as the Cubs' Dylan Frank triumphed 2-1.

Matt Borrowman (142) redeemed Johnson and his other teammates who lost by clinching the team's victory, however, defeating Donnie Wonder, 7-1, and pushing Corning's lead to 20 points with three bouts to go.

Jonathon Jones (147) was in a similar position as Marshall, needing an escape with short time to send his match into overtime, but Bryce Tenney locked him up over the final 20 seconds to secure a narrow 9-8 decision.

Jake Zuppan (154) was skunked in a flawless effort by the Cubs' Marcus Zachary and the night ended with another shutout, as Evan Mulliner (162) was blanked 8-0 by Nick Ortiz.

The Cardinals (3-0 NAL) welcome 40 teams from three states Saturday for their annual Corning Invitational. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m., with the finals slated for approximately 4 p.m. Their final league dual is next Wednesday in Cottonwood.