Huntley can't quite catch up against Crystal Lake Central

For the second time in a week, Huntley (7-3-0) dug a hole too deep to crawl out of.

The Red Raiders' wrestling team fell behind at Crystal Lake Central 28-7, and despite a valiant fight-back coach BJ Bertelsman's team still dropped a Fox Valey Conference divisional crossover in the Tigers' field house Thursday night.

"We've got to stop falling behind so early - it's kind of a recipe for disaster," said Huntley's coach, who last weekend watched his squad chase a nearly 30-point deficit to Plainfield Central, coming all the way back before losing 36-33. "You expect to have little success against Central's elite guys, Andrew Marsden and Romeo McKnight at 195 and 220, but we've got to pick up the slack at the upper weights in order to allow the strength of this team to take over and be difference-makers."

Both sides traded major-decision victories to open the night, Logan Lundelius at 145 for the Tigers, followed by a dominant performance from Brandon Meyer of Huntley at 152.

However, with the Red Raiders leading 7-4 after a win at 160, the hosts erupted with a 24-0 run fueled by three consecutive pins, beginning with Fabian Mora (170) then Keegan O'Donnell, followed by the reigning 2A state champion Marsden, who needed 62 seconds to put the finishing touches on his pin.

"We came into tonight without three starters, including 2014 state medalist Michael Petersen, so it was nice to see guys like Fabian and Keegan step up and get us going before Andrew and Romeo helped extend our lead," said Crystal Lake Central coach Justin Lehr, who one night earlier saw his team fall to Kaneland and Cary-Grove at home. "It was kind of an interesting night - Huntley is very good but missing a few of their starters, just as we are. But to be honest, at this time of the year, it's all about getting matches in and having the guys get themselves ready for the postseason, which is the most important time of the year in my opinion."

The Marsden pin drew the ire of Bertelsman, who along with his staff felt the referee was too quick to call. That led to a misconduct call and a loss of a team point when the Raiders' coach voiced his displeasure as both Josh Stenger (113) and Ricky Vigil (132) were denied 6-point falls of their own.

The dynamic duo settled for a technical fall and a major decision (from Vigil) to draw the visitors closer at 34-26. But a 9-7 OT decision from Eduardo Diaz over Derrick Gallagren dash the Raiders' hopes at 138 pounds.

"Those calls had nothing to do with the outcome, and I don't want to take anything away from Central's win - they deserved it by winning matches they needed to," said Bertelsman.

"Our upper weights dominated tonight," said Lehr, "and our guys at the bottom did a good job of staying out of bonus point losses, and that's how you win the close ones."

The Tigers host Grayslake Central on Friday, while the Red Raiders host Dundee-Crown.

"Our lower weights carried us tonight, plus our two freshmen, Juan Quiroz (120) and Brad Zbilski (145), competed very well also," said Bertelsman. "We've got to right the ship and stop being so up and down with our wrestling and effort, and once we do, we'll be just fine."

After the dual with Dundee-Crown, the Red Raiders will travel to Glenbard East for a quad on Saturday before beginning preparation for the two-day tournament at Harvard on Dec. 19 and 20.