West Deptford ends half-century drought against wrestling foe Paulsboro

WEST DEPTFORD – The drought is finally over for the West Deptford High School wrestling team.

The Eagles didn’t just break the stranglehold Paulsboro had on them for the last half-century. They accomplished the feat in complete domination with a 53-16 rout over the Raiders on Thursday night, earning their first win over Big Red since 1968.

“This is just crazy,” senior Marcus Carter, who was in the middle of the wild celebration inside the West Deptford gymnasium. “It’s just very emotional.”

Senior Anthony Catando added, ““It feels amazing. We just made history. I never thought this day would come.”

Generations of Eagles wrestlers and fans felt the same way, including first-year head coach James Shields.

Shields faced the same question every year from his granddad.

“My whole life it’s always the first thing he asked, ‘Are we going to beat Paulsboro this year?’” Shields said.

More: Same coach, different title for West Deptford's James Shields

His grandad, James “Jimmer” Shields, certainly knew the last time the Eagles knocked off their biggest rival. He was a senior on the team in 1968 when the Eagles, under then-head coach Butch Drozdov, earned a 26-12 victory over the Raiders.

Jimmer was in attendance as he watched West Deptford dismantle Paulsboro, winning 11 straight bouts, including five by fall.

“This is absolutely amazing,” Shields said. “This is such a big match because of how great Paulsboro is. That community, that program, those coaches. I inspire to be somebody like Coach Paul Morina. That’s a man that went to his high school, went back to coach and is arguably the best coach in New Jersey history, if not the United States.

"That's why this is such a big deal for us."

West Deptford won the toss, putting the plan of bumping its lineup up in perfect motion.

Senior Nick Graziano, giving up 15 pounds to his opponent, started West Deptford’s run with a third-period at 175. Chris Andujar (190) and Marcus Carter (215) each followed with major decisions before Andrew Tighe, who was 51 pounds lighter than his heavyweight opponent, notched a second-period fall.

Ryan McConaghy (106) and Talen Terinoni (113) delivered clutch decisions but it was Anthony Catando’s pin at 120 that almost brought the house down. After losing his starting role, Catando found himself back in the lineup when the Eagles bumped the lineup up again.

“That’s high character right there,” Shields said. “He earned that. He was a three-year starter for us and lost his starting spot as a senior. He didn’t go home, didn’t cry, didn’t mope. He came back in the room the next day and got to work. He’s a hard worker and a great teammate. I’m so happy for him.”

Catando, who improved to 3-1, said he was ready for the challenge. And that attitude helped him produce one of the biggest pins in West Deptford history.

“I had nothing to lose,” he said. “Just always staying tough, always being prepared. That’s how you get through the tough times.”

On the other side, Paulsboro fans sat in stunned silence for most of the evening, mimicking the Raiders’ bench as the losses continued to pile up.

Morina said West Deptford was the “hungrier team” and complimented the Eagles’ balanced lineup.

“It’s a loss for us,” Morina said. “Our kids have to fight off our backs. If you can’t do that, you’re going to find yourself in a big hole. That was the most disappointing part (of the match).”

By the numbers

Paulsboro’s string of 123 consecutive wins in the Colonial Conference came to an end. Haddonfield was the last conference team to beat the Raiders with a 33-31 decision in 2011.

Paulsboro is 476-12-1 in Colonial Conference action since 1965, including a 349-4 mark under Morina since the 1985-86 season.

The Raiders have won 53 conference titles in the last 54 years.

Paulsboro surrendered 50-plus points in a meet for just the third time in its history. Phillipsburg won a 63-9 decision in 2012 and Delsea earned a 55-12 victory in last year’s Boresch Duals.

Paulsboro won three bouts in the meet - two by forfeit to Roman Onorato to start the night and another to Chase Bish in the final bout.

West Deptford had two golden opportunities to end the drought earlier, but lost a pair of one-point decisions in 1996 and 1997.

The Eagles' only other wins over Paulsboro came in 1967 and 1968.

The Results

West Deptford 53, Paulsboro 16

157: Roman Onorato, P, forfeit; 165: Sawyer Cabanas, md. James Derocini, 13-3; 175: Nick Graziano, WD, p. Luke Metz, 4:36; 190: Chris Andujar, WD, md. Austin Willetts, 10-2; 215: Marcus Carter, WD, md. Frank Damminger, 9-1; 285: Andrew Tighe, p. Jared Hazel, 3:18; 106: Ryan McConaghy, WD, d. Will Cruz, 7-4; 113: Talen Terinoni, d. Hayden Holmes, 3-0; 120: Anthony Catando, WD, p. Audre Hill, 1:24; 126: Brayden Curcio, WD, p. Lucas Gazzola, 4:33; 132: Anthony Conway-Popeskic, WD, forfeit; 138: Owen Entrekin, WD, p. Kyare Harvey, 3:27; 144: Trevor Lundfelt, WD, d. Sean Daniels, 4-2; 150: Chase Bish, P, forfeit.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: West Deptford ends 56-year losing streak to wrestling rival Paulsboro