Manteca needed clutch wins from the big boys to seal its surprising 39-27 win over visiting Central Catholic on Wednesday. The Buffaloes then used the momentum to crush Weston Ranch 53-12 in the Valley Oak League double-dual match at Winter Gym.

Against traditional power Central Catholic, Matt Maddox came-through with the go-ahead pin in the 220-pound match before heavyweight Carlos Hernandez won by fall in just 32 seconds to ignite the celebration. 

“We were all pretty excited in the end,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “We knew we could compete, but we needed to move past the moral victories and I think the guys did it tonight.”

Austin Welch (170) was the lone Buffalo to win both of his matches Wednesday. Varnum also lauded the efforts of 126-pounder Dominic Day, a first-year wrestler who split his two highly-competitive bouts.

Varnum added that it was especially a momentous night for Manteca graduate Vincent Bordi, who now serves as an assistant coach for his alma mater after helping out with the Weston Ranch program the past few seasons. Bordi was the state’s runner-up finisher in the 215-pound bracket his senior year back in 2006.

“We talked about wanting to take a big step forward tonight and we definitely did that,” Varnum said. “Getting coach Bordi back has been a huge, huge difference, and that has definitely showed.”

Manteca’s junior varsity squad also picked up two wins, defeating Central Catholic 42-6 and Weston Ranch, 42-18.

East Union 64,

Lathrop 15

Lathrop won three of the first five matches in the lower weights, one by forfeit, but it was all East Union from there at Dalben Center.

The host Lancers claimed the final eight matches, a run that included six straight pins and seven total. Freshman Anthony Contreras (145) lit the fuse with a dramatic 5-minute, 22-second fall after trailing Keonnee Linell 13-8 in the third period. 

Ruben Gallegos (160), Levi Huffman (170) and Apollo Holmes (195) made quick work of their opponents, needing less than a minute to record pinfall victories. Daniel Huerta (152), Joel Melena (182) and Jaysen Reindel (285) followed with pins of their own. Jason Betlej (126) also won via fall, while Damon Cabanos (138) picked up a decision win.

Kim Vega scored the first points of the match for Lathrop with a pin in 3:10 in the 106-pound match. Cristian Garcia nipped Enrique Mendoza 4-1 at 132.