Carlmont Scots dominate in win over HMB

Hosting the Cougars in a key Bay Division showdown, Carlmont absolutely dominated in Belmont Thursday evening. The Scots won the first six matches on their way to victories in nine of the 14 weight classes. Of their nine victories, five came via pin.

Carlmont co-head coach Ricardo Garcia said that Half Moon Bay is still the standard by which the PAL is judged and he’s hoping his squad can change that perception.

“We came out of here two years ago (following a loss to the Cougars) and kids were crying. They were beat up, feelings hurt, physically hurt,” Garcia said. “[HMB] made up better. They elevated our game.”

The win moves Carlmont into a first-place tie with El Camino, as both sport 3-0 records in Bay Division dual meets.

Half Moon Bay, on the other hand, finds itself in an unfamiliar position — saddled with two Bay Division losses in the Cougars’ first three matches of the PAL schedule.

“We’re having a rebuilding year. … We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the lineup,” said Half Moon Bay head coach Sam Temko. “We knew it would be a tough night.”

Half Moon Bay (1-2 PAL Bay) wrestled tough in the middle and upper weights, but Carlmont dominated the lower weights. The Scots picked up a quick six points when U’i Lobato won by forfeit at 106 pounds.

It was the only forfeit of the night.

The Scots picked up another six points at 113 Christopher Lam got a first-round pin, followed by a third Carlmont win when Gabe Osorio was awarded the win via an injury default, leading 10-1 in his 120-pound match.

That led to arguably the best match of the evening, as Carlmont’s Brandon Osorio faced off with HMB’s Ivan Landin, a paring that was nip-and-tuck the entire way.

Landin got a three-point takedown late in the first period, with Brandon Osorio getting a near fall and a near stoppage as time ran out on the round.

But 15 seconds into the second period, Brandon Osorio got his near fall, notching four points to take a 4-3 lead.

It was short lived, however, as Landin recorded a two-point reversal before the pair locked up in which both looked to be in trouble. It seemed Landin was squeezing in for the pin, but Brandon Osorio just kept working. He eventually gained control and rolled Landin into a pin with 15 seconds left in the second round.

That made Carlmont 4-for-4 on the mat as the Scots bolted out to a 24-0 lead.

“The [early] matches are important because they set the tone,” Garcia said. “(Brandon) Osorio did a great job, but we don’t have any superstars. We have a lot of balance.”

Caleb Nakagawa made it five Carlmont wins in a row as he was toying with his opponent at 132, building up a 12-2 lead midway though the third period before getting the fall and pushing the Scots’ lead to 30-0.

Gabriel Garcia-Procopio finally got Half Moon Bay on the scoreboard, getting a first-round pin at 138. That was followed by a second straight win for the Cougars, as Isaiah Bautista controlled his match at 144, riding his opponent for almost the entirety of the second and third rounds on his way to a 7-0 win.

Was this the beginning of an epic Cougars’ comeback?

Nope.

Carlmont would go on to win the next four matches. Nicolaas Foks built up a 13-0 lead until winning by pin early in the third round in his 150-pound match; Lance Navarro rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to win his 157-pound match 10-4. Riley Fryman followed with a majority decision, 12-3 win, at 165 to push the Scots lead to 43-9. That was followed by a second-round pin by Jack Boerner at 175.

HMB’s Andrew Haro snapped the Scots’ run with a 10-4 win at 190. That was followed by Zach Broady Broad building up a 7-0 lead through two periods on his way to a 7-3 win for the Cougars at 217.

In the final match of the night, the two heavyweights faced off. The HMB wrestler came out aggressively, but Carlmont’s Kenjiro Barajas weathered the early storm, got a takedown and finished off the night with a rousing pin just 21 seconds into the match, which drew an eruption of celebration from the Carlmont bench and the Scots’ fans.

Despite the lopsided loss, Temko didn’t believe his team wrestler poorly.

“Carlmont is the better team,” Temko said. “And the scoreboard looked like a blowout. But I think our kids showed up and wrestled. … I’m happy with the way the guys wrestled.”