Bulldogs pull off a first in 40 years

Paulsboro had better balance.

Paulsboro won more toss-up bouts.

Paulsboro won more bouts, period.

But Haddonfield brought the big thunder to Paulsboro's sold-out-and-then-some gymnasium Friday night.

In a highly anticipated clash of the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in South Jersey, the Bulldogs won in the most dramatic, emphatic fashion - by scoring pins in five of their six victories, including Rob Schlitt's remarkable win at 160 pounds.

"No way I was thinking 'pin,' " Schlitt said after rallying Haddonfield to a 33-31 victory over Paulsboro in a Colonial Conference classic.

This was more than a wrestling match. This was an event.

That's why they opened the doors three hours before the first bout.

That's why spectators had the gymnasium nearly filled by 5 p.m. for a scheduled 7 p.m. start.

That's why there was a "Sold Out" sign hanging on the front door of the Paulsboro gymnasium by 6 p.m.

But not even the guy who got there at 4 p.m. and found a seat behind the press table - followed quickly by several-hundred fellow enthusiasts, as well as a few-dozen sorry souls stuck outside in the 12-degree cold - could have imagined the way this match would turn in the final two bouts.

Paulsboro losing a Colonial Conference match at home?

Hadn't happened in 40 years.

Paulsboro losing when the Red Raiders were holding a 31-24 lead with two of their better wrestlers on deck for the final two bouts?

Didn't seem possible.

Except on the Haddonfield bench.

"I just had a feeling we were going to do it somehow," said Haddonfield senior Kris Rahn, who scored a quick pin at 215 pounds in the second bout of the night.

This looked to be Paulsboro's match, even as Haddonfield was racking up four pins through the first 11 bouts.

The Red Raiders, ranked No. 1 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, won toss-up matches as Eric McMullen took a 5-1 double-overtime victory at 189 pounds, Juan Rivera won a 5-3 decision at 119 pounds, and Nick Knauer won a 5-1 decision at 135 pounds. In all, Paulsboro won eight of 14 bouts.

"We've still got a lot of work to do," said Haddonfield coach Pete DiPol, a Paulsboro graduate. "I really don't think we did our job in a lot of those matches. We can wrestle a lot better than this."

Pinners change everything, though.

They change the momentum and they change the score in a big way, putting six points on the board.

Haddonfield got pins from Rahn and 112-pounder Kyle Klaus - who registered the 100th win of his career - as well as 125-pounder Kevin Gregorio and 145-pounder Will Dengler.

Those were big points.

Those were big statements.

"I told Will Dengler I had a dream that he was going to pin his guy," DiPol said. "I said, 'You're getting six tonight, baby.' But I didn't dream about Schlitt getting six."

That was the key match. Schlitt was behind, 6-4, against Anthony Dawson before scoring a stunning pin at the 3-minute, 19-second mark.

"I thought, 'Oh, my God, it's there,' " said Schlitt, a junior.

The fifth pin of the night sent the Haddonfield fans into a frenzy, cut the Red Raiders' lead to 31-30, and set the stage for the last bout.

That's when Haddonfield senior Sam Haley ground out a gutsy 5-3 decision over Matt Cosgrove at 171 pounds to clinch the victory for the Bulldogs.

But it was the big thunder that made the big difference.

"You have to have pinners," Paulsboro coach Paul Morina said. "That's how you win a team match - stay off your back and pick up pins."