The win was surely slipping away from Concord’s Alex Buteau. Timberlane’s Ryan Cole, perhaps the top 220-pound wrestler in the state, only needed to escape Buteau’s grasp to win in triple overtime.
Cole was practically there, too, all but his ankle free from Buteau, who was sprawled on the mat. Yet somehow Buteau held on, clawing, fighting and spinning his way to the win that gave his team a six-point lead over the powerhouse Owls.
“I knew I had to do whatever it takes to get the win for my team,” Buteau said. “I was thinking of my team at that point.”
The team, however, couldn’t hang on like its 220-pounder. Timberlane won four of the next five matches, all by pin, to turn its six-point deficit into a 15-point lead and an eventual 42-24 win.
It was the first dual-meet loss of the season for Concord (14-1), which hasn’t beaten Timberlane head-to-head since 2007. But the Crimson Tide liked its effort against the Owls, who have won 16 of the last 17 Division I team titles and are 21-1 this season in duals with the only loss coming against Danbury, Conn.
“Our kids weren’t intimidated, I think they stepped up and met the challenge,” Concord Coach Ham Munnell said. “And Timberlane wrestled well, too, they showed up and they weren’t intimidated. It was a big atmosphere and I think both teams rose to the occasion and battled.”
“I think this will be great for us,” Buteau said. “Wrestling against Timberlane like this before the D-I tournament shows that we have toughness, and it also opened our eyes about what we need to bring to the D-I tournament. I think this is a positive for us, definitely a positive.”
The Tide certainly started on a positive foot as Isaac Gladey claimed a 5-1 win at 152 to start the night. After a scoreless first period, Gladey fell behind early in the second before reeling off five straight points, eliciting screams from the Concord half of the packed gym.
“The school is great and the student body is great to come out and support us like this,” Munnell said. “That’s because of the kids in the program and their character, that’s why they come out.”
Next up was Chris Munnell, the coach’s son who was one of those honored before the match on Senior Night. Munnell, a Concord captain, squared off with Dylan Hughes, a Timberlane captain, and had to fight for a 1-0 decision that gave Concord a 6-0 lead.
“I wanted to get the six points (with a pin) for my team, but at least I got the win,” Munnell said. “And it was on Senior Night, so that was kind of special.”
Timberlane’s Dylan Tremblay got the six points for his team with a pin at 170 to tie things, but Concord’s George Tarwo answered with a first-period pin to push Concord’s lead back to 12-6.
The Owls then got a 5-2 win from Jacob Post at 195 before Buteau pulled off Concord’s win of the night to give his team that 15-9 advantage.
That’s when Timberlane went on its decisive run, winning by pin at 285, 113, 120 and 126 to go up, 27-18. Tide freshman Sam Wagner broke up that run with an impressive win at 106.
The toughest loss for Concord during that stretch came at 113, where Jake Linquata wresteld well and worked a two-point reverese in the last 10 seconds to force overtime against Taylor Donovan. Linquata fought off a shot from Donovan early in the extra session and tried to turn it into offense, but Donovan caught Linquata and earned the overtime pin.
Desperate for some momentum after the losses at 120 and 126, Concord got it when Ben Widmann stormed onto the mat at 132 and pinned Timberlane’s Casy Broadhurst in just 36 seconds, the quickest pin of the match.
“Ben has been adjusting to Division I and adjusting to being a Concord kid (he transferred from John Stark this year), and I was really happy for him to see him come out on top on the big stage tonight,” Coach Munnell said.
Widmann’s win made it 33-24 with two matches left, meaning Concord had a chance to pull out the win.
“After watching the Super Bowl, we were thinking it was possible,” the younger Munnell said. “That’s what I was thinking anyway, anything is possible.”
But the comeback bid edned when Cody Lewis earned a hard-fought decision at 138 against Concord sophomore Forest MacKenzie. Timberlane’s Justin Berube closed out the scoring with a technical fall win at 145.
“We’ve got to learn from this and not get down on ourselves,” Chris Munnell said. “It would have been awesome if we won, but it’s not D-I (that tournament is on Feb. 18 in Londonderry). We have bigger goals ahead of us, and that’s it.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or at tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)