Eckert leads Roxbury over Hanover Park

ROXBURY – Football didn’t work out as planned for Roxbury’s Todd Eckert, but wrestling has fiilled the bill for the junior - and for the Gaels.

The 195-pounder beat Hanover Park’s Eric Boccard, 6-4, in one of Thursday night’s pivotal matches and the Gaels, ranked fifth in the Daily Record’s weekly Top 10, went on to score a 33-26 victory over the No. 2 Hornets.

Eckert had a first-period takedown and a second-period reversal and then held off Boccard the rest of the way. Eckert’s victory gave the Gaels a 15-11 lead at the time.

“Football didn’t work out, so I dedicated myself to wrestling,” Eckert said. “I left football in August. I needed something for all of my energy.”

Eckert wrestled in Roxbury’s youth wrestling program but gave it up in favor of football. This is his first year back.

“Little by little, match by match, you can see it,” Roxbury coach Jim Dolan said. “He’s learning and making an impact. He’s getting back into it.”

Away from Roxbury’s daily practices, Eckert has been getting extra help from former Roxbury state champion Ron Standridge as well as Eckert’s brother Kyle.

“They’ve been a big help to me,” he said.

The Gaels received some help from other individuals Thursday night. At 152, Tommy Miller broke up a 1-1 tie when he threw Matthew Santos to his back for a fall in five minutes. That sliced Hanover’s 8-0 early lead to 8-6.

Then at 160, Craig Roumes beat Anthony Olivieri, 4-1, who placed fifth in the Beast Of the East two weeks ago. Roumes’ victory gave the Gaels a 9-8 lead. At 170, Roxbury’s Justin Bacilo captured a 3-1 win over Rory DeLuca in another toss-up bout. Bacilo made a first-period takedown stand up.

The Gaels continued their strong showing in the upper weights at 220, when Clayton O’Leary pinned Pat Julich in 3:19. At 285, Donovan Webber stayed off his back despite being severely outweighed by Hanover’s Thomas Hunt in Hunt’s 4-1 victory.

At 113, Roxbury’s Ryan Larrahando captured an 8-1 win over Jon Silva to give the Gaels a 24-20 lead. Troy Stanich of Roxbury (120) pushed his team closer to victory when he pinned Sean Conley in 3:13 after building a 5-0 first-period lead.

The Gaels clinched the win when Rickey Riemers beat Leo Stefanelli, 8-1.

“We wrestled against a great team and a lot of our kids stepped up tonight and wrestled solid,” Dolan said.

Gene Angelo and Christian Bassolino began the evening with major decisions for Hanover Park. Mason Sangillo and Hunt were the other victors in the match, while Gerard Angelo and Austin Nash each won by forfeit for the Hornets.

Roxbury 33, Hanover Park 26

106: Gerard Angelo (H) won by forfeit; 113: Ryan Larrahando (R) dec. Jon Silva, 8-1; 120: Troy Stanich (R) pin. Sean Conley, 3:13; 126: Rickey Riemers (R) dec. Leo Stefanelli, 8-1; 132: Austin Nash (H) won by forfeit; *138: Gene Angelo (H) maj. dec. Mike Roumes, 14-2; 145: Christian Bassolino (H) maj. dec. RJ Day, 11-3; 152: Tommy Miller (R) pin. Matthew Santos, 5:00; 160: Craig Roumes (R) dec. Anthony Olivieri, 4-1; 170: Justin Bacilo (R) dec. Rory DeLuca, 3-1; 182: Mason Sangillo (H) dec. Aaron Sanchez, 6-3; 195: Todd Eckert (R) dec. Eric Boccard, 6-4; 220: Clayton O’Leary (R) pin. Pat Julich, 3:19; HWT: Thomas Hunt (H) dec. Donovan Webber, 4-1.

*-First match