WRESTLING

Morris Knolls' Drugac twins place second in NJSIAA final

Joe Hofmann
Correspondent
DePaul's Brandon Kui vs Morris Knolls Luke Drugac at 182 lbs. bout at NJSIAA State Wrestling Tournament Final in Atlantic City, NJ on March 6, 2016

ATLANTIC CITY - Neither Luke nor Dean Drugac won state championships at Boardwalk Hall on Sunday. Both took second.

That’s the small picture.

The bigger picture, the more meaningful one, the one that lasts a lifetime, is a lot more uplifting.

The twin brothers out of Morris Knolls High School wrestled in the state finals and had the time of their lives competing in front of some 10,000 fans.

DePaul's Brandon Kui vs Morris Knolls Luke Drugac at 182 lbs. bout at NJSIAA State Wrestling Tournament Final in Atlantic City, NJ on March 6, 2016

Luke Drugac dropped a 5-4 decision to DePaul’s Brandon Kui in the 182-pound final.

“Being out there was a great feeling,” Luke Drugac said. “This is what we shoot for. I had chills while warming up. Putting my ankle band on, I was nervous. I would have liked to have won, but I’ll never forget this.”

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Dean Drugac (195) lost a 5-1 decision to Bergen Catholic’s returning champion Kevin Mulligan.

“This was awesome,” Dean Drugac said. “I’m a senior, so this’ll never happen again. I am being hard on myself for losing, but tomorrow, I think this will start sinking in.”

Kevin Mulligan of Bergen Catholic vs Dean Drugac of Morris Knolls in their 195 lbs. bout at NJSIAA State Wrestling Tournament Final in Atlantic City, NJ on March 6, 2016

“I am so proud of those two kids,” Golden Eagles coach Joe Barchetto added. “This sport is tough; one day you’re on, one day you’re off. I’m hoping that midget wrestlers in town will look at them and say, ‘I want to be like the Drugacs.’ ”

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Saturday, both had wild, dramatic victories to reach the finals.

Luke recovered from a five-point deficit and had a takedown in the closing seconds to stun Bridgewater’s Kyle Murphy, 7-6. Dean needed overtime to beat Wall’s Joseph McKenzie, 4-3.

But both met their match yesterday.

Kui had defeated Luke Drugac at Region 1, 11-5. This time, Drugac kept the match closer, but he couldn’t overcome Kui.

The two were scoreless after one period, and Drugac had a short-lived lead after an escape in the second period. Kui struck first with a takedown before Drugac escaped again to tie it at 2-2.

Kui had an escape and takedown for a 5-3 lead in the third and held on.

“I have a better feeling about how I wrestled than at the regions,” Luke said. “I am good friends with Brandon. It was a fun ride, especially doing it with Dean.”

Dean Drugac of Morris Knolls (top) wrestles Kevin Mulligan of Bergen Catholic in a 195-pound bout during the NJSIAA Tournament in Atlantic City, NJ on March 6, 2016

Dean Drugac couldn’t get any attack going against Mulligan, who had a takedown in the first period and another in the second. Mulligan rode Drugac for the entire third period.

“I’m disappointed, but this was great, especially with Luke by my side,” Drugac said. “There’s no one else I would have wanted to go through this with. We shared a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the last four years of our lives.”

They’ll continue sharing next year, when they wrestle at Old Dominion University.

“Both boys have a great head on their shoulders and come from a great family,” Barchetto said. “They’ll do great in college.”