hook and half Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Only Reitz High School has wrestled Mater Dei more times than Central. Central, founded in 1858, is the oldest continuing operating high school in the United States east of the Allegany Mountains. As the first high school in Evansville, Central has served as a trailblazer in football, basketball and wrestling. Central has had its share of outstanding wrestlers, claiming state champions in Steve Noriega, Anthony Williams, Darren Happe, Brendon Kelley and James Brimm, to name a few. The Mater Dei/Central history is packed with scores of great stories. The first two decades were particularly intense; many duals were decided by the heavyweights. However, the match-ups between 1991 and 1994 were truly special. Bombastic coaches, powerhouse line-ups, unexpected heroes, back-and-forth rivalries were embellished by packed houses; this rivalry had it all. By 1991, Mike Goebel was already a member of the Indiana Wrestling Hall of Fame and had a Team State Championship under his belt. The fiery Goebel found a worthy adversary in Central's Grodie Crick. Crick built a tremendous, top-to-bottom program for the Bears. Hyper-competitive, Crick felt no fear and was intent on defeating the Wildcats. Crick's hard work paid off, as the Bears cracked the state radar as the 19th-ranked team. 2,100 spectators packed Mater Dei’s gym on a bitterly cold January, 1991 evening to watch the Beats and 'Cats square off. “We have the tradition and fan support,” Goebel said. “Our fans have been setting their calendar by this meet for some time and they are a big asset. I’m glad we wrestle here.” Mater Dei’s fans and wrestlers conspired to ensure Central’s demise. 103-pounder Tim Baumgart started the meet with a pin and the rout was on. The Wildcats proceeded to reel off seven consecutive wins to defeat the Bears, 55-2. “We were pretty keyed up,” said Brett McDurmon. “We are always keyed up for Central, and the crowd really got thing going. This was a big match for us.” “This was an education,” conceded Grodie Crick. “We got in the Connersville tournament to get ready for Mater Dei. We didn’t want to get ready for this.” Mater Dei met Central on January 9, 1992 to determine whether or not Mater Dei could win its 29th city championship. The seventh-ranked Bears were 19-0, winning most of their duals by blow-out scores. Mater Dei entered the meet ranked third. At the outset, Grodie Crick was cautiously optimistic. “Mater Dei is a big meet, but it's not the end of the season,” said Crick. “We have to come out and not make mistakes and not get put on our backs. We have to keep our losses to three point decisions and try to pick up pins along the way. The important thing is we want to make it a respectable meet. We have the kids who can do it."Central was hopeful; for the first time in school history, they scheduled a school-wide pep assembly to boost the wrestling team. Tan Bui and Scott Rogge posted technical falls in the first two matches and were followed with wins by Tim Baumgart and Tim Nosko to run the score to 16-0. The score was 19-3 after third-ranked Craig Elpers won a 2-1 nail-biter over the seventh-ranked Cade Swallows at 135. At 160 pounds, Sean Sandwell won a controversial 4-2 decision over Central’s Brandon Peckenpaugh. Assistant Coach Leonard Carr felt that Sandwell had been pinned earlier in the match. During the discussion with the referee, Carr argued too vigorously and was ejected, resulting in a team point deduction. At the end of the day, the penalty was irrelevant as the Wildcats locked up a 40-12 victory. ''We're expecting close to a sellout for the Central meet," said Mater Dei athletic director Joe Dippel of the upcoming, January, 1993 meet with Central. "We've already had calls about tickets. It's the only meet we'll have a presale of tickets. We'll probably have to get traffic control people out here.""I don't know that we've ever had a sellout where we've had to lock the doors and turn people away, but this could be one,” said Mike Goebel."We're getting 500 tickets and I know we'll sell all those,” said Crick. “Everybody I run into asks me about getting tickets. (A Win) would be what we've been working for. This is the big meet in this area."Ranked wrestlers dominated the Central’s middle weights with Dan Ritchie, Reese Hamilton, Cade Swallows, Dan Emerson and Josh Crick. The Bears entered the meet with a ton of confidence, having won the prestigious Connersville Invitational title the previous week, beating three top-20 teams in the process. Their sixth-ranking was the pinnacle of the school’s wrestling history. ''Physically, we'll be fine," said Crick. "Mentally, we have to be ready because Mater Dei will capitalize on any mistake. They are an outstanding dual meet team.” Mater Dei’s campus was hopping. Fans stood, the parking lot was at capacity and cars were parked on Harmony Road and Maryland Street. The two squads did not disappoint. Although Mater Dei opened the match with wins from Kevin Head, Scott Rogge and Jason Hertel, with only a ten-point deficit, Grodie Crick figured that Central was still in the hunt. Next up were Ritchie and Hamilton, the heart of Central’s line up. Crick reckoned that Central had to have wins from both Bears to win. Neither was able to produce. Tim Baumgart ignited the Mater Dei fans, hanging a 3-2 loss on Central’s previously-undefeated Dan Ritchie. The noise in the gym was deafening. Matt Bishop came out smoking hot, putting a five-point move on Hamilton and winning, 8-2. Central was able to rally and tighten the score to 16-7. David Scheu had ideas counter to a Central comeback. Locked in a tied match with time winding down, he uncorked a pin on Shawn Happe to make it 22-7. A technical fall from Matt Armentano and an overtime victory by Jacob Mayer pushed the lead to 30-7. At that point, the final score of the match was academic. In front of a standing room only crowd, the Wildcats initiated the match with five straight wins and victories in eight of the thirteen match-ups, keeping the Wildcats’ 16-year city win streak alive. Final Score: Mater Dei-30, Central-16. "It took everything we had," said Mike Goebel. "Our wrestlers rose to the occasion. You could see it in their eyes going in they were going to give it everything they had." "They're number-one and several of the matches were close,” said Crick. “I'm not happy with the loss, but we'll meet again. It's a long season." The rivalry hit its zenith in the 1993-1994 season. Central’s 3000-seat gym was sold out for the December 20 match between the home team and the Wildcats. Entering the match, Mater Dei matched its number three-ranking, 10-0 record and 52-match winning streak against Central’s 18-1 record and number four-ranking. "They're going to get on us early," said Central coach Grodie Crick. "We have to keep the score as close as we can. The quicker we find a stopper, the better our chances to make it real interesting."''We've got some tremendous matchups," said Mike Goebel. ''It'll be one of the showpieces for this season. We won't play up any aspect of it; every match is going to be so important." “When you step into a gym like this, jam-packed with people right on top of you, it’s just incredible,” said Crick. “When we go around the state, we wrestle in front of some good crowds, but nothing like we had last year against Central,” said Mike Goebel. “It’s really amazing to see two great teams like this get together and to see the excitement that it generates. I don’t know another match in the state that draws the crowd this does.”Mater Dei boasted two unbeaten wrestlers in Scott Rogge and Jeff McDurmon, while Central countered with the undefeated Darren Happe. The meat of the Central lineup also included Dan Emerson, James Brimm and Josh Crick. The trio had a combined loss total of three. The previous week’s win at the Connersville Invitational title boosted Central to their school’s highest-ever state ranking. “Central has an outstanding team,” said Goebel. “They've definitely got some favorites. Brimm is a world-class athlete." The evening had an ominous beginning as Mater Dei's Kevin Head, returning from illness, did not make weight at 103 pounds. Enter freshman Joey Mayer, making his first-ever varsity appearance. 3000 howling, partisan fans raised the roof as the freshman toed the line. The Mater Dei nail biting need not have occurred as the ice-water-in-his-veins Mayer pinned Central’s Brandon Iafrate with 60 seconds left in the match. The win ignited the crowd and the team. The ‘Cats proceeded to go on a 27-0 run before Central could draw any blood. Mater Dei closed out the Bears with a 32-19 victory. Central’s athletic director, Bill Asbury, said it was the biggest wrestling crowd in school history. ''I'd say the people got their money's worth," Crick said. In 1993, Mike Goebel had described the upcoming SIAC meet as "The toughest ever." On the line for the Wildcats was its 15-year death grip on the SIAC championship. ''We know we're going to war," Mike Goebel said.The primary combatants were the second-ranked Wildcats, the fourth-ranked Central Bears and the sixth-ranked Knights of Castle. Mater Dei brought its 60-meet winning streak; the longest in the state. All 13 Wildcat wrestlers were seeded. For the Bears, years of frustration and “close but no cigar” came to an end as the Bears broke Mater Dei’s stranglehold on the SIAC, edging the ‘Cats for the team title with 205.5 points to Mater Dei’s 204.5. ''You have to give Central and Castle credit because they wrestled well," Mike Goebel said.After their historic loss to Central, the Wildcats took a week of intense practices to prepare for the storm that was sure to occur at the January 29th sectional. This time around, the ‘Cats prevailed. Brad Folz and Brandon Cox took the sectional into their own hands. Atoning for his SIAC loss, Folz delivered, winning the championship with a 6-2 decision over Central’s Aaron Beck. Brandon Cox, also looking to erase the painful memories from the previous week, faced the Central coach’s son, Josh Crick, in the sectional final. Wining his match Cox delivered the 'Cats a sectional title. The lead up to the Castle Regional indicated it was going to be a humdinger. The third-ranked Wildcats would headline, followed by the fourth-ranked Central Bears, the fifth-ranked Castle Knights, and a newly ranked team, the 19th-ranked Southridge Raiders. Twenty ranked wrestlers were part of the field. Fan interest was sky-high. Event planners believed that the previous year’s attendance record of 4356 would be eclipsed. This fifth day of February belonged Mater Dei. In the process, the Wildcats won their sixth straight regional title. Their 126 point total was the lowest in more than ten years, but was enough to head the 17-team field. Central had 102 points for second, followed by Castle. *** Evansville-area wrestling fans will tell you that the Central/Mater Dei rivalry of the period detailed here was likely the greatest since the Reitz/Mater Dei match-ups between 1965 and 1975. A number of photographs from the 1994 meet adorn the walls of Mater Dei's wrestling room. Close-up shots of the crowd captured the hysteria of the moment. The 4536 attending the 1993 Castle Regional remains an IHSAA regional attendance record. *** Central's Dan Emerson and Reese Hamilton wrestled for Wabash College. While at Wabash they developed a close friendship with their teammate, Mater Dei's Matt Armentano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markio Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Great read, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvertone1696 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 +1 nice post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayruss Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I was there at that SIAC, I was like 9 years old , and that place was a rocking! Central was so darn good back then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backtothemat Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Great stuff John. I plan on buying the book as soon as my kid graduates high school in fear of comitting treason if you know what I mean! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hook and half Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Great stuff John. I plan on buying the book as soon as my kid graduates high school in fear of comitting treason if you know what I mean! No shame in buying it now! You will recall that your Knights, under bob harmon's tutelage, won their first semi state that year. It's all in the book. backtothemat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eville Dad Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I wrestled for Central a long time ago for Coach Tommy Turner. He liked to talk about how he and Coach Gossman introduced the sport to Evansville High Schools. I don't remember the whole story or how accurate it is, but he liked telling it. He was a great guy and coached wrestling for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoMD Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Crick did himself in and his team by wearing purple singlets. Their school colors were brown and yelow. It really motivated the Wildcats that night to rip em up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts