By Alex Frazier
Meet…Rob Smothers
There are some wrestlers who win with finesse.
Then there are those that come at you relentlessly.
Like a bulldog.
That would be Souderton’s Rob Smothers.
As coach Stan Smith described him, “There’s nothing fancy about him. It’s just that he keeps the pressure on the guy and does what he has to do to win.”
Smothers’ technique is working quite well as he is 23-3 so far this year.
A senior, Smothers has shown improvement every year. As a freshman he was 4-5. He improved upon that as a sophomore, going 13-17. His junior year was his first winning season at 20-12, and he qualified for regionals.
“Every year he’s done better and better,” said Smith. “He surprises me because he’s not impressive in practice, and he’s not impressive out on the mat, but he’s tenacious. He just keeps coming, keeps coming, keeps coming, keeps coming, and he gets the job done.”
Smothers is not one of Souderton’s most dedicated wrestlers, but he does attend off-season practices, and he does get the job done when it’s time to.
“You can just see it when he’s out there,” said Smith. “He keeps fighting and fighting and keeps it close.”
Typically Smothers will start slow and come on in the third period.
“Because of his tenacity by the third period he wears the guy down and does what he needs to do and wins,” said Smith. “He’s an unusual wrestler like that.”
Last year Smothers wrestled 215, but this year he dropped to 189, switching places with Souderton’s state qualifier Joe Stolfi.
“At the end of last year I told Stolfi, Smothers, (Sidney) Outlaw and (Joe) McNamara that it’s important for the team that the four them are at different weight classes, because they are four quality wrestlers.”
Since Smothers was smaller than Stolfi, he was the one to drop. Outlaw at 171 and McNamara at 285 give the Big Red a potent quartet at the top.
In fact, the four have a combined record of 160-17.
District Duals – This year’s duals provided fans with a lot of tense excitement as well as some unpredictability.
The biggest upset in the tournament was No. 13 Norristown defeating No. 4 Quakertown. No. 11 Upper Moreland also knocked off No. 6 Spring-Ford 33-24.
In less than a week the Golden Bears went from elation to dejection. Coach Stefan Muller was notified by one of his wrestlers the day before the quarterfinals that he had a mark on his face. Muller told him to get it checked out by a doctor and didn’t take him to the tournament. After weigh-ins, he received a message that the wrestler was confirmed with mat herpes.
When Muller told the officials, they contacted the PIAA, which said that legally he could wrestle since no one else appeared infected, but they urged that the team not compete. Muller then pulled his team from the tournament, giving Boyertown a bye to the semifinals.
“It was a decision that had to be made,” said Muller.
Anyone associated with local wrestling knows the reputation of Boyertown, but just in case, the No. 3 Bears proved the quality of their program once again by routing No. 2 Council Rock North 48-18 in the semis.
And they squeaked past No. 1-seed Rock South, who was missing starters Dalton Wiltrout and Shane Gilmore, in the finals by pinning in the final bout at heavyweight.
Around the league – The snow has pretty much wiped out the week’s schedule, but teams should be back in action this weekend. The whole SOL slate was obliterated for both Wednesday and Thursday, which means a lot of teams will be making up matches next week before sectionals begin on Saturday.
A big match next week between Upper Moreland and Norristown will decide the American Conference title. Last year Norristown won the finale. This year should be another exciting conclusion to the season when the Golden Bears travel to Norristown Tuesday at 7 p.m. (barring snow, of course, which happens to be predicted).
Council Rock South also has to win out against Pennsbury and Abington to claim another National Conference title. The Hawks will wrestle back-to-back matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This weekend William Tennent hosts the Panther Duals with C.B. South and Neshaminy attending.
Council Rock South and North will be in Hershey for the PIAA State Duals. Rock South takes on Central Mountain Friday, and Rock North will take on the winner of the first-round match between Perry and Kiski.
Will we see a rematch between the Hawks’ Josh Dziewa and Central Mountain’s Andrew Alton? Both are ranked first in the state, Dziewa at 140 and Alton at 145. They met once before this year when Dziewa went up a weight to wrestle him and lost 10-6 in the finals of the Escape the Rock Tournament.
Other SOL teams will have individual matches Friday and Saturday.
TOP Five SOL
1. Council Rock South
2. Council Rock North
3. Norristown
4. Quakertown
5. Upper Moreland
Top Guns
103—Billy Rappo, Council Rock South
112—Mike Mathis, Central Bucks South
119—Chris McGinley, Central Buck West
125—Scott Wolfinger, Quakertown
130—Tim Santry, Upper Moreland
135— Josh Dziewa, Council Rock South
140— Matt Martoccio, Council Rock South
145—Brandon Parker, Norristown
152— Eric Koch, Quakertown
160— John Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh
171—Bobby Lavelle, Council Rock South
189—Jamie Callender, Council Rock North
215—Joe Stolfi, Souderton
285—Marcus Robbins, Norristown
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