Dogs down Grand Ledge to win Regional Title
2/15/2017by Livingston Daily

HOLT — How sweet it is for the Brighton wrestling team.

 

The same Brighton team that constantly heard throughout the season that it was a year or two away, that listened to outsiders say it should be great in the future but is probably too young to contend this season, is heading to the Division 1 state meet.

 

Not only that, but the Bulldogs did it by exacting their revenge on Grand Ledge.

 

They first downed Grand Ledge — the team that defeated them at the same point a season ago — with a comeback, 44-21, victory, and then secured their spot at Central Michigan’s McGuirk Arena as one of the final eight alive in D1 with a, 37-28, win over Holt.

 

“I’m so happy for our seniors,” Brighton coach Tony Greathouse said. “Outside of Lee (Grabowski), the rest of them were really not huge factors on our state championship team two years ago. Then, last year was a deflating year, the way we ended it. And, outside of Lee, none of them have been to states individually.

 

“So for them to have something to hang their hats on, to get us back to the state tournament, it’s really only the sixth time Brighton’s ever made it to the quarterfinals. So it’s a pretty big deal and it’s very cool for them.”

 

The battle between No. 7 Brighton and Grand Ledge was the night’s most anticipated.

 

The Comets got the best of the Bulldogs in the regional semifinals last year, shocking many across the state by knocking off the defending state champions by a score of 34-26, not allowing Brighton a chance to defend its crown at the state meet.

 

Of course, that angered the Bulldogs, and they waited a year to let that anger out.

 

Although this Brighton team had only three individually-ranked guys — whereas last year it had seven — the Bulldogs had proven they have a bunch of very-solid, very-skilled athletes, as evidenced by sending 12 wrestlers to individual regionals, tying a school record.

 

In fact, it was those unranked wrestlers that shined brightest.

 

Seniors Jake Soop and Seth Soto got crucial wins, most notably Soop’s first — a pin in 1 minute and 30 seconds over Grand Ledge’s Wesley Barnes at 189 pounds — to begin the rematch against the Comets on an absolutely perfect note.

 

“(Soop) had a great night,” Greathouse said. “The kid from Grand Ledge, he beat at districts, and we got the matchup we wanted, which was him to wrestle that kid again. But you would think the kid would be able to close the gap, but Jake just took him down.

 

“It was a really good way to start the night and get going.”

 

Gritty freshman Eddie Homrock picked up two clutch victories, scoring an 8-4 decision over the Comets’ 119-pounder Ryan Legal to pull the Bulldogs within nine, 18-9, and then a 7-4 victory at the same weight against Holt, making the score 15-9.

 

And Dane Donabedian sparked a 32-point rally vs. Grand Ledge.  The Dogs freshman finished off the Comets’ Adam Castaneda in 3:25 to score six and whittle the deficit to three. Including his triumph at 135 pounds, the Bulldogs would win their final six matches to turn an 11-point deficit into a 23-point thrashing.

 

“His pin was big,” Homrock said. “We all expected a close match. When he got the pin, it was a huge momentum swing.”

 

“Yeah, it was huge,” Greathouse said. “And it was one of those where that kid was pretty tough. I think he took fourth at districts at (135), so he’s a regional qualifier and not a bad kid. And we really needed to get going.

 

“We knew we had Lee, (Nick) Bleise and Harley (Berne) coming, but still. It was a close match and Dane went for it and got the cradle and the fall. That got us going and then we poured it on”

 

No. 4-ranked 140-pounder Lee Grabowski did his job to ensure the Dogs’ season as a team stayed alive and well by pinning Grand Ledge’s Alejandro Acosta in 1:45 to follow up Donabedian.

 

Grabowski’s pin put Brighton up, 24-21, and it would never trail again Wednesday night.

 

The senior was also part of huge back-to-back-to-back major decisions in the Holt match, which involved his brother Victor Grabowski, who won, 15-2, at 130, and Bleise, who won, 9-0, at 145.

 

Lee was a 17-7 winner, and Brighton’s lead stood at 33-13 following these matches.

 

And those bonus points were vital, especially with the upcoming Holt buzzsaw of Adam Hall (No. 9 at 152), Kolin Leyrer (No. 1 at 160) and Jaylen DeBerry (No. 6 at 189), all of whom won their respective individual districts brackets, doing so by mostly pin.

 

At 152, it was Ben Yahr called upon by Brighton to face Hall. The Grand Ledge senio had beaten Yahr, 7-2, in the district championship matchup, so while an upset was not expected the Dogs just needed their senior to avoid giving up bonus points.

 

Yahr did just that, losing 11-5, which was certainly good enough.

 

With three matches left, Holt needed three pins to win or two pins and a technical fall to tie.

 

The Rams got one when Brighton’s Jack Ireton was pinned at 160 pounds by Leyrer.

 

Again, it would be Soop called upon for one of the contest’s biggest matches.

This time, Soop, who wrestled at 189 vs. Grand Ledge, was wrestling down against Holt. If he got pinned or lost by technical fall, Holt had 189-pounder DeBerry waiting to potentially clinch the win or tie.

 

Soop wouldn’t allow DeBerry to take the mat. The senior won in a 12-1 major decision.

 

“Him to win the last match and send us to states was pretty awesome,” Greathouse said. “Being a senior, two years ago, he was kind of a plug-and-play guy. He didn’t have a very luxurious role that year. We put him in against the best kids and told him, ‘Try not to get pinned.’ Last year, he lost one of the last matches (vs. Grand Ledge). I think it was hard for him last year. It was cool to see him (this year) on the other end of that.”

 

After Soop’s clinching win, Holt voided at 189 and Brighton was again regional champion.

 

“We were all pretty excited when he won that match,” Homrock said. “Going to states this year was one of our goals, so we’re pretty happy we accomplished it.”

 

It’s the sixth time in school history that Brighton is heading to the Division 1 quarterfinals, and its the second time in the past three seasons. The past three visits in 2011, ’12 and ’15, the Bulldogs made the final four.

 

They still may be considered a long shot to get that far.

 

But then again, they have been considered long shots all season.