Burlington Twp. vows to keep focus on title win

Burlington Township wrestling coach Brad Klotz isn't taking anything for granted, even though all signs point to the school's first division title in 17 years.

Competing in their first season in the revamped Burlington County Liberty Division, Burlington Township moved closer to a division title with last night's 52-13 win over defending champion Rancocas Valley.

The Falcons are 11-0 overall and 3-0 in the six-team Liberty with matches remaining against Pemberton and Westampton Tech. Burlington Township has beaten the two expected main contenders, Moorestown and now Rancocas Valley.

The Red Devils fell to 4-2 and 1-1.

Even though the Falcons are oh, so close to clinching a division title since emerging as the Burlington County Freedom Division champions in 1992, Klotz vows that complacency won't be a problem for his team.

"Being in this position is a little new for us, but I promise you we will keep well-grounded," said Klotz, whose wrestlers won 11 of the 14 bouts. "We will be back to work tomorrow and continue to try to get better."

Rancocas Valley couldn't imagine seeing a much better version. The Falcons' Nick Yansick opened the match with a pin at 152 pounds, the first of four consecutive falls recorded by Burlington Township.

Klotz pointed out that Rancocas Valley was missing some key wrestlers, something he surely will remind his team.

Rancocas Valley first-year coach T.J. Colling said that seniors Steve Scotton (119), Tony Holiday (130) and Eric Morgan (152) missed last night's match because of either injury or illness.

"Still, that should take nothing away from how Burlington Township wrestled," Colling said. "They had a great day."

Burlington Township senior 112-pounder Terrance Scotton, the cousin of the Rancocas Valley wrestler, was one of six Falcons who recorded a pin.

For Scotton, this should be a milestone year. He is 15-1 at 112 pounds and has 95 wins for his career. Scotton, however, has proved to be a better wrestler than forecaster.

"I thought we would win this by maybe 10 points," he said. "This was really mind-blowing how it turned out."

Then again, Scotton isn't surprised that everybody else in the Liberty is looking up at the Falcons.

"We worked really hard in the off-season, going to two different camps," Scotton said. "We have a team that is dedicated and we are gaining more confidence."

And soon the Falcons should be gaining a spot on the wall in the gymnasium, the one that lists all the school's sports champions.

Burlington Township 52, Rancocas Valley 13

152: Nick Yansick, B, pin Steve Delviscio, 1:10.

160: E. J. Goree, B, pin Ian Cornish, 2:46.

171: Miles Little, B, pin Rodril Luders, 0:38.

189: Jared Holliday, B, pin Chad Bauman, 1:03.

215: Robert Pletcher, R, dec. Tony, Franco, 13-2.

Hwt: Tony Senni, B, dec. Keifer Flemming, 4-3.

103: Kevin Devoy, B, dec. Mitch Jablonski, 14-0.

112: Terrance Scotton, B, pin Mat Sinisgalli, 1:17.

119: Alex Radcliffe, B, dec. Miles Parker, 6-0.

125: Eriq Morris, B, dec. Anthony Pagan, 7-5.

130: Todd Weaver, B, pin Steve Ahrens, 1:53.

135: Nick Romanoli, R, pin Tom Dalton, 1:00.

140: A.J. McCoy, R, dec. Dylan Quinn, 12-5.

145: Codie Spatz, B, dec. Chris Cain, 7-5.