Bergen Catholic wrestling holds off St. Joseph in battle of top teams

MONTVALE – St. Joseph fronted the energy, but Bergen Catholic brought the firepower.

In North Jersey's premier dual match in two years, the Crusaders passed their biggest test to date, holding off the Green Knights, 28-23 in front of a sold-out crowd Friday at St. Joseph Regional High School.

Senior Remy Brancato scored a decisive 5-1 decision over St. Joseph's Aidan Schlett in the final bout of the night at 215 pounds as Bergen Catholic, No. 1 in the North Jersey team rankings, won its fourth straight match.

“I’m not surprised it came down to the final match of the night. They’re a heck of a team. This is the stuff and reason I came to Bergen Catholic,” Brancato said. “I came here to win and battle against the best kids in the state and country. It’s not how we pictured it in the room, but we got the job done and proved why we’re here. We’re going to make some adjustments as I’m sure we’re going to see them again down the road.”

Each team won seven bouts, but Bergen Catholic (6-1) outscored the Green Knights in bonus points, highlighted by two key falls down the stretch.

Trailing by three points after seven bouts, the tide turned in the Crusaders' favor when Chris Bacchione (144 pounds) recorded the first pin of the night, turning Alex Naddeo in 2:13 to give the Oradell school a 16-13 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Two bouts later, Nick Fea (157) extended Bergen Catholic’s lead to 22-16 with a 31-second pin over Joseph Whitcombe.

“This was an awesome match. This harkens back to over 20 years ago when these two teams would meet in the biggest matches in the county. It was good to have that energy and this rivalry back,” Bergen Catholic coach Dave Bell said. “After wrestling only three dual meets last year, it’s great to be back. A win like this is a good sign and it says a lot about this team and who we are. This momentum will hopefully carry us into the postseason.”

Clinging to a six-point lead with four bouts to go, Bergen Catholic’s Justin Onello hung on for a huge 6-5 victory against freshman Rocco Dellagatta at 165 pounds.

The Green Knights put together a late rally down the stretch with two straight wins at 175 and 190 pounds to close the gap. Roberto Padilla earned a 12-4 major decision over Bergen Catholic’s Leo Varga and junior Michael Dellagatta bumped up a weight class to keep the momentum going in the Green Knights favor.

In the premier match of the night between two Bergen County champions and state medalists, Dellagatta earned a 6-3 decision over former teammate and recent St. Joseph transfer AJ Fricchione at 190 pounds to pull the Green Knights within two points with one match left.

“I’m happy with the way we competed. It was an electric atmosphere,” Dellagatta said. “AJ is a close friend of mine and we both knew what we were getting into. Our strategy could have worked for the team, but sometimes the outcome doesn’t always go your way.”

St. Joseph raced out to a 13-0 lead, winning the first four bouts. State champion Jimmy Mullen got the night started when he scored a 14-6 major decision over Dom Brogna at 285 pounds.

The Green Knights got key contributions from the bottom portion of their lineup.

At 106, freshman Vincent Paino upset Bergen Catholic's Brian Melamud, 6-5 in a rematch of last Saturday's county final and freshman James Sloan pulled out a 6-5 win over Chris Nucifora.

Bergen Catholic scored its first points when Aidan Wallace earned a 5-3 win against Joe Manno at 126 pounds, which started a streak of four straight wins for the Crusaders. Last week Wallace defeated Manno in the county tournament final.

Ryan Ford added bonus points for the Crusaders with a 10-2 major decision over Mateo Sgambellone at 132 and August Hibler silenced the crowd when he stunned three-time state medalist Alex Almeyda, 9-4 at 138 pounds.

“We have some big matches coming up before the postseason gets underway,” Bell said. “We may end up seeing them [St. Joseph] again.

“Everyone stepped up tonight. Now we just have to keep our focus and continue to get better every day.”

Box score

285 pounds: Jimmy Mullen (SJR) m.d. Dom Brogna (BC), 14-6

106 pounds: Vincent Paino (SJR) d. Brian Melamud (BC), 6-5

113 pounds: James Sloan (SJR) d. Chris Nucifora (BC), 6-5

120 pounds: Donny Almeyda (SJR) d. Noah Kochman (BC), 4-0

126 pounds: Aidan Wallace (BC) d. Joe Manno (SJR), 5-3

132 pounds: Ryan Ford (BC) m.d. Mateo Sgambellone (SJR), 10-2

138 pounds: August Hibler (BC) d. Alex Almeyda (SJR), 9-4

144 pounds: Christopher Baccioni (BC) p. Alex Naddeo (SJR), 2:13

150 pounds: Frank DiBella (SJR) d. Eric Broadie (BC), 3-1 (SV)

157 pounds: Nick Fea (BC) p. Joseph Whitcombe (SJR), 0:31

165 pounds: Justin Onello (BC) d. Rocco Dellagatta (SJR), 6-5

175 pounds: Roberto Padilla (SJR) m.d. Leo Varga (BC), 12-4

190 pounds: Michael Dellagatta (SJR) d. AJ Fricchione (BC), 6-3

215 pounds: Remy Brancato (BC) d. Aidan Schlett (SJR), 5-1

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Catholic NJ wrestling holds off St. Joe's for big win