Class 2A Burrell values longstanding wrestling rivalry with 3A Kiski Area

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, December 13, 2022 | 9:45 PM

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The Burrell wrestling team last beat neighboring rival Kiski Area in 2011.

The Bucs hope this year’s clash — the teams meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Kiski Area High School — can be the end of the decade-long winning streak by the Cavaliers.

“This is always a highlight of our schedule,” Burrell coach Josh Shields said.

“It’s always a good test for us, even though we’re double-A and they’re triple-A. This match definitely matters. The goal, obviously, is to go in and win each and every year. But the most important thing with it is to measure where we’re at against a really good team. They are one of the top schools in triple-A every year, and we’re historically one of the top teams in double-A.”

The Cavaliers won last season’s meeting, 39-24, at a packed gym at Burrell High School.

The teams split the first four bouts — each win by fall — before now-senior Ryan Klingensmith was victorious by decision at 132 to give Kiski Area the lead for good.

The match marked a return of the rivalry after a one-year hiatus in the 2020-21 season because of scheduling issues with the ongoing covid pandemic.

But the Cavaliers and Bucs wrestlers did have on-mat interactions that season, including at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association tournament.

The highlighted Burrell-Kiski Area encounter came in the 160-pound finals, where Burrell’s A.J. Corrado outlasted Kiski’s Enzo Morlacci, 3-1.

Corrado capped his varsity career that year with WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A titles, while Morlacci, a junior that year, went on to place fourth at 160 at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament.

“Every year, we always say this is good for wrestling and good for both communities,” Kiski Area coach Chris Heater said.

“Being from Kiski Area, I always like when the match is here (at Kiski). We know it’s going to be a great atmosphere with a lot of people getting the chance to see some really good wrestling. We have a lot of respect for those guys and what they do. I told the kids that if this was the NFL, it would be the Steelers and Ravens.”

Burrell, which saw its run of WPIAL Class 2A titles end last year at 15 in a row, enters Wednesday’s match No. 2 behind Burgettstown in Triblive HSSN’s Class 2A rankings.

Kiski Area sits just outside the Trib’s top-10 rankings in Class 3A.

“The proximity of the teams and the guys knowing each other adds to the tension a bit,” Shields said.

“These are guys we see throughout the communities. You want to come out of the match with bragging rights.”

Kiski Area wrestlers were busy the first two weekends with matches at the Eastern Area Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Gateway and the Hampton Dawg Duals.

Sophomore Mark Gray (172) and freshman Cooper Roscosky (189) both started 8-0, while Klingensmith (127-133) is 7-1.

The most veteran of those in the Cavaliers lineup, Klingensmith owns 78 career wins through the Hampton Duals.

Roscosky went 4-0 in his varsity debut at the Eastern Area tournament with three pins in his four matches. His and Gray’s EAIWT titles and Klingensmith’s runner-up finish helped Kiski Area finish fourth in the team standings behind Bethel Park, Plum and Penn-Trafford.

“We feel like our kids are working hard and wrestling hard,” Heater said. “We’re battling a lot of obstacles right now with trying to get some kids healthy. We’re not 100% going into this match, by any means. I wish we were, but we’re not. It will be a challenge, but the kids aren’t going to use that as any type of excuse. We’re going to put the best lineup out there we can and see what happens.”

Burrell kicked off its season last week with a dominant 64-12 victory over Ligonier Valley.

The Bucs scored pins from senior Nicholas Ferra (145); juniors Cooper Hornack (133) and Nico Zanella (160); sophomores Calio Zanella (127), Isaac Lacinski (172) and Luke Boylan (215); and freshmen Luca Rosa (114) and Julian Bertucci (121).

Senior Cameron Martin delivered a major decision at 189, and junior Anthony Barbieri (152) and freshman Cam Baker (107) picked up forfeit wins.

After Wednesday, Burrell and Kiski Area wrestlers could meet again throughout the two-day WCCA tournament Jan. 6-7 at Greensburg Salem.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Kiski Area