After shutting out a depleted Middleboro squad, 39-0, in the first match of their home quad on Saturday, the Dragons faced off against former league rival and last year’s Division 3 South Sectional wrestling champion, Pembroke.

The Titans rallied and tied the Dragons last year with a critical third-period pin in the final match, and it was much the same on Saturday, as Pembroke recorded five pins, while Duxbury won eight of the fourteen contests in the 36-30 Pembroke win.

While the pins certainly helped the Titans, it was the strategy of Pembroke Head Coach Dave Vining that enabled his team to win the match. That strategy was evident in the 152-lb. match-up between Duxbury senior captain Johnny Barrett and Pembroke senior captain Tom Simon. Knowing that Barrett had the upper hand in the match, Simon wanted to win or lose the match on his feet. After two scoreless periods, Simon let Barrett escape from bottom to give the Duxbury captain a 1-0 lead. Simon was then penalized twice for stalling, giving Barrett a 3-0 win.

Next up for Duxbury was junior John McGeady, who took the mat in the 160 lb. weight class against Pembroke senior captain Kevin Meyer, whose off-season wrestling paid off with a quick takedown of McGeady, and an eventual first-period pin.

With the score 6-3 in the visitor’s favor, Duxbury senior captain Tyler Genereux, who is now ranked 8th in the state’s 171-pound weight class, took the mat against Pembroke junior Mark King. Genereux took King down and led 2-0 at the end of the first period. Once again Vining instructed his wrestler to stay off the mat by having King choose the neutral position to start the second period in hopes of preventing a pin. A quick Genereux double-leg takedown, and the awarding of two subsequent points for stalling by the referee, gave the Duxbury senior captain a 6-0 lead en route to an 8-0 major decision.

That match was a small victory for Pembroke, who sent out senior captain Andrew Bowker against Duxbury’s Pat Murphy in the 189 lb. weight class. Pembroke’s star wrestler did not disappoint, as he took Murphy to the mat halfway through the first period and quickly worked his takedown into a first-period pin, giving the Titans a 12-7 lead that they would extend to 18-7 after Duxbury forfeited the match at 215.

That set up one of the more entertaining matches of the afternoon that pitted Duxbury senior Jake Roumacher, who normally wrestles at 215, against Pembroke junior heavyweight Nick Burton.

After a scoreless first period, Roumacher quickly esca-ped from bottom to take a 1-0 lead. With the two wrestlers now on their feet, Roumacher went for the headlock, only to lose his grip, giving Burton the takedown and a 2-1 lead. The lead was short-lived, however, as Roumacher earned an escape as time expired in the second period. The match would go to a one-minute overtime period after neither wrestler could get a takedown in the third. Starting the overtime on bottom, Roumacher again got the one-point escape. Burton would be given the same opportunity, but the Duxbury senior held him down for the final 30 seconds and a 3-2 win.

With the score now 18-10 and momentum on the home team’s side, Duxbury got an easy six from junior Tim Donoghue, who went uncontested in the 103 lb. weight class. With a two-point advantage, Pembroke’s decision to bump up freshman Joe-Joe Vercollone (103) would prove to be a pivotal one. The fleet-footed soccer star would face Duxbury freshman Brendan Gillis, who appeared to be up for the challenge when he took Vercollone down first in the 112 lb. match-up. However, the Pembroke grappler reversed and tied the score at 2-2. Not to be outdone, Gillis escaped to set up a seesaw match that had the contest tied 10-10 at the end of the second period.  After a short break for blood, Vercollone earned another critical reversal to take a 12-10 lead, but once again Gillis fought for the escape. Nevertheless, disaster struck the Dragon freshman on another Vercollone takedown, giving the Pembroke grappler the pin on a nifty move and a 3/4 nelson.

Duxbury couldn’t stop the bleeding when freshman Mikkel Linskey took the mat in the 119 lb. weight class against Pembroke sophomore Matt Merrit. The Titan wrestler got the first takedown and never looked back, as he mounted a 7-0 lead after two periods.  Starting the third period on bottom, Merrit got a reversal, and quickly had the Duxbury freshman on his back en route to a third-period pin.

With a commanding 30-16 lead, Pembroke standout Geoff Bullock was sent out to the mat to face Duxbury senior Kevin Szulak in the 125 lb. weight class.  Bullock got the first takedown after a successful sprawl on a Szulak attempt, giving the Titan junior a 2-0 lead after the first period. Starting the second period on bottom proved to be a fatal decision for the Duxbury senior, as he was stacked for another Pembroke pin.

With four matches to go, Duxbury senior captain Justin Carroll would finally end his team’s skid when he took the mat against Pembroke freshman Matt Winn in the 130 lb. weight class. Leading 2-0 after one, the senior captain had the underclassmen on his back for most of the second period, but did not get the call on an apparent pin. With a 9-1 advantage heading into the third period, Carroll cruised to a 13-1 major decision.

Pembroke led 36-20 when senior Kyle Scola was sent to the mat to face Pembroke junior Matt Vito. Scola wasted little time getting the takedown, but Vito wouldn’t move on bottom, and the period would end with the score, 2-0. However, a quick escape on bottom by Scola, three back points, and two more stalling points by another Pembroke grappler, extended the Duxbury senior’s lead to 8-0 after two, and an eventual 13-0 major decision.

With two matches to go, Duxbury could only hope for a tie with a pair of pins. Who better to get it started than senior captain and #5-ranked Colin McKenzie, who would have his hands full against #9-ranked Pat Claflin in the 140 lb. contest. The Pembroke junior went for the takedown first, but McKenzie defended it well before a successful Claflin takedown near the end of the first period. McKenzie would keep Claflin down in the second period, but could not turn him for back points. Starting the third period on bottom, McKenzie got a one-point escape when Claflin chose the optional position, allowing the Duxbury captain to get up. The decision backfired when McKenzie was awarded a takedown, giving him a 3-2 win.

With no Duxbury pin, senior Zach Sanchez could only make the match respectable when he took the mat against Pembroke sophomore Mike McBurnie. The Duxbury senior dominated the match from start to finish, but another missed call on an apparent pin led to a 10-3 decision, and a 36-30 Titan victory.

Fortunately for the Dragons, they didn’t have time to dwell on the loss, as PL opponent Hanover was up next. Duxbury took their frustrations out on the Indians with a 45-18 blowout. Winning all three of their matches on the day were senior captains Justin Carroll (130) and Johnny Barrett (152), seniors Kyle Scola (135), Zach Sanchez (145), and Jake Roumacher (215).  Senior captains Colin McKenzie (140) and Tyler Genereux (171) were both 2-0 and extended their unbeaten streaks to 20-0, while junior and #9-ranked Tim Donoghue also went 2-0.

The Dragon grapplers will host Patriot League opponent Hingham on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.