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For the past three years, the Basehor-Linwood and Bonner Springs High School wrestling teams have opened their respective seasons against each other.

In 1998, the Braves punished the Bobcats, 65-12. Last year, Bonner Springs edged a tough Basehor-Linwood squad, 39-36.

The rivalry heated up again last Wednesday night in the BLHS gym as the two teams battled once more on the mat. And once again, the Braves scored a victory, defeating the Bobcats, 47-33.

Bonner Springs wrestler Jimmy Vogel, right, has Basehor-Linwood's Nick Plesa in a precarious position before scoring a pin in their 130-pound match last week.

"We're always nervous about opening with Basehor-Linwood because they always have a good team," said BSHS head coach Randy Lowe, who squad also ripped Louisburg during the night, 67-11. "We knew it would be a dogfight but we got a couple of pins that made the difference in the middle (of the dual) out of guys we didn't expect to get pins from."

Bobcat head coach Scott Neil said, "I think the Bonner dual came down to two or three matches, really. We actually had a chance to win if those matches would have swung the other way.

After Basehor-Linwood's Cody Bell opened the dual with a major decision win over Eric Ratliff at 103-pounds, Bonner Springs won five of the next six matches, four by pins, to take a 29-9 lead after the 140-pound match.

It was that match, between B-L's Marshall Norris and the Braves' Zach Powell, which both coaches agreed was a key component in the Braves winning the dual.

Norris jumped out in front early in the first period, putting Powell on his back several times, but not able to score the pin.

With Norris leading 11-4 late in the period, Powell scored a reversal and put Norris on his back. However, Powell was able to pin the Basehor-Linwood sophomore for the Braves' 20-point advantage.

"We were afraid we were about to give up six (team points), but we got six. I definitely thought that was the turning point," Lowe said. "That was huge. It was a 12-point swing."

Neil said, "That was one of the matches we should have won. Instead of giving six, we should have got six there."

The Bobcats closed the gap to 29-21 when Matt Dukes (145) and Brandon Buck (152) pinned Curtis Fraundorfer and Brock Peterson, respectively. But the Braves iced the victory when Cameron Gensler (160), Nathan Parker (171) and Josh Bosley (189) all won their matches by fall.

Basehor-Linwood made the final score a little more respectable as Joe Johnson and Matt Gillett won their matches with pins.

"We made some mistakes and we were a little rusty, but the kids wrestled hard and that's all you can ask for," Lowe said. "It's nice to beat your rival, and I think this has turned into a pretty good rivalry, especially when you go on the road and do it in their place."

"Our first night out wasn't bad. We're young and we have some improvements to make and we'll make them over the course of the season," Neil said. "I thought we showed our youth. We're very inexperienced, but the kids did pretty well.

"It comes down to they were men and we were boys tonight."

The evening started with Basehor-Linwood defeating Louisburg, 51-30.

One of the bright spots in the dual was 275-pounder Justin Ishmael, who wrestled competitively for the first time in his life. Ishmael, a junior, ended the dual by scoring a pin in just 28 seconds.

"I wanted to get him a match and it was nice for him to go out and build some confidence. He did a good job. He just wrestled smart," Neil said.

In the Braves' 67-11 blasting of Louisburg, Bonner Springs recorded eight pins in the dual, only one of which lasted into the third period.

Double winners for the Bobcats included Bell, Tim Morgan (125), Dukes and Buck. The Braves' Matt Middleton (112), Chad Vandenberg (119), Jimmy Vogel (130), Donnie Shepherd (135), Powell, Gensler, Parker and Bosley picked up two victories on the night.

BONNER SPRINGS 47, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 33

103: Cody Bell (BLHS) won by major decision over Eric Ratliff, 10-2.

112: Matt Middleton (BSHS) won by fall over Chin Kim, 1:36.

119: Chad Vandenberg (BSHS) won by fall over Dustin McHenry, :54.

125: Tim Morgan (BLHS) won by technical fall over Kevin Kroh, 17-2 (4:00).

130: Jimmy Vogel (BSHS) won by fall over Nick Plesa, 5:00.

135: Donnie Shepherd (BSHS) won by technical fall over Jeff Lackner, 20-4 (4:17).

140: Zach Powell (BSHS) won by fall over Marshall Norris, 1:25.

145: Matt Dukes (BLHS) won by fall over Curtis Fraundorfer, :18.

152: Brandon Buck (BLHS) won by fall over Brock Peterson, 3:04.

160: Cameron Gensler (BSHS) won by fall over Jeff Rousselo, 1:16.

171: Nathan Parker (BSHS) won by fall over Jeremy Sheehan, 3:46.

189: Josh Bosley (BSHS) won by fall over Kris Johnson, :14.

215: Joe Johnson (BLHS) won by fall over Jeff Burns, 3:26.

275: Matt Gillett (BLHS) won by fall over David Bass, :37.

JV matches

125: Joe Bell (BLHS) won by fall over Nathan Sparks, 5:42.

125: Billy Crum (BLHS) won by decision over Jess Buck, 8-5.

130: Peter Wiehe (BSHS) won by fall over Randy Hogue, 2:10.

135: Nick Border (BSHS) won by fall over D.J. DeMotte, 2:41.

152: Danny Gardner (BSHS) won by technical fall over Jason Arnold, 18-0.

152: Chris Carpenter (BSHS) won by fall over Arnold, 4:33.

189: Roy Mortell (BSHS) won by fall over K.Johnson, :32.

BASEHOR-LINWOOD 51, LOUISBURG 30

103: Bell won by fall, 1:03.

112: Kim won by forfeit.

119: McHenry lost by fall, 5:55.

125: Morgan won by decision, 9-7 (OT, 1:05).

130: Plesa won by fall, :44.

135: Lackner won by fall, :44.

140: Norris lost by fall, 4:32.

145: Dukes won by fall, :53.

152: Buck won by fall, 2:10.

160: Rousselo lost by fall, 3:23.

171: Sheehan won by forfeit.

189: J.Johnson lost by fall, 4:21.

215: K.Johnson lost by fall, 1:20.

275: Justin Ishmael won by fall, :28.

JV matches

119: Stephen Porth won by fall, 1:29

119: Porth won by major decision, 10-1.

BONNER SPRINGS 67, LOUISBURG 11

103: Ratliff won by fall, 3:19.

112: Middleton won by forfeit.

119: Vandenberg won by decision, 9-3.

125: Kroh lost by fall, 2:16.

130: Vogel won by fall, :33.

135: Shepherd won by fall, 3:15.

140: Powell won by major decision, 18-6.

145: Fraundorfer lost by fall, 3:05.

152: Peterson won by fall, 1:04.

160: Gensler won by fall, 1:41.

171: Parker won by forfeit.

189: Bosley won by fall, 4:32.

215: Burns won by fall, 2:28.

275: Bass won by fall, :42.

JV matches

112: Eric Krause won by fall, :09.

112: Phillip Bailey won by major decision, 14-1.

119: J.Buck won by decision, 9-4.

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