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Cancer center biggest winner of Catholic-East Ascension match

November 3rd, 2018 | Written by: Editor. Contributor: Coach Pat Mahoney

Breast Cancer

The Catholic Bears defeated the East Ascension Spartans 42-34 last Wednesday night at the East Ascension gymnasium. But that was only half of the story.

The biggest winner of the evening was not a wrestler. It was the Mary Bird Parker Cancer Center. The Spartans raised $200.00 from the event which they presented in the form of a "super-sized" check to Claire Davis, an associate director of development from the Cancer Center's Baton Rouge location.

The idea of the "KO Cancer" event originated with Spartan junior Trent Mahoney, East Ascension Coach Pat Mahoney's eldest son. Trent, who won the Division I 132-pound state championship in 2018 (and was also voted the Division I Outstanding Wrestler), thought the team should do something for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), and the Spartans' first match happened to be on October 30th. After broaching the idea to his father, Coach Mahoney readily agreed and the entire East Ascension "wrestling family" played a part, either by attending the match or donating items of apparel for the Spartan wrestling team to show their support. Anthony Krass, Sr. donated pink socks, and the Pellerin family donated black singlets with pink splashes, reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock artwork.

Left photo: Junior Trent Mahoney (left) and Coach Patrick Mahoney (right) posing with Claire Davis of the Mary Bird Parker Cancer Center in Baton Rouge who is holding the check donated by East Ascension High School to "KO Cancer" Right photo: the East Ascension "KO Cancer" singlets wore by the varsity wrestlers of the match.

Former wrestlers among the crowd included East Ascension stand-out Jacob Bernard (left) and Brusly's two-time Division III state champion Baret Sanchez (center). At right, East Ascension assistant coach Jim Ballantyne gives encouragement during an exhibition match.

The match itself was a typical early-season one. Many of the wrestlers fell victim to third-round fatigue - a few lost matches they could have won as a result. This was not the case with the two Division I state champions, of which each team had one. Senior Luke Romano of Catholic needed little time to pin his opponent in the first period of his 132 lbs. match. Things were tougher for Trent Mahoney, as he competed against a well-seasoned opponent in Catholic's Canon Hunt. Mahoney prevailed with a 14-3 major decision.

Prior to that match, a strategy showing Trent Mahoney's keen awareness of how the match was unfolding, paid off for the Spartans, if only resulting in one extra team point. Trent knew the Spartans needed pins if they were to beat the Bears. At the start of the 145 lbs. match, Trent's younger brother Brad had the starting position choice and a 14-point lead. Out of habit the younger Mahoney indicated he wanted to start in the bottom position. Yet Trent knew that points scored after an escape or a reversal would end the match via a technical fall, which is worth only five team points. It took some yelling, but Brad finally heard his brother and started on the top, giving him a chance to pin his opponent rather than score any more points. The strategy worked as Brad was able to cradle his opponent to score a fall.

Catholic looked very good this early in the season. The combination of Hunter Goodson, followed by Luke Romano and Martin Helouin, give them a great chance to win three consecutive matches in any dual meet. Later down the line, Macullen Mire (younger brother of 2014 Division I state champion Matthew Mire) and Canon Hunt are formidable. While not participating in this match, the Bears also have talented sophomore Peter Kelly and senior A.J. Sabine to bolster their line-up, among others.

The Spartans should not be overlooked, however, just by losing this one match. The two Mahoneys, one after the other, will be a tough duo to beat. Anthony Krass looked very good, and David Pellerin, even though he lost his match, just looked a little "rusty." That is to be expected as his 2017-18 season ended at the Deep South Bayou Duals with an injury that later required surgery. Pellerin was 8-4 vs. Louisiana competition last season (6-2 vs. Division I opponents), so with a few more matches "under his belt" he should have a very good season. And though Catholic's Adam Callicot was able to break it, Spartan freshman Alyssa Quezaire displayed a formidable bridge (right).