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The Hurricanes' Pete DeTore turns his adversary at 112 pounds en route to a second-period pin. Photos by Brett Mauser

Westhampton Beach - They're taught an array of moves in the Westhampton wrestling room, allowing them to bring a complete arsenal onto the mat for every match. When all else fails, there's always the x-factor - guts.

To beat Central Islip in the finals of the Westhampton Beach Dual Meet Tournament, the Hurricanes needed everything they had in the bag. They needed timely pins, they needed a sacrificial lamb, and in the case of sophomore Matt Mazarakis, they needed a bandage, some stitches and a full serving of moral fiber. Tied at nine team points with their best wrestlers already in the books, the younger 'Canes showed what they were made of, chalking up victories in six of the next seven matches to ice the tournament win, which ended up being by a 35-20 margin.

Brian Lagoumis' victory at 135 pounds broke a 9-9 tie in the team score and put Westhampton up by six.

"They wanted to beat us bad after last year," Westhampton Head Coach Paul Bass said, referring to his team's 39-19 triumph in last year's tournament final. "We got them real bad last year. This was a good win."

The tournament win was Westhampton's second straight since its 28-21 loss in the 2007 final. Earlier on Saturday, Westhampton blew through Pool A, beating Bay Shore 51-21 and Bellport 57-7. That set up the showdown that everyone anticipated - the host Hurricanes and the Musketeers, who rolled through Pool B and featured two ranked wrestlers, including state place-winner Andy Rodriguez.

Although the final started right in Westhampton's wheelhouse - 103 to 125 pounds, for which the 'Canes filled the four spots with three county qualifiers - those weights were also where the Musketeers were strong too. When the teams were tied through Danny Maddock's narrow loss at 130, Westhampton turned to kids who hadn't yet been in the spotlight. Fittingly, Brian Lagoumis, the team's only senior, led the charge by recording a resounding victory by fall over the Musketeers' Ruddis Portillo. Lagoumis raced out to a 12-0 lead and punctuated his performance by twisting Portillo onto his back for the pin.

Westhampton's Matt Mazarakis registered a thrilling 4-3 triple-overtime win over Najee Johnson to further build momentum in Westhampton's favor.

"It definitely felt good," Lagoumis said. "It was a good energy boost. We knew they had a couple of county ranked kids and knew they were going to be hard matches. We wrestled tough and pulled it out, so it was good."

"I thought Brian's match was huge," Bass said. "I always get on him because he's just a nice kid, but sometimes he's too nice. I think it really helped him tonight. It helped him stay under control and just pick the guy apart. He didn't panic. He just kept turning the kid, settled in and got the pin. That was a huge momentum shift."

The dominos began to fall from there. At 140 pounds, Brian Higgins won 9-3. At the next weight up, Scott Carey made it a three-win day individually by sticking his opponent in the first period. Westhampton had received a break when Central Islip Head Coach Brad Brzozinski lined up Rodriguez at 152 pounds to face Marco Pizzo rather than the more accomplished Carey at 145. When Pizzo stepped up to face Rodriguez, not even a six-point pin from last year's 135-pound Suffolk County champ could have put Central Islip ahead. Pizzo avoided giving up the max by yielding precisely zero back points to the CI star. Rodriguez did score 12 takedowns, yet his inability to budge Pizzo made it a five-point tech fall.

Mazarakis all but sealed each team's fate at 160 pounds. Wrestling up a weight - the sophomore has been manning the 152-pound slot thus far - he faced a tough opponent in Najee Johnson, a legitimate 160-pounder. To make matters worse, Mazarakis took a blow to his left eye late in the first period, requiring an extensive break and sizable bandage to be wrapped around his head. It couldn't mask the gash that lurked below.

Westhampton's Conner Bass sizes up his opponent, Central Islip's Allen Gomez, in their match at 103 pounds.

"[The referee] legitimately should have stopped that match," Bass said. "I was thinking 'just survive' but it happened in the first period. I thought it showed just a lot of heart. I think most kids would have shut it down with their eye split open."

Westhampton 145-pounder Scott Carey scored a major decision over Ian Mott during his team's 57-7 victory in the round robin.

Mazarakis trailed 2-0 heading into the third period. That deficit was slashed in half when the official called Johnson for stalling. Preventing an escape for the 90 seconds, Mazarakis momentarily turned Johnson on his back for a two-point near fall. Mazarakis himself was accused of stalling, thus bringing the score to 3-3 just before the buzzer sounded. Neither scored in the first overtime, necessitating two additional 30-second overtime periods to decide the match. Taking the bottom position, Mazarakis executed a perfect Granby Roll to score a point and take a 4-3 lead. In the third OT, Johnson had an opportunity to at least match Mazarakis' point yet couldn't.

"That's what it's there for, for those kinds of situations where you need one," Bass said. "That was great. He hadn't been out on that kid. He was smart because he didn't give up a takedown after that. I knew Matt could be in that match, but I was worried about the size difference because I bumped him up."

His victory, which brought the team score to 27-14, required Central Islip to win the final three matches in order to take the tournament. When Brian Kobus outpointed Julian Ming 16-5, the title securely belonged to the Hurricanes. For good measure, Bobby Garone handled Lou Colon 12-0 at 189 pounds.

The only match between ranked wrestlers came at 103 pounds, where CI's Allen Gomez, ranked fifth in the weight according to the Long Island Wrestling Association, scored takedowns of sixth-ranked Conner Bass in the first and second periods before holding on for a 4-1 victory. Bass did however have two victories in the tournament. Hurricanes with three-win days included Pete DeTore, Lagoumis, Carey, Higgins and Kobus. Carey and Kobus were the only ones to sweep without the benefit of a forfeit.

Westhampton takes the momentum from the tournament into its first League VI dual meet of the season, a clash with Amityville on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Last year, the 'Canes handed their rivals a 37-18 defeat by winning eight of 11 contested weight classes.

Westhampton won its second consecutive dual meet tournament on its own turf, beating Central Islip 35-20 in the championship.

Conner Bass of Westhampton rides his opponent tight as he tries to tie the match up late with back points.

WESTHAMPTON BEACH 51, BAY SHORE 21
Pool A Round Robin
96: Andrew Capuano (W) dec. Linares, 15-14
103: Conner Bass (W) pinned Atkins, 1:35
112: Pete DeTore (W) won by forfeit
119: Zach Bass (W) dec. Morello, 3-2
125: Cory Hubbard (W) pinned Tarmey, 1:34
130: Danny Maddock (W) pinned Hudson, 5:52
135: Brian Lagoumis (W) pinned Grey, 4:29
140: Brian Higgins (W) pinned Espinal, 3:30
145: Scott Carey (W) pinned Henderson, 4:28
152: Matt Mazarakis (W) pinned Killeen, 3:14
160: Brian Kobus (W) pinned Cummings, 4:48
171: Osmani (BS) maj. dec. Bobby Garone, 11-4
189: Mack (BS) won by forfeit
215: Brian Moore (W) dec. Phillip, 5-2

Bobby Garone rebounded from a loss in his previous match to overpower Central Islip's Lou Colon, securing a 12-0 major decision.

WESTHAMPTON BEACH 57, BELLPORT 7
Pool A Round Robin
103: Conner Bass (W) won by forfeit
112: Pete DeTore (W) maj. dec. Thompson, 17-0
119: Zach Bass (W) pinned Primm, 1:04
125: Cory Hubbard (W) pinned Carson, 4:27
130: Danny Maddock (W) pinned Rose, 3:37
135: Brian Lagoumis (W) won by forfeit
140: Brian Higgins (W) won by forfeit
145: Scott Carey (W) maj. dec. Mott, 8-0
152: Gorman (B) dec. Matt Mazarakis, 8-3
160: Brian Kobus (W) pinned Reyes, 1:06
171: Johnson (B) maj. dec. Bobby Garone, 11-3
189: Brian Moore (W) won by forfeit

WESTHAMPTON BEACH 35, CENTRAL ISLIP 20
Championship Match
103: A. Gomez (CI) dec. Conner Bass, 4-1
112: Pete DeTore (W) pinned Sanchez, 3:07
119: Zach Bass (W) dec. Garcia, 5-1
125: Arriaza (CI) dec. Cory Hubbard, 8-7
130: E. Gomez (CI) dec. Danny Maddock, 13-8
135: Brian Lagoumis (W) pinned Portillo, 3:37
140: Brian Higgins (W) dec. Duperoy, 9-3
145: Scott Carey (W) pinned Moran, 1:10
152: Rodriguez (CI) tech fall Marco Pizzo, 24-9
160: Matt Mazarakis (W) dec. Johnson, 4-3 (3 OT)
171: Brian Kobus (W) maj. dec. Ming, 16-5
189: Bobby Garone (W) maj. dec. Colon, 12-0
215: Kesler (CI) pinned Brian Moore, 5:38

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