Both Aberdeen and Montesano traded wins and pins in this non-league dual meet on Tuesday night at Sam Benn Gym, but it took the heavyweights to deliver the drama.

With 2.7 seconds left, Aberdeen’s Skyler Murray scored a reversal to tie his 285-pound match with Montesano’s Taylor Rupe and force overtime. In the extra periods, Rupe took over, scoring two takedowns in the second overtime for a 7-3 win and clinch a 42-36 meet win.

The Bobcats scored all five of their wins by pin, while the Bulldogs had four, plus two decisions, to take the meet. Montesano also benefited from one more forfeit win than Aberdeen, but the action on the mat took precedence.

“Looking at the lineup, I knew it was going to be close,” Montesano head coach Jeff Klinger said. “We had some great matches. Izatt vs. (Souphommanichanh) was a rematch from the Monte Invite and it went our way this time. The heavyweights, that is good to go into overtime, it means they are getting their workout. They don’t like to run and as long as they are moving and being aggressive, it is all good.”

“This was a nice match; the kids wrestled better and I liked what I saw,” AHS head coach Jimmy Martin said. “The kids didn’t give up. Skyler was a prime example of that. He didn’t quit and he fought a really good state champion in Rupe. I’m OK with today’s performances.”

Montesano had two state veteran wrestlers — Tony Williams and Austin Cain — out for this dual meet, which allowed some of the Bulldogs’ younger wrestlers a chance to perform.

At the end, it was two veterans who put the decision on their shoulders.

Rupe, the reigning state 1A 285-pound champion, took a 3-0 lead midway through the second period and held Murray on the edges for most of the match. Both of these wrestlers know what the other’s tendencies are — they fought into overtime (a Rupe win by pin at 7:57) at the Montesano Invitational during the holiday break.

With Murray down in the third period, he needed to score against Rupe, down 3-0. Rupe was penalized with a stalling call with 2.7 seconds left, leading to a restart with Murray on the bottom.

On the official’s whistle, Murray spun quickly and got onto Rupe’s back for a reversal as the horn sounded to end regulation. Once the official called for the two points for the reversal, Aberdeen’s bench exploded in celebration.

However, in overtime, Rupe was in command. After holding Murray scoreless in the first overtime period, Rupe scored a reversal in each of the second overtime 30-second periods for the winning score.

“We gave our younger kids a chance to perform and give some of the other guys some rest, which is good,” Klinger said. “They came through during the break. It was a great match. Aberdeen came ready to wrestle and we came to wrestle, too. We got two of the big matches and they got one, too.”

“I’ll take the kids being aggressive and failing,” Martin added. “In Tyler’s match, he was aggressive and lead through most of the match. That’s the way it goes. We’re doing better than we did last weekend, which was a reality check for them.”

The other decision-scored match was also a thriller at 132 pounds. Tyler Izatt came back in the third period to tie the match at 3-3 when Tyler Souphommanichanh was called for a false start penalty. With 1 minute left, Izatt scored an escape for a 4-3 lead.

From there, Izatt fought off Souphommanichanh’s attacks, which enabled him to score a 3-0 lead midway through the match. On a restart with 4.6 seconds left, Souphommanichanh was called for another false start, giving Izatt a 5-3 lead and the Monte veteran got a takedown as the buzzer sounded for a 7-3 win.

On Thursday, Aberdeen will travel to Rochester for an Evergreen 2A Conference meet. On Saturday, Montesano will send several wrestlers to the Sargent North Memorial in Rainier and other wrestlers to the Hoquiam Grizzly Alumni Invitational.

106 — Andy Fry (M) pinned Cameron Harris, 5:27. 113 — Jordan Tibbit (M) won by forfeit. 120 — Angel Cisneros (A) won by forfeit. 126 — Edgar Salazar (A) pinned Nicolai Vikkelsoe, :57. 132 — Tyler Izatt (M) dec. Tyler Souphommanichanh, 7-3. 138 — Brodie Wharton (A) pinned Carter Roberts, 4:34. 145 — Brent Hollatz (M) pinned Patrick Hunt, 4:24. 152 — Brody Trader (A) pinned Ben Sowers, 2:38. 160 — Carson Klinger (M) pinned Nick Davis, :22. 170 — Mason Lectz (M) won by forfeit. 182 — Jacob Jamieson (A) pinned Kai Olsen, 1:34. 195 — Andres Cisneros (A) pinned Auggie Arreguin, 1:27. 220 — Ben Lopez (M) pinned Seth Dayton, :34. 285 — Taylor Rupe (M) dec. Skyler Murray, 7-3 (2 OT).