If we’ve learned anything from Las Lomas wrestler Jason Welch, it’s to expect greatness and Welch is proving that once again today at the Midlands Tournament at Northwestern University. He won his first match today with a 10-4 decision over Missouri’s Andrew Sherry, then followed it up with a 5-3 win over Central Michigan’s Tyler Grayson in overtime. Welch wasn’t done, scoring a 12-6 decision over Great Falls’ Wayne French. He ran into trouble in his next match though, losing 6-3 to Brian Cobb of the Ragin Raisins Wrestling Club. So, that leaves Welch with one final match tonight for fifth place against Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar. Morningstar is the No. 5 seed in the tournament and is ranked No. 19 in the country by amateurwrestlingnews.com. Morningstar will be the second ranked wrestler Welch faces at the tournament.

For those interested, flocasts.com has a few of Welch’s earlier matches from Midlands up online. Also, those with the Big Ten Network can watch the final round of the tournament starting at 5 p.m. PST.

Well, Las Lomas wrestler Jason Welch is through to the second day of the Midlands Tournament at Northwestern. He won his two outbracket matches and will wrestle tomorrow morning. I’ll try to get some updates tomorrow and post them here.

Also in the world of wrestling, Alhambra’s Aaron Westphal took second at the Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno. That’s normally a very good tournament. And, if any College Park parents want to update how the Falcons did at the Lemoore Bash, I would not be opposed to finding out what happened.

And, I just got an email from the Lady Lancer girls tournament in Manteca and I’d like to throw the Pittsburg girls team a little love as the Pirates won the team title today. Janelle Vision and Frankie Silva won Pool A titles, Sonia Smith and Dhaynae Capurro won Pool B titles and Jessica Sullivan and Simone Escajada won Pool C titles. I know I don’t write about the ladies that much when it comes to wrestling but come on, winning a tourney is winning a tourney!

In the world of prep wrestling, it doesn’t get much bigger than a high schooler bumping up to face college wrestlers and that’s exactly what Las Lomas’ Jason Welch is doing today at the Midlands Tournament at Northwestern University in Chicago. Welch pinned his first opponent in the 157-pound division, Southern Illinois’ Blake Reed, in just 1 minute, 36 seconds. He followed that up with a 11-1 decision over Iowa’s Brooks Kopsar.

In the third round, Welch faced the No. 1 wrestler in the country according to pretty much every set of rankings you’re going to find, Illinois’ Mike Poeta. According to reports on the internet, Poeta was just on another level (which you’d kind of expect from the top wrestler in the nation) and beat Welch 21-7. Welch is the fifth high schooler to ever compete at Midlands and his success has to be making the Northwestern coaches proud since they’ve already inked him for next season.

Well, Las Lomas wrestler Jason Welch weathered an early takedown by No. 2 seed Cody Yohn of Alamosa, CO and went on to a 9-5 win to win the 160-pound title in Reno. Just got off the phone with Jason’s dad, John, and he described Yohn as wrestler that is pretty tough to score on. The win take Welch to 2-for-2 in early tournaments this year after he won the Lou Bronzan Invitational last weekend.

Speaking of Liberty, David Klingsheim dropped a 9-8 heartbreaker to Thomas Williams in the semis but came back to win in the third-place match. That 9-8 score will only serve to build up more anticipation for the state tournament as the two could meet again in Bakersfield. Klingsheim’s teammate David Rios placed fifth at 145 pounds.

Well, the Liberty boys are headed for outbracket action after losses in the semis knocked both out of championship contention. David Klingsheim lost a 9-8 decision to Thomas Williams and David Rios got pinned by RJ Pena. Las Lomas’ Jason Welch cruised into the 160-pound final with a majority decision in his match. Cody Yohn of Alamosa, CO will be waiting for him. Finals were scheduled to start at 5 p.m. so we should have results in a little while.

The locals keep on rolling in Reno. Liberty’s David Klingsheim advanced to the 119-pound semifinals with a 10-3 win over Luke Goetl of Mingus High School. He’ll face Thomas Williams in the next round in what will probably be a very entertaining match.

Klingsheim’s teammate, David Rios, advanced to the 145-pound semis with a 12-5 decision over Selma’s Justin Lozano. Next up for Rios is No. 1 seed RJ Pena of Sprague HS.

 And in the 160-pound bracket, there was no quarterfinal surprise for Las Lomas’ Jason Welch as he took down Nolan McBryde 21-9. Welch will face No. 4 seed Ethan Smith of Wasatch-Utah in the semifinals.

Check back later for more updates.

For those interested in a little early-season wrestling action, the Reno Tournament of Champions concludes today and a few local kids are making some noise.

As expected, Las Lomas’ Jason Welch is the No. 1 seed at 160 pounds. He probably won’t be challenged until the final where he could meet Cody Yohn of Alamosa, CO. That would be a re-match of last year’s title bout.

Liberty is leaving its mark on the proceedings as two Lions, David Klingsheim and David Rios, have reached the quarterfinals. Klingsheim is wrestling at 119 pounds and Rios is at 145 pounds. Klingsheim’s road to the title match is an interesting one since he was unseeded to begin the tournament. That means if he wins his quarterfinal match he could be faced with a semifinal showdown against the No. 1 seed, South Hills-West Covina’s Thomas Williams. Williams won a state title last year at 112 pounds.

For those interested in the rest of the Bay Area’s wrestlers, Gilroy’s two standouts - Hunter Collins and Jesse Delgado - are still in it. Both are seeded No. 1 with Delgado wrestling at 112 pounds and Collins at 189. The championship round is scheduled for 5 p.m. today, so I’ll have more updates later in the day.

The Gold Division of the Winter Soccer Classic is beginning to take shape, and it’s looking like we could wind up with a fun matchup in the championship on Friday. Amador Valley is in control in Group A. The only way the Dons won’t make it to the title game is if they slip up and lose on Wednesday against Berkeley, which has lost to Newark Memorial and California and has not scored a goal in its first two games. Richmond can secure a spot opposite Amador Valley in the championship if it takes care of business against James Logan on Wednesday. That’s no gimme, though. Logan just tied San Ramon Valley 0-0 tonight.

Richmond-AV would be a fantastic title game. But should Richmond fall to Logan, it would open the door for, well, Logan — or for SRV. The Wolves have a tough game themselves, though, as they take on a Deer Valley that impressed the heck out of me in an easy 4-2 win over Foothill tonight. The Wolverines looked very good, especially forward Chris Martinez, who scored three times in 22 minutes in the first half. I’m pegging SRV-DV as the game of the day for Wednesday, even though it might have no bearing on who plays in the championship.

It’s all DFAL all the time in the Silver Division, where the title game berths are anything but decided — in Group A, at least. Group B is Northgate’s to lose after the Broncos pulled out a 1-0 win over Piedmont. Acalanes is only two points behind Northgate, but Wednesday’s matchups don’t bode well for the Dons. Northgate faces Berean Christian, which has been outscored 13-0 in its first two games. Acalanes faces Piedmont, which proved to Northgate just how tough it can be. Campolindo has an outside shot, but like Acalanes, it would need Northgate to lose to Berean Christian. I just don’t see that happening. The Broncos are off to a great start this season.

Group A is wide open, with Las Lomas leading College Park by one point. The Knights face Liberty and College Park faces De Anza on Wednesday. Something tells me this will come down to a tiebreaker, and if it does, the edge for the moment would go to Las Lomas. This will all change based on Wednesday’s results, though. Concord is a distant third in Group A. And if you’re counting, that means there are DFAL teams in the top three spots of both groups in the Silver Division. There will be an all-DFAL title game and likely an all-DFAL consolation championship, which likely nobody is looking forward to except the fans. It should be fun to watch, even if it is a waste of a contact for the teams involved.

For complete results and schedules from the tournament, click here.

— James Leonard

Thoughts: Well ladies and germs, I gotta tell you this was the finest exhibition of football I’ve seen in a good long while. Thanks to everyone who read. I didn’t count on the out-of-staters showing up! Glad we could help out. Both teams showed up to play, there were athletes everywhere on the field and it was, simply put, great football. The Spartans eeked out the win with the help of a few big plays by Blair Wishom down the stretch and big plays by Travis Carrie all game long. If you want to truly ”get” what it meant for Carrie to play as big as he did, go to our archive and find the feature my partner in crime Chace did on the kid. What a story. Anyway, we’re in the midst of filing different things  for tomorrow’s paper so if I were you, I’d pick up a copy tomorrow. Also, before I go, a big thanks to Ari Soglin back in the Bay Area and to Mr. CFL himself for helping me out in the fourth quarter. Guys, it was nuts around here but we had a hell of a time. One more thing. Check out the photos baby!

Photo gallery from DLS-Centennial: DLS wins 37-31

Fourth quarter (DLS drive): Carrie run to the 8. First and goal. Carrie carries to the 4. 2nd and goal. Carrie loses 2. 3rd and goal. 32 sec. remaining.  GAME OVER: De La Salle wins 37-31.Fourth quarter (Cent. drive): Ball on the Cent. 18 after a block in the back on the punt.  Scott pass inc. 2nd down. Posey drops a pass. 3rd down. Pass intercepted by Blair Wishom. DLS ball with 1:52 left. 

Fourth quarter (DLS drive): Drive starts on the DLS 35. Blair Wishom was Johnny-on-the-spot right there. What a tackle. Wayne with a 2-yard loss on his option run. 2nd and 12 from the 33. Butler a gain of three and it’ll be 3rd and 9 from the 36. Timeout Centennial. Pass by MacG incomplete. Czyz to punt. Offside on Cent. Czyz still to punt. Punt.

Fourth quarter (Cent. drive): Drive starts on the Cent. 29. Bass 2 run. 2nd down. Scott breaks a 32 yard run. 1st down from the DLS 37. False start. Ball on the DLS 42. Scott 2 run. 2nd and 13. Shovel for 2 yards. Scott scrambles for 8 yards and that brings up 4th and 2 from the DLS 30. Centennial has to have this. Timeout DLS. Blair Wishom stuffs Bass’s option run left and DLS gets the ball back.

Fourth quarter (DLS drive): The Spartans are lost right now. Bass and Scott are dancing on their heads on offense and the DLS offense isn’t doing much. This is going to come down to who wants it more. Coincidentally, it’s quite loud in the Home Depot Center right now. Touchback. Ball on the 20. Butler a 3 yard gain on 1st down. 2nd and 7 from the 23. Pass from MacG to Perio. 1st down and a F mask. Ball on 42. Pica 3 yd run. Pass by MacG incomplete brings up 3rd and 7 from the DLS 45. Pass to Czyz for a first down on the Cent. 43. Pica run and a face mask to the 26. Butler with a one-yard gain. Ball on the Cent. 25. MacG drills a pass to Perio who busts in for the touchdown. 25 yard TD and Czyz will kick the longer PAT. Kick is no good. Wide right Score: DLS 37, Centennial 31 5:09 left in the game.

Fourth quarter (Cent. drive): A pass from Beasley back to Scott gets the Huskies downfield. 4th and 1 upcoming. Bass a carry for 2 and its 1st and 10 from the DLS 14. A run by Scott and a run by Bass get the ball down to the DLS 3.  1st and goal Centennial. Bass plunges in from 3 yards out and this game is tied. Score: DLS 31, Centennial 31

Fourth quarter (DLS drive, cont.):  DLS has a 2nd and 8 from its own 22. Butler with a couple big runs and DLS has it on its own 48. Pica with another first down run but its negated by a hold. Wayne pass is picked off by LB Shelly Lyons. Centennial ball.

END OF THREE QUARTERS: De La Salle 31, Centennial 24 

Third quarter (DLS drive): Touchback on the kickoff. With 14 seconds remaining, the Spartans will have time to run one play before the end of the quarter. Butler with the carry and he gets two down to the 22. That’s it for the third quarter.

Touchdown thoughts: Centennial is in command right now. DLS is shaken but I get the sense the Spartans aren’t quite done scoring. Still, they haven’t been able to stop Matt Scott this half. This is getting very interesting.  

Third quarter (Centennial drive): Kick taken by Marvray and Centennial will have great field position. The Huskies start on their own 48. Bass on the carry. Ball to the 49 and its 2nd and 9. Scott on play action but he’s taken down immediately by Xavier Vigney. 3rd and 7 from the DLS 49. Scott on the keeper and he got racked by Garaventa. Centennial will go for it on 4th and 5 from the 47. Reverse to Marsel Posey and he’s got a first down. 1st and 10 from the 37. Bass for three yards, tackled by Amack. 2nd and 7 from the 34. Playaction to Ricky Marvray and he’s in for the score. PAT by Romaine is good. Score: DLS 31, Centennial 24

Scoring thoughts: That was a wacky way to score but Centennial will take it. DLS has seriously been rocked back a little here.  

Third quarter (DLS drive): Pica returns to the 20 and that’s where the Spartans will start this drive. MacG at QB to start the drive. MacG sacked by Jayme Sasaki and a loss of six brings up 2nd and 16 from the 14. Screen to Travis Carrie and he’s down to the 18. 3rd and 12 from the 18. Illegal motion by the Spartans makes it 3rd and 17 from the 13. Pass intended for Perio and Burfict almost picked it. It’s incomplete and there’s an illegal man downfield call against DLS. Perio is hurt also. Looks like a cramp. Czyz will punt for the first time today. Czyz kicked it into his own man and it’s recovered by DLS in the end zone for a safety. SCORE: DLS 31, Centennial 17.

Touchdown thoughts: Matt Scott looked really good on that drive. They went away from Bass a little after he got gassed and Marvray and Beasley made big plays to make up for it. With the two-point conversion it is only a two-possession ballgame. I’m sure DLS defensive coordinator Terry Eidson is pointing that out as we speak. 

Third quarter (Centennial drive): Amack’s kickoff sails into the end zone for a touchback. Centennial needs a score here in a big way. First down from the 20. Bass with the carry. Five yards on the gain. Bass with a huge run but it’s coming back. Holding on Centennial negates a 75-yard touchdown run by Bass. Ball placed on the 21 and it’s 2nd and 9. Bass is out for a play, he’s gassed. Scott on a QB draw and Panayioti Mastorakos with the stop. 3rd and 5.  Scott to Beasley on a slant for a first down. The Huskies needed that one. Ball on the 46 yard linie. Bass back in the game and he carries up the middle. Ball on the Centennial 49 and its 2nd and 7. A quick out is errant from Scott and that brings up 3rd and 7. Scott up the middle and he’s stopped by Bouey and Carrie. 4th down from the DLS 47 and Centennial is going for it. Scott finds Beasley for a first down. Ball on the DLS 38 yard line. Scott for Marvray and concurrent possession with Graylon Sanders gives Marvray a touchdown. Centennial is not going away quietly, that’s for sure. Centennial will line up to go for two here with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter. Scott on the option is in for two. Score: DLS 31, Centennial 15.

Touchdown thoughts: DLS just scored the statement touchdown it needed. That slant from Wayne to Perio was a beautifully executed play and Carrie did the rest. 7:46 left in the third quarter. 

Third quarter (DLS drive): Drive starts on the Centennial 48 and Butler carries to the 40. 2nd and 2. Butler on the dive and he’s got a DLS first down. Ball on the 36. Slant from Wayne to Perio and DLS is in scoring range. I love that play. Wayne moves laterally and throws on the run. It defies physics I tell you. First and goal from the 5. Travis Carrie with the carry for 5 yards and folks, Travis Carrie is doing work tonight. Touchdown Spartans. Brady Amack with the lead block on the run. Garrett Biel’s PAT is good. Score: De La Salle 31, Centennial 7  

Third quarter (Centennial drive): 1st and 10 on the Centennial 40. Bass with the ball to the right. Down to the 42 and it’s 2nd and 8. Quick hitch to Fazli. 3rd down from the 45. Scott pitch to Bass on the option and he’s short of the sticks. Ball on the DLS 48. 2nd and 2. Centennial will go on 4th down. They ran the ”Play dumb” play where Scott acts like he’s confused and Bass takes the direct snap but Bass fumbled the direct snap. Bouey recovers and DLS has the ball. 

Third quarter (DLS drive): DLS will get the ball first to begin the half. Here we go! Idaho, I’m gonna do my best man! Halftime stats: DLS has 184 total yards of offense, Centennial has 169. Bass has 93 yards on 20 carries and Scott has 30 on 9 carries. Pica returns the kickoff back to the 19. A big hello to Grecomom if she’s out there. Who knows, maybe she’s below us in the DLS rooter section. Pica up the middle for nothing. He got one yard and it’s 2nd and 9 from the 20. MacG to Dosen for a first down at the 29. MacG just got form tackled by Vontaze Burfict. I don’t quite know what to say about that. I mean, sheesh. 2nd down. Perio on a reverse pass but its picked off by Michael Aguon and Centennial has the ball.

Halftime thoughts: It’s only 24-7 so let me stress that this game is FAR from over. That said, it would be tough for De La Salle to play a more dominant half of football. All the talk you’ve heard that this team is on a mission? Their effort in the first half would indicate that it’s all true. Centennial is a really, really good football team. Don’t go ANYWHERE because this thing isn’t close to being over.

Also, a quick note. I’ll have to stop blogging play by play in the fourth quarter so that you all can read about it the game in the paper tomorrow. I’ll give periodic updates to the best of my ability.

HALFTIME SCORE: De La Salle 24, Centennial-Corona 7.
Before you go get some popcorn, check out the newest photos provided by Jose Carlos Fajardo and Ray Saint Germain.
Photo gallery: First half of DLS/Centennial game 

Second quarter (DLS drive): Knee by Wayne and its halftime. 24-7 DLS. 

Second quarter (Centennial drive): Bass jumped to take the kickoff at the 1 and took it out to the 18. 1:21 remaining as the Huskies get one last shot at narrowing the gap heading into halftime. Bass to the left for a few yards. Ball on the 23. Bass again to the 28. First down. 54 seconds left in the half. Centennial runs the Statue of Liberty and Andrew Garaventa said YOU’RE NOT BOISE STATE and stuffed it. Centennial takes timeout with 41 seconds left and the ball on the 30. Thank you Mr. Bryson for the colorful reference. Screen to Marsel Posey and he’s gang-tackled with the quickness. Ball to the 35. Brings up 3rd and 4. 26 seconds remaining in the half. A lateral to Bass is stuffed by Dominic Russo in the backfield and DLS is going to take timeout and force the Huskies to punt. Punt goes out of bounds and DLS has the ball with 7 seconds left.

Touchdown thoughts: First of all, Mike Czyz made a leaping stab at the touchdown pass. Good thing he missed. That’s gotta feel good for MacGillivray. He’s got some confidence back. Drive was seven plays, 52 yards and took 3:17 off the clock. 1:28 remaining in the half. 

Second quarter (DLS drive): Ball on the Centennial 48. Pica with a run for four yards. Ball on the 44. Timeout DLS. For those watching the game on TV, rest assured those hits look much more vicious in person. DLS is hitting like I haven’t seen it hit so far this year. Unbeliveable. Blake Wayne just got nailed by William Sutton. Whoa. Now that was a hit. Ball goes back to the DLS 46 and it’ll be 3rd and 16. Screen to Butler who makes two guys ABSOLUTELY miss and breaks a big gainer. Kudos to the refs who resisted the urge to blow the whistle and call him down. Butler ends up on the Centennial 23. Pica on first down can’t find any room and loses yardage. Ball on the 25 and its 2nd and 12. Wayne goes right but Sutton runs him down. William Sutton is playing very well right now. Brings up 3rd and 13 and MacG is in at QB. Ball on the 25. Nice pass from MacG for Czyz but a nice play by Centennial’s cornerback. DLS is in four-down territory though and the Spartans will go. MacGillivray rolls left and finds Michael Dosen at the 2-yard line. Dosen spins in and the Spartans are on the board again. 25-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 left in the half. Biel’s PAT is good. Score: DLS 24, Centennial 7   

Second quarter (Centennial drive): Amack hit a low liner and I would not want to be on the field right now. There is somem serious hitting going on. Ball on the Centennial 24 to begin the drive. Bass up the middle for a good gain. Ball to the 29. 2nd and 5. Scott on the option stopped by Vigney. Ball on the 33. Bass off the left side and that’s a big gain. Down to the DLS 47. 1st and 10. Scott wrapped up at the line by Jordan Bouey. Ball on the 45. 2nd and 8. Option right and Vigney racked Scott. Jensen recovered the bad pitch and DLS has the ball again. 

Touchdown thoughts: That was a great play call. The middle of the defense bit, the safeties bit and Carrie was wide open. The drive went 8 plays, 67 yards and took 3:36 off the clock. Is there anything Travis Carrie can’t do? 6:49 left in the half.

Second quarter (DLS drive): Ball on the DLS 33 to begin the drive. Blake Wayne at QB. Tito Pica up the middle on the dive. Give him seven yards to the 40 and it’ll be 2nd and 3. Kylan Butler made Burfict miss in the backfield and he’s got a first down. Ball on the DLS 46. Brady Amack climbs the ladder to pull down a high pass from Wayne. Ladies and gentlemen, Brady Amack is a flat-out stud. First down on the Centennial 42. Butler up the middle to the 37. Five yard gain and it’s 2nd and 5. Pica shows some patience and cuts back nicely for a good run. 3rd and 1 from the 33. Wayne on the keeper to the right and the chains are moving. Ball on the 29. Wayne off left tackle and he’s stacked up. Nice play by Anthony Whitlow for Centennial. Brings up 2nd and 9 from the 28. Play action and the Spartans SCORE! Travis Carrie was wide open up the left sideline and Wayne found him perfectly. 28-yard scoring strike. Biel’s PAT is true and the Spartans are up 17-7. Score: De La Salle 17, Centennial 7. 

Second quarter (Centennial drive): Amack’s kick taken by Ricky Marvray from the 5 out to the 35. That’s where the Huskies will start. 11:36 left in the half. Scott short-hops a pass intended for Nick Beasley. 2nd and 10. Option fumbled by Scott back to the 30 and out of bounds. 3rd and 15. Vigney just planted Scott on that play. Ouchie. Shovel pass to Bass but Brady Amack is waiting. Ball on the 40 and the Huskies send on the punt unit. Carrie returns the punt and DLS gets the ball back.

Scoring drive thoughts: DLS did what it had to do but the Spartans have to be disappointed with just three points. Bass had 61 yards in the first quarter, for those who wanted to know. 

Second quarter (DLS drive, cont.): DLS resumes its drive at the Centennial 8, 2nd and goal. Wayne to Butler and it was clear Butler was a checkdown option. Ball on the 8 after no gain on the play. Fade to the corner for Perio is incomplete and Garrett Biel is on for the field goal. It’ll be a 25-yard field goal from the right hash mark. This is not an easy kick. It’s good and we’ll get running into the kicker as well. Penalty is declined. Score: De La Salle 10, Centennial 7.