Gettysburg Times: 012609 - "Canners, Eagles Give Fans a Night to Remember"

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER

Times Staff Writer

Published: Monday, January 26, 2009 7:36 AM EST

As we pulled into the Biglerville High School parking lot Saturday evening, there was no denying that the night was going to be special.

There was no where to park for the annual wrestling clash between the Biglerville Canners and Bermudian Springs Eagles.

I turned to my friend, seemingly confused, and asked: “What time did the doors open?”

“Seven minutes ago,” she replied.

Doors opened at 4:30 p.m., with fans needing a ticket to enter the building for a 6 p.m. junior high match and subsequent varsity slugfest. The match was sold out.

I’ve never been to a sporting event 90 minutes early, but still technically late. There was literally no empty seat inside the Canner Dome.

People were in line two hours before the doors even opened. Tail-gaters flooded the parking lot.Crazy, you say. But this is Upper Adams, where wrestling is everything, and youngsters are groomed to grapple.

And Bermudian, over the past several years, has been the best.

Biglerville’s been pretty good, too, setting a school record in wins last year, and qualifying for the District 3-AA Team Championships in previous seasons.

The two arch rivals have a way of transforming any competition – from wrestling, to basketball, football, chess or band – into a memorable experience.

Saturday night was no different.Biglerville’s 30-27 win left those in attendance with ringing ears, racing brain cells and misty eyes.

Spectators left the Canner Dome with hoarse voices, thumping hearts and in many cases, pinching themselves to see if what they had just witnessed was a dream or reality.

Bermudian came into the match with a seven-year winning streak over Biglerville, dating back to the 2001-02 season. But you wouldn’t know that after walking through the BHS doors shortly after 4:30 p.m. The lobby, hallways and gymnasium were crowded with fans decked in black, gold, red or “White-Out” shirts promoting the match.

The home bleachers were already full, with the visiting side filling up quickly. Again, this was an hour-and-a-half before the junior high match even started.

Long-time Canner fan Mike Wertz greeted me as I searched for a seat, reminding me that the last time Biglerville beat Bermudian in the regular season, I was a senior on the team. The Canners upended the Eagles 35-31 in 1999-2000, securing their first league championship under head coach Bob Gano.

“I’m telling you Scottie, we can do it this year,” Wertz told me.

Prior to the big match, friends and I mapped out the potential lineups and bout scores for each of the 14 weight classes, and compared our scores. I had Bermudian with 27 points. (Insert “ewwws” and “aaahhhs” here.)

We returned to the gymnasium shortly before 6 p.m. and filed past the high school auditorium, where dozens of fans who were unable to score a gym ticket watched the match on a big screen.

Inside the gymnasium, the announcer encouraged fans to “squeeze” together to accommodate everyone.

We barely found our seats, three rows from the top, and got to know our neighbors since we’d be elbowing them for the next four hours.

In front of a packed and energetic house, the junior high match got underway. The gang from Bermudian defeated the youth from Biglerville, as fans fine-tuned the chants they would later go on to perfect during the varsity bash.

As the junior high teams departed the gymnasium, the energy level reached a crescendo, with fans awaiting the entrance of the varsity boys.

Bermudian bolted into the gym to a standing ovation from the sea of red and white, while the Biglerville faithful performed their traditional newspaper salute.

Canner fans chanted “Booooring!”... “Boooring!” while reading newspapers, including hundreds of copies of the Gettysburg Times, as the Eagles went through their pre-match warmups.

Later, I was informed that the chant had nothing to do with the Bermudian wrestling team, and that it was directed more toward my newspaper articles, which were circulating throughout the stands. Funny.

Next, the Biglerville wrestling team entered the building to an ovation that rocked the walls of the Canner Dome.

The chants from the student bodies began.Bermudian fans broke out into a rendition of “What’s a Canner?” while Biglerville fans responded with the always amusing “What do we eat? Eagle meat!” cheer.

Around 8 p.m., nearly four hours after the doors opened, it was finally time for the main event.

Biglerville versus Bermudian: arch rivals squaring off against one another in a sold-out gymnasium with a league title on the line.

Bermudian Springs, the state silver medalist from a year ago, with a 15-1 record.B

iglerville with a spotless 19-0 record, backed by a boisterous home crowd hoping to fuel the Canners to their first victory over Bermudian in seven years.

It was a sweat box inside the gym, with the thick air and adrenaline.

On this night, no one wanted to lose.

Biglerville built a 21-point lead, winning six of the first seven bouts, en route to an exhilarating 30-27 victory. The match featured seven bouts decided by two points or less, a fierce Bermudian comeback in the middle weights, and nearly 1,000 emotionally drained fans that screamed and roared with every point scored.

How close was the match? Both teams won seven bouts.

Four bouts were decided by two points. Three bouts were decided by one point.

The contest featured brilliant instruction emanating from the stands, such as “Shoot,” and “Take him down,” and “You’re missing a good match, ref!”

As the match progressed, the intensity kept building.

There were periods when the crowd fell silent, sensing that the battle in front of them was indeed one for the ages.Bermudian pulled to within three points, 27-24, thanks to an outstanding effort in the middle weights where the Eagles relied on senior stalwarts Derek Schmelyun and Devin O’Brien to cut the gap. In the seven bouts contested from 130-171, the Eagles were victorious six times.

The match reached a fevered pitch during the night’s penultimate bout at 160 pounds, between seniors Nic Lieberum of Biglerville and Jake Stimer of Bermudian Springs.

Lieberum continued his march toward 100 wins with a breathtaking 8-7 triumph, keeping his team’s head above water right when it looked like they might go under. Gano embraced Lieberum as he walked off the mat with Biglerville up 30-24, as the home fans serenaded the senior and his bulky knee with deafening applause.

Fans on both sides of the gymnasium, on the edge of their seats for most of the night, were on their collective feet for the 171-pound bout, the evening’s final tilt.

Bermudian needed a fall from senior Nick Grim to pull even, and hopefully win the match on criteria. Biglerville simply needed senior Logan Bobo to avoid giving up a pin.Grim won, but it wasn’t enough for the visiting team.

As the final 30 seconds ticked away in the third period of the 4-3 decision, the roof exploded with Canner fans celebrating a victory that was seven years in the making.

Many fans stormed the mat. Others roared the popular “C-A-N-N-E-R-S” cheer. Some mothers even held their newborn children in the air.

On my way out the door, I bumped into Wertz again.“Today is my birthday,” he said, “and this is the best gift that I ever could have imagined.”

Instant classic.

I knew the night would be special when we pulled into the parking lot. My hunch was right.

Scot Pitzer is a Times Staff Reporter.