By NICK KOSKO
Correspondent
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Imagine the noise of the crowd at an NFL football game right after the home team scores a touchdown. Now imagine that same noise level and picture hearing it in the Egg Harbor Township High School gymnasium. This was indeed the scene after Gateway’s Antonio Mininno knocked off top-seeded Luis Rivera of Buena, 4-3, in the Region 8 quarterfinals at 113 pounds. The Friday round of the region tournament tends to supply fans with great wrestling and a few surprising upsets. Mininno, a freshman, was seeded eighth despite a 32-1 record and managed to pull off the biggest upset of the evening by getting a takedown with 20 seconds left in the match. “That third period, I knew (Rivera) was getting gassed, so I had to keep pushing. After I drew a stalling call on him, I knew if I could keep moving him around I could generate another point or two,” Mininno said. Gateway head coach Jim Rutter knew it would be a tough match, but knew his wrestler could pull off the victory. “We told him to keep after it. Rivera is an extremely tough kid and we knew it would be a challenge. Antonio has a gas tank that’ll last until Christmas so we knew he would have the advantage in the end,” Rutter said. Mininno trailed 3-1 in the third period and eventually Rivera was hit with a stalling call to make it 3-2. After he fell out of bounds and hit his shoulder on the scoring table, Mininno came back even harder and was able to get a takedown to win. “Tomorrow is going to be another battle with (Paulsboro’s Anthony) Duca, and after a win today, I feel pretty good,” Mininno said. 
Pat D’Arcy of Holy Spirit dominated John Seybold of Clearview in his quarterfinal matchup at 126 pounds. D’Arcy won 12-1 as he continues his quest for another Region title after winning his fourth straight District 32 championship last weekend. Ocean City’s Vinny Levin edged Keshawn Branham of Winslow 4-2 to earn a spot in the semi-finals at 152 pounds. Despite a loss tonight, wrestlers will be able to wrestle back Saturday to earn a spot on the podium. Ocean City’s Luke Demore and Andrew Morrill dropped matches at 160 and 170, respectively. Egg Harbor Township’s Terrell Coleman dropped a 5-1 decision and will look to bounce back in wrestle backs at 106. Semifinals begin at 10 a.m. at Egg Harbor Township, followed by wrestlebacks in the afternoon and finals in the late afternoon.
