Freshmen set tone, veterans follow their lead as QHS wrestlers dominate Fort Madison in home dual

QUINCY — As the newcomers picked up victory after victory in quick and efficient fashion Tuesday night, the old guard on the Quincy High School wrestling team knew the pressure was on to perform.

“I can’t get outdone out here,” senior Eli Roberts said with a chuckle. “I have to keep that line moving and the momentum rolling.”

No one let it die down.

The Blue Devils won five of the first six matches in a dual against Fort Madison (Iowa) with first-period pinfalls before the experienced trio of Roberts, junior Brody Baker and senior Gunnar Derhake dominated the middleweights during a 64-15 team victory at the QHS gym.

“We came out and we were ready to go,” said Derhake, who pinned the Bloodhounds’ Nick Carle in 4 minutes, 55 seconds at 165 pounds. “Everybody showed up today, and I think we put on a great show for the fans. 

“It shows how far our program has come since my freshman year. We lost to (Fort Madison) by quite a bit then. We’ve slowly gotten better and better, All of the hard work shows.”

So does an influx of talent.

With the dual starting at the top at 106 pounds, Quincy freshman Griffin Finch set the tone with a pair of four-point nearfalls and a first-period pin. Two more freshmen — Clayton McClelland at 113 and Derik Lohmeyer at 120 — followed suit with pins in the first minute.

“It sets the momentum,” Derhake said. “It tells everyone else they can do it too.”

Wyatt Boening, a junior at 126, and Cooper Kamm, a sophomore at 138, also had first-period pins. Junior Cale Mixer recorded a second-period pin at 144.

“That gets us so fired up,” Roberts said. “I love all of my teammates winning before me. It sets a really good pace against a really good team.”

Things got a little more challenging for the Blue Devils, but the strength in the middle of the lineup showed.

Roberts, who had three takedowns and a four-point nearfall, led 15-2 before pinning the Bloodhounds’ Cade Goodrich in 4:50 at 150 pounds. Baker had three takedowns and a 13-4 lead before pinning Fort Madison’s Rainer Johnson in 5:33 at 157. Derhake had two takedowns in the first period and a reversal in the second period that led to his pin.

The reason for their success is simple.

“Training together in the room,” Roberts said. “We’re all around the same weight. We all work together, we grind and we just love competing.”

QHS coach Phil Neally sees that every day.

“Great team effort helping each other out,” he said.

Alex Wells at 190 won by second-period pin and King Johnson won a 13-4 decision at 285 to round out the Blue Devils’ scoring. This was QHS’s lone home dual of the season, and the only other home event will be the Quincy Invitational on January 17-18.

That made winning — and dominating — a little extra special.

“It was a great environment for the sport of wrestling,” Neally said.