BATTLE CREEK — The wrestling team may have been visiting the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history, but right away, the Blue Devils showed they belong with the elite teams in the state.
The squad had no problem defeating Otsego 36-27.
The No. 3-seed Blue Devils advance to the state semifinals at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Kellogg Arena and will face No. 2 seed and 2010 state runner-up Dundee (31-4), which beat Midland Bullock Creek 50-9 Friday.
Find out what's happening in Fentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"I can't really describe the feeling of finally being on a good team and competing with the best teams in the state," said senior Drew Morris. "To come out and wrestle with good kids in this atmosphere, it's one of those indescribable moments."
While nothing came easy for Lake Fenton, the Blue Devils won five consecutive matches, starting with a pin from Todd Melick at 119 pounds to build a 26-11 lead. Buddy Poyner (125) and Bryce Hopkins (130) each picked up 9-4 decision wins; Zach Corcoran (135) won 11-5, and Justin Melick earned a 12-0 major decision at 145 pounds.
Find out what's happening in Fentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"We didn't know a whole lot about them, but they wrestled hard," said Lake Fenton coach Vance Corcoran. "They were always in position and stayed off their backs."
Lake Fenton trailed a couple of times early in the match, but once the Blue Devils got into the heart of the lineup, which includes six individual regional champions, Otsego just couldn't hold them back.
"We didn't wrestled top notch, but we still wrestled good," said Corcoran, a senior. "We cut weight and felt a little sluggish — at least, I did — but tomorrow is going to be a better day."
Otsego finsihed the season 38-5.
Lake Fenton won its first in wrestling last week by beating Saginaw Swan Valley 55-17 and Birch Run 41-34.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
