El Dorado Pins a 41-23 Defeat on Old Rival Loara

Loara may not be the heated rival it once was, but the Saxons still bring out the best in El Dorado wrestlers.

The third-ranked Golden Hawks were ready for Loara Thursday, scoring four pins and a technical fall in winning the Empire League meet, 41-23, at El Dorado.

“We were tearing it up out there,” said El Dorado’s P.J. Montano, who won by pin at 215 pounds. “We just flat went after them.”

The Golden Hawks (3-0 in league) were spurred on by Coach Steve Lawson, a three-time Southern Section and Masters champion at El Dorado from 1984 to 1986. Lawson remembers the rivalry was so intense, objects were routinely hurled from the stands and school buses were targets on their way to and from the meet.

“It’s not quite as fierce as it once was,” said Lawson, who won a state title at 194 pounds in 1986. “But it’s still the biggest meet on our league schedules.”

Loara (2-1) held an 11-4 lead after Orlando Galvan, a state champion at 103 pounds last season, pinned James Rust at 112 pounds, and Josh Galvan followed with a technical fall over Matt Ruhlen at 119 pounds.

But El Dorado won the next five matches, including pins by Chuck Rust (130), Keith Collins (140) and Dan Dubois (145), to take a 30-11 lead.

Loara trimmed the lead to 32-20, but Brett Bustrum won a 9-3 decision at 189 pounds and Montano followed with a pin midway through the second period to put the Golden Hawks back up by 21 points.