Some call it toughness. Others call it stubbornness. Perhaps it is simply desire and pride. The Thomaston High wrestling team showed a bit of it all Wednesday in a Berkshire League match with arch rival Terryville. Despite giving up 12 points in forfeits, the Bears handed Terryville its first loss of the season in a 44-27 decision. Terryville was hoping to take a big step toward contending for its first BL title in 21 years, confident after winning its first two league matches solidly over emerging Wolcott Tech and defending BL champion Gilbert. However, Thomaston won seven of the 12 matches on the mat, with five pins and one technical fall (winning by 15 points or more) to secure the win. Terryville (3-1, 2-1 BL) didn’t have a pin on the evening. Thomaston coach John Perrucci was pleased with his team’s efforts, considering it lost its first two BL matches to Nonnewaug and Gilbert and has just 13 wrestlers on their team. “We’re a small team, but we wrestle tough,” he said. “What we lack in experience and talent, we make up for in toughness. Our kids work hard, very hard on not getting pinned. That enables our more talented wrestlers to have more of an impact.” Thomaston’s Sal SantaMaria lost by tech fall in the opening match at 189 pounds, saving his team one point. Teams get six points for a pin, but just five for a tech fall. At 145, Aaron Kennedy was shut out by a 14-0 score but didn’t get pinned, giving up just four team points. “The difference is how bad you want it,” Thomaston junior captain Kyle Oldham said. “Who wants it more?” Added Perrucci, “They don’t liketo lose and they show it on the mat.” Tied at 5-5 after two matches, Thomaston (6-4, 1-2 BL) won three of the next four matches by pin.The Bears won the fourth match by a disqualification when a Terryville wrestler was penalized three times for locking hands and took a commanding 29-5 lead. Cliff Aquino (103) and Alan Sanford (119) each were taken down early, but both rallied to win with pins in the second period. The Kangaroos picked up a forfeit win at 125, and Terryville’s Ben Russo (130) cut the Bears’ lead to 15 points when he outlasted Thomaston’s Rigon Gilani, 7-4, getting a takedown in the final seconds to ice the victory. But Thomaston refused to quit, with Travis Barstow (135) picking up a takedown and near fall in the final minute to beat Terryville’s Joey Bellmay, 10-6, and put the Bears back in command. The bout was tied 5-5 after two periods. Bellmay escaped to take a one-point lead, but Barstow got a two-point takedown with a minute left and turned Bellmay to his back with 30 seconds remaining. Oldham (140) virtually clinched the match with a pin in just 1:40. “I’m disappointed,” Terryville coach Peter Veleas said. “They were tougher than us. We’ll have to work hard toget better.” There are some inexperienced wrestlers sprinkled throughout the Kangaroos’ lineup. He thought they would be ready. “We’ll just have to keep wrestling and moving forward,” he said. “We want to be better each day than we were the day before. But it’s hard to swallow tonight.” It was Thomaston’s sixth win in nine matches with the Kangaroos. -Courtesy Rep-Am-