Delsea's Maxwell hitting his stride in "wrestling shape"
MOORESTOWN – There is, as some wrestling coach reminds him pretty much every November, 'football shape,' and there's wrestling shape.
Delsea junior Luke Maxwell found himself in a position to appreciate that this season like he never has before.
“There's a huge difference,” he said, after wrapping up a 5-0 weekend on the mat Saturday at the Jack Welch Duals at Moorestown High School. “Wrestling shape and football shape are two totally different things. The first couple weeks of wrestling are bad – there's a huge transition. (But) after my first couple wins, I started building confidence. I can still do this. I'm still good at it.”
You can understand if he wondered, though. Maxwell, a running back and defensive end for the Crusaders' football team, didn't get a sophomore wrestling season. He went 31-11 as a freshman, placed second in District 29 and then sixth in Region 8, but he was injured during his sophomore football season and spent last winter doing rehab and recovery.
He underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his shoulder and for six months, he says, he was unable to do anything.
Once that time was over, football season was coming up again fast. He got a little time in first on his surfboard; he's been riding the waves at Stone Harbor, Ocean City or Sea Isle since he was about 10.
“My brother just always did it, so I wanted to try it,” Maxwell said. “It's fun and relaxing – it's a good way to get away from everything. It's something to do in the summer time, and not focus on sports.”
Sports became his biggest focus again, long before the summer was over.
“Once I got back, I had to start lifting for football,” he said. “But I've been fine all this year.”
Maxwell carried 127 times for 1,101 yards and 14 touchdowns to help Delsea march to the South Jersey Group 3 title game. He was also the team's leader, with four catches for 49 yards and four touchdowns.
It says something about the Delsea offense, that four catches can make you the receiving leader, but 1,101 yards doesn't top the rushing stats. For a running back who's a two-way player, it can be a grind.
But it still doesn't get you in wrestling shape.
“Coming off of football, and being big and strong – I don't think it really cost him much in matches,” Delsea coach Greg Sawyer said. “But I look at him now, and the way he's able to keep attacking and keep scoring – that (work) is paying off.”
Maxwell's weekend started with a 53-second pin of Egg Harbor Township's Matthew Marshall on Friday. He followed that up with a technical fall win over Clearview's Jake Gallagher, 16-0 in 2:46.
He finally surrendered his first point of the weekend against Newton's Brody Guerra, but he won a 14-1 major decision.
The progression continued Saturday with a pair of tough six-minute matches. Maxwell was more than equal to them both.
His early takedown stood up as the difference maker in a 3-2 win over Howell's Dane Culfer. He was the better wrestler again from the neutral position against Austin Quandt of Delbarton in the final. Three takedowns helped decide his 8-3 decision.
The win over Quandt was Maxwell's 14th in a row. He's got four pins, five technical falls and four major decisions to his credit.
As for being big and strong – well, that desribes the strongest part of the Crusaders' lineup in detail. The four top weights have 80 wins in 88 bouts. Jared Schoppe is 22-0 at 175 pounds. Danny DiGiovacchini, the 190-pounder, is 20-3 and heavyweight Rocco Bennett is 16-3.
They have exactly 50 pins between them.
It's tough to stand out, in that group.
On the other hand, it's going to be tough to work with that group, day-in and day-out, and not eventually stand out.
Sawyer thinks Maxwell's time is coming.
“I'd like to see him high on the podium this year,” the coach said. “That's what I think of his potential. There are still little things (to work on). With him it's kind of wrestling IQ – when not to let people up, and when to make sure you score that extra point. He did some good things, scoring at the end of the period in that last match. A lot of it is just that – those little details that will make the difference down the home stretch.”
John A. Lewis is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times, Courier Post and The Daily Journal. E-mail him at jlewis@thebct.com or follow on Twitter @JohnLewis19. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Delsea's Maxwell putting best foot forward as season hits midpoint
