Head coach Roberto Morales admitted he hid his expectations from his Perth Amboy wrestling team.
He had his reasons. The biggest: his senior class was 12-42 in their first three seasons.
So Morales lower his goals — at least those he shared with his team.
“I told them we won six matches (last season) so let’s try and win seven,” he said. “We haven’t sent a kid to the regions since 2022, so let’s try and push somebody through.”
Morales, who has been coaching wrestling in the Perth Amboy district for 30 years, was sandbagging.
“I didn’t tell them we could have 14 wins or contend for the division title,” Morales said.
“Our seniors had two wins, four wins and then six wins,” Morales said. “I remember seeing them as freshmen and thinking if they can just stick together …”
Well they did.
With a little help from some first-time starters and improved returners, Perth Amboy won its 14th dual meet on Wednesday night, defeating Linden, 45-30.
Now 14-3, Perth Amboy has won five-straight dual meets. It wrestles its final regular-season dual Friday night at North Plainfield.
“This is a special group,” Morales said. “They’re a mixed bag. They have a little bit of everything. We start three kids who didn’t wrestle at all last year. They put a little life in the program.”
In the win over Linden, Perth Amboy won nine bouts, including key victories by Ricardo Henriquez, who had a pin at 175 pounds, and Branden Rodriguez, who followed with a technical fall at 190 after Linden closed to within 28-24 with four bouts to go.
“This absolutely was a match we would have lost last year,” Morales said. “Our kids are in great shape. We have good senior leadership.
“I think it’s the first time we’ve beaten Linden — at least since I’ve been head coach.”
It’s been a year where Perth Amboy wrestles with confidence and without fear.
Wrestling without its regular 138-pounder, Morales won the toss and made a move, which would change the match.
He sent Abdiel Perez out at 132 and bumped Kevin Alba Hernandez up to 138.
“When I told Abdiel he was going out he was saying ‘but coach I haven’t won a match.’ I told him I had confidence in him.”
Perez won by major decision.
Hernandez, a senior, followed with a first-period pin.
Perth Amboy also won the next three bouts at 144, 150 and 157 and opened up a 28-18 lead.
“The move worked out,” Morales said. “That got us rolling.
“In the last few years, we’ve used 25 or 30 different kids in the lineup. But this year, we had pretty much the same lineup. It makes a difference.”
Perth Amboy has earned a spot in the IBEW Local 102/NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 5 Tournament. The closest the Panthers have come to a winning season since 2010 were a pair of 12-12 seasons in 2013 and 2017.
When it wrestles at top-seeded Jackson Township next Monday, Perth Amboy will be making its fourth sectional appearance. It has one tournament victory — that came in 2016 when the Panthers defeated Ridge, 43-27.
“Look at Ridge now,” Morales said.
Being big underdogs against the 15-2 Jaguars, who are ranked No. 14 in the state by NJ.com, doesn’t matter to Morales.
“Making the sectionals is a big deal, man,” Morales said. “Consider where we’ve come from. When you make the sectionals it means you are doing something right.
“I don’t expect us to come out and shock the world or anything,” he added. “Our kids will be ready to wrestle. They’ll give a good effort. We will win some (bouts).
