There was a lot that looked and felt unfamiliar when Northwestern visited Lehighton to open the wrestling season on Friday night.

But the one constant for both the Indians and the Tigers was their effort on the mats.

Lehighton came away with a 46-30 non-league win over Northwestern, the first step for a pair of programs looking to get back into the swing of things after being able to practice this past Monday.

“That was a great way to get started,” said Indians’ head coach Floyd Brown. “I was a little worried, coming in with four days of practice. But we did OK. It was a nice way to start the season.

“I had it on paper as a pretty close match, and we came out and wrestled fairly well.”

Both teams shook off the rust from a three-week layoff after the initial start of the season due to Gov. Tom Wolf’s time-limited coronavirus mitigation efforts that were put in place in December.

Down 12-0, Lehighton got on the board when heavyweight Michael Yeakel picked up a pin. The victory was the first of seven in the next eight matches, which helped the Tribe build a commanding 42-18 advantage.

In addition to the unknowns that came with competing again after a lengthy break, wrestlers also had the uncertainty of grappling with their masks on, something that ultimately proved to be a non-factor.

“I was definitely a little bit nervous about wearing a mask during a match and being able to perform,” said Yeakel. “But just practicing with it on has really helped tremendously.

“I wasn’t sure how the first match back would be, but as soon as we got into it and started scrapping, it was just like what I remember it being.”

Yeakel, Aidan Gruber (113), Steven Fritzinger (138) and Jon Ahner (145) all had pins for Lehighton, which also benefited from three Northwestern forfeits.

Richard Fronheiser capped the night with a major decision in the final match at 172 pounds for the Tribe.

It was an especially emotional night for Fronheiser, who is beginning his senior season.

“It felt great to get back out on the mat,” said Fronheiser, who was a regional qualifier a year ago. “Most people know I lost my father (Lamar) in September, and this is the biggest sport he pushed me in so it just feels great to get back out there and come away with a win in my first match of my senior year, keeping him proud.”

Pins by Dartanyon DeLillo at 189 pounds and Isaiah Johri at 215 gave the Tigers a 12-0 lead before the Indians started their run.

Sandwiched between Lehighton’s surge was a first period fall by sophomore Josie Wehr at 120 pounds.

“She did great,” said Northwestern coach Jim Moll. “She was clean and her go-behinds were good; she was tough on top; aggressive and physical. She was one of the highlights.

“She’s one of the tougher kids in the room. We saw it when she was in junior high; she was just a tough, tough kid. You can’t break her. She’s got the right mentality to be a wrestler. I was interested to see how nerves would get to her in her first varsity match, and it didn’t appear that they did. She handled her first varsity match very well.”

Northwestern also got pins from Mason Brensinger (160) and Ben Griffith (152).

Both programs came away from the night knowing there will be plenty of work to do as the season unfolds.

“It wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, but it shows us where we are,” said Moll.

“You go through everything and get the kids as ready as you can,” added Brown. “And with the two-and-a-half weeks of practice at the start of the season and then that three-week break, there are so many things we didn’t get to that we normally do. Coming out and wrestling tonight you can kind of see that, but we know what we need to work on.”

DIFFERENT LOOK

... The match was contested on two mats in the high school gym to allow for sanitizing in between bouts. With attendance limited, wrestlers spent the match spread out in the bleachers.

BACK AT IT

... Lehighton hosts North Schuylkill today at 11 a.m.

Lehighton 46, Northwestern 30

189 - Dartanyon DeLillo (NW) pinned Kai Phillips in :21; 215 - Isaiah Johri (NW) pinned Gauge Hartney in 4:43; 285 - Michael Yeakel (L) pinned Elijah Johri in 1:13; 106 - Andrew Versuk (L) won by forfeit ; 113 - Aidan Gruber (L) pinned Ryan Bergenstock in 1:00 ; 120 - Josie Wehr (NW) pinned Reese Scaturro in 1:29 ; 126 - Nick Zeigenfuss (L) won by forfeit ; 132 - Lukas Ferguson (L) won by forfeit ; 138 - Steven Fritzinger (L) pinned Elijah Dellicker in 5:04; 145 - Jon Ahner (L) pinned Braxton Hoffman in 1:01; 152 - Ben Griffith (NW) pinned Chance Neeb in 3:32; 160 - Mason Brensinger (NW) pinned James Traylor in 3:40; 172

- Richard Fronheiser (L) major dec. Lucas Miller, 12-3.