Many times this season, the Toll Gate wrestling team has won more bouts than its opponent, only to lose because of forfeits. The Titans typically forfeit three matches every time out, causing some frustration when the overall effort is good enough for a win.

Last Wednesday, the Titans delivered one of their best efforts of the season – and took a home a win to show for it. Toll Gate traveled to Lincoln, won six of the nine contested matches and posted a 45-30 victory, their third of the season.

"I'm really pleased with the effort tonight," said head coach Jerry Sabatelli. "The whole lineup, everybody did what they needed to do to get us a win."

The Titans came in with a 2-8 record in dual meets. Sabatelli expected a nip-and-tuck match against the Lions, who came in with three wins and, like Toll Gate, some holes in their lineup. With three Toll Gate forfeits and two Lincoln forfeits factored in, the match would come down to nine bouts.

In most of them – even the ones they lost – the Titans delivered what Sabatelli was looking for.

"Even some of the guys who lost tonight, like Zach Olink and Andrew Medeiros, I told them you can still help this team win, even with a tough match-up," Sabatelli said. "They fought hard and they didn't get pinned. That was huge."

With Lincoln forfeiting at 103 and 112, the match started at 119, where Toll Gate freshman Joe Martinez took on Joe Beaudreault. Martinez fell behind 4-0 but tied the score on two reversals then pinned Beaudreault with 1:28 left in the third period.

Lincoln picked up a pair of wins from Mike Siou and Josh Campbell, making the score 18-9. But at 135, the Titans got back on the board. Senior Josh Travers continued his outstanding season with a quick pin of Chris Beauchene, getting it done in 43 seconds. Nick Cookson followed with a pin at 145.

Lincoln stayed close thanks to a victory by Max Lee over Olink at 160, but for the Titans, the damage was minimal. Olink got taken down early and went to his back, but from there, he fought back and almost pulled out a victory. He lost 7-6.

At that point, the Titans led by six, with four matches left. They would forfeit one of those matches, meaning the score was essentially tied.

The match would come down to three bouts.

For the Titans, they couldn't have gone any better.

Micah Brown nearly pinned Gordon Brillon in the second period at 171 then finished the job in the third.

"We needed six out of him tonight, no doubt about it," Sabatelli said. "He had his opportunities, and one thing I've been preaching to him is that when you have a guy on his back, you have to finish. You have to do the things you need to do, because you can't let those opportunities slip by, especially in a close match like this."

Next came a pivotal match at 189, where Toll Gate's Anthony Wesley pinned Steve Corio in just 45 seconds. Just like that, the Titans had an insurmountable lead.

"Honestly, I figured it would come down to heavyweight," Sabatelli said. "On paper, I had it tied going in there. But we got a big win out of my 189-pounder, Anthony Wesley. He's kind of new. He's only been out for a couple of weeks. He's still kind of raw, but he used the couple of moves he knows and he came up big tonight."

Max Goldstein put the finishing touches on the victory with a strong showing at heavyweight. Goldstein and Anthony Joyce went back-and-forth for most of the match, until Goldstein scored a takedown with just three seconds on the clock to seal a 6-4 victory.

"Heavyweight was a great match," Sabatelli said. "Joyce is a good wrestler and a big kid. He tipped the scales around 275 tonight. We try to stick to the plan with Max, since he's not a big, big heavyweight. He gets the job done by sticking to the plan and keeping it simple."

Goldstein's win capped a strong finish by the Titans, one that included plenty of cheering on the bench. Sabatelli loved seeing that, especially considering the way things went for the Titans earlier in the season, when crossover matches made for tough sledding.

"It's good to see the kids getting into it," Sabatelli said. "The way our schedule starts, it kills us. I've actually lost three kids because of it. They've quit because it's so discouraging. It's tough to stay positive in practice when you're getting your butt kicked in the first month and a half of the season. But these 12 guys have stuck with it. We're doing the things we need to do individually. We just don't have the bodies. That's what shows up in the papers. Unfortunately, it's not a true measurement of what we've got. We have some good wrestlers who are working really hard."

Several Titans could make waves in the postseason meets. Travers should be one of the favorites to win the D-II title at 135. At the Hurricane Invitational, Travers lost in the finals to Cranston West's Everett Desilets, who might be the New England favorite.

"Josh wrestled Everett 10-2, so it was a good test for him," Sabatelli said. "He still needs some work but he's getting better. Right now, our goal is to have him be the sectional champ so we're on the opposite side of Everett at states. He's really been working hard to get ready for sectionals. As long as he stays healthy and keeps working hard, he should have a good chance to finish where he wants to finish. We'd like to get him to the finals at states and get him to New Englands. That's the big goal."

The rest of the Titans are chasing their own personal goals as the team heads down the stretch.

"We're young so we're in rebuilding mode, but we've still got goals they want to reach and attain," Sabatelli said. "Hopefully, we can finish out the year strong and see if we can make a dent at sectionals."

The Titans will visit Woonsocket tonight at 7 p.m. before traveling to Burrillville on Wednesday.