By JONATHAN GUTH
For MVI Sports
Southmoreland opened its season with a 57-14 victory in Section 2-2A action Wednesday in Alverton over a short-handed Belle Vernon squad.
Three Leopard starters, Kole Doppelheuer, Luke Bryer and Perry Riggle were not in the lineup because they play for the Belle Vernon football team, who is preparing for the state final on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Doppelheuer, a sophomore, was 32-8 last year and one victory short of qualifying for the state tournament in Class 3A, while Bryer and Riggle also started.
“We will eventually be able to fill 10 weight classes for sure, maybe even 11, so we will get it down to two or three forfeits,” Belle Vernon coach Bob Bove said. “The three guys that are out are all solid. We are expecting really big things from Kole. Luke Bryer had a really good season last year, so we are expecting big things from him, and Perry was starting to come on as a heavyweight towards the end of the year, and he has gotten really big, so we are going to teach him how to use that weight.
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