SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : DIVISION I WRESTLING : First Loss Closes Season as Savanna Falls to Indio

Indio ended Savanna’s undefeated season with a 45-23 victory over the second-seeded Rebels in the Southern Section Division I wrestling dual meet semifinals Wednesday night at Savanna High School.

Indio, the tournament’s third-seeded team and the defending champion, manhandled Dos Pueblos, 42-21, and Santa Ana, 46-22, before scoring seven pins to eliminate Savanna (25-1). Indio (17-1) will meet El Modena for the championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at El Modena.

“An outstanding team, a great coach and a great program,” Savanna Coach Tom Casper said of Indio. “We ended up with the second-best record we’ve ever had with kind of a young team.”

Indio’s Brian Franco (12-3) upset the Rebels’ Brian Neal (43-7) with a pin at 3:30 in the 145-pound division, giving Indio a 23-20 lead.

“(Franco) is a young man who is unknown, who’s been out with an injury,” Indio Coach John Rice said. “He’s very talented with good strength. We thought he could catch their No. 4 (Neal) by surprise and he did.”

After Savanna’s David Rosales put the Rebels back on top at 24-23 with a 9-1 decision over Jason Molinar, Indio won the final four matches, three of them by pins.

Savanna got pins from Randy Bowers, over Andy Jimenez at 30 seconds in the 112-pound division, and Teak Sato (46-2), at 5:54 over Lupe Venegas at 125 pounds.

Savanna reached the finals with a 52-16 victory over Thousand Oaks and a 38-25 decision over Fontana. Sato scored pins in all three of his matches.

Santa Ana (19-2) defeated Canyon, 51-19, before the loss to Indio. The Saints’ Alonzo Ruiz (35-2) scored a 5-4 decision over Indio’s Rick Carreon (38-3) in the 171-pound division.