It wasn't just another Northwestern pin. It was a statement. A statement to let the rest of the Colonial League know the Tigers a team to be taken seriously.

His teammates didn't give Jacob Murray much of a chance against Salisbury's Alex Nicholas, who clearly outweighed him at the 285-pound bout. But that didn't deter the junior's confidence one bit.

Murray, after falling in an early 2-0 deficit after the first period and 3-1 in the second, reversed Nicholas moments later. A few seconds after that, Murray's hand was raised in victory by way of fall in 2:51. It was the eighth Northwestern pin in the Tigers' 58-12 victory over the Falcons last Thursday.

"They were sort of doubting me a little bit," said Murray, who improved to 12-5 this season. "They just told me to stay out of the tie-ups.

"I was really surprised because I threw that roll, and I was right there for the pin."

"I told him [Murray] last night that he was the most impressive wrestler on our team," head coach Jim Moll said. "And I think he was tonight, too. That kid was big and strong. He liked his under hooks, and he was good at them. Murray did a good job avoiding them and getting out of them when he could."

The Tigers' (9-4 overall; 4-0 in Colonial League) victory over the Falcons (0-6 overall; 0-4 in Colonial League) came roughly 24 hours after their 44-27 win over Pen Argyl. It was their fourth league win by at least 17 points.

More impressively, it comes after a season in which the Tigers experienced victory in the Colonial League just once.

"Our guys wrestled good both nights," Moll said. "That's all we really askcome out and wrestle well.

"Our freshmen and sophomores have stepped up so far this year. That makes a big difference. We have more guys that step up on a daily basis"

Salisbury's Shane Simononis pinned Sam Day in 1:16 to cut Northwestern's advantage to 34-12. It was the Falcons' second, and last, victory of the match.

After that, the Tigers went on a spurt to end the match that saw four consecutive falls.

Following a forfeit victory for Andrew Sorenson (2-0) at 170 pounds, Anthony Fillis (182, 6-9) Alex Russo (195, 13-6), Quin Moyer (195, 9-12) and Murray (285) earned falls by the second period. That ended a dominant stretch for the Tigers.

"We've always had the potential to be a great team, but we never had the full lineup," Murray said. "This year it all fell into place for us."

Matt Peters (14-4) set the tone for the rest of the match with his fall to open the match at 106 pounds. He rode an 8-1 lead into the final seconds of the first period before pinning Salisbury's Michael Murphy in 1:58.

Zach Adams picked up a fall for the Falcons two bouts later, but Jarett White (126, 15-3), Dalton Webster (132, 5-4), David VanBlargan (138, 9-9) and Caleb Clymer (145, 15-9) reeled off four consecutive pins for the home team.

"Clymer wrestled well," Moll said. "That kid [Scarcia] was tough. Anthony Fillis did a good job tonight. It was scoreless through the first period. He pushed the action, got a stalling call, and capitalized on some mistakes in the second period and got a fall."

The Tigers will compete in Saturday's Elizabethtown Challenge Tournament with Elizabethtown and Lower Dauphin at 9 a.m.

Results from Wednesday's match at Wilson were not available at time of press.