The Warwick Vets wrestling team has plenty of stars.

But when the chips were down in last Wednesday’s City Championship, it was a trio of unsung heroes who helped push Vets through.

Matt Brown and Jim Slack – JV wrestlers last year – each won a key match in the title round and freshman George Schmeider did the same as the ’Canes edged Pilgrim 44-33 for the title. It’s the third title in a row for the ’Canes and their fifth in six years.

“We had some kids really step up tonight,” said Vets head coach Mike Nappa.

Both Nappa and Pilgrim coach Tom O’Connor said that was the difference.

“Their back row guys – the guys who don’t get a lot of time for them – stepped up and did a hell of a job,” O’Connor said.

The result was a championship Vets was expecting but not taking for granted. With three key injuries, the ’Canes were shorthanded, and they knew the opposition might be able to take advantage.

Vets managed to get past Toll Gate 57-21 in its first match of the night. Brown, Slack, Nathaniel Colicci, Devin Hurst, Vinny Venticinque and Dante Vita all picked up victories for the ’Canes, who also got three forfeits.

Before that, Pilgrim beat Toll Gate 45-30 thanks to wins by Cesar Sanchez, Jordan DeSisto, Nick Gonzalez and Brandon DeSorcy.

That set up a winner-take-all match – for the third year in a row – between the Pats and ’Canes.

“We knew Pilgrim was going to be tough,” Nappa said. “We had three kids out with injuries, and we knew Pilgrim would do some shuffling.”

The Pats ended up giving the ’Canes all they could handle.

The match started at 189, where Pilgrim’s James Welch took control and pinned Vets’ Peter Lee in the second period. Vets forfeited at 215 and, at 285, Pilgrim’s Sanchez pinned Casey Beauregard.

All of a sudden, Pilgrim led 18-0.

Colicci started Vets down the comeback trail with a pin of Benjamin Penick at 103. DeSisto answered with a pin for Pilgrim at 112 before Vets’ Hurst pinned John Gormly at 119. That made it 24-12, but Vets had to forfeit at 125, making it 30-12.

For a Vets team that could emerge as a state title favorite, it was an unfamiliar spot. But if the ’Canes were feeling the pressure, they didn’t show it.

Brown, a junior who just cracked the lineup this season, stepped in at 130 against DeSorcy, a senior and one of the leaders of Pilgrim’s squad. Brown quickly took control with a takedown then pinned DeSorcy with 15 seconds left in the first period.

“This is my third year wrestling and I knew I had to step it up and get a win for my team,” Brown said. “I knew I had to get six.”

Winning one for the team proved to be a common thread.

Slack, another junior, went up against Pilgrim senior Joe Ledo in the next match. Slack delivered a steady performance, building a 4-0 lead through one period and a 6-0 cushion through two. Late in the third period, Slack scored a crucial takedown to pick up a 10-1 major victory, which made it 30-22.

“This cup has been here since my freshman year, and I was thinking it would be a shame not to have it back in the case,” Slack said. “I knew I had to do it for the team. To step up and get a big win for my team in our home gym – there’s nothing better.”

At 140, Pilgrim opted to forfeit to Vets standout Mike Meyers. While that made it 30-28, it also allowed the Pats to put Manny Carvalho at 145. Carvalho went up against Venticinque and won a close match 5-2 thanks to a pair of big takedowns. Carvalho’s victory made it 33-28 and brought the Pats’ energy level to new heights. With three matches left, the ’Canes were again in dangerous territory.

Again, they didn’t blink.

Dante Vita, who’s emerged as a star this season, took care of business with a first-period pin at 152, giving Vets a one-point lead.

Schmeider then stepped in against Pilgrim senior Kevin Powers. While his instructions revolved around just avoiding the pin, Schmeider had bigger plans.

“I told myself, ‘I’m going to win,’” Schmeider said. “Once I got that first takedown, I knew.”

That first takedown came early in the first period, but while it may have helped Schmeider’s confidence, it didn’t wrap anything up. Powers got a reversal to tie the match then got another reversal after Schmeider had taken the lead.

But with just a two-point cushion, Schmeider went hard for a takedown, and got it, late in the second period to jump in front 8-4. Near-fall points in the third period made it 10-4, and Schmeider kept pushing for a 12-4 victory.

Now trailing by five and with Vets’ Nick Salois looming in the final match, Pilgrim forfeited and conceded the win to the ’Canes.

By not getting pinned, Schmeider had kept Vets from a nerve-wracking final match. By winning, he’d clinched the championship.

“George’s job was to not get pinned and try to score if possible,” Nappa said. “And he came through to beat the kid pretty well. George doesn’t believe he can lose. That’s what it takes in this sport. Believing you can win – that’s 90 percent of it.”

By all accounts, the ’Canes have instilled that belief in a lot of their wrestlers. On a night when injuries wreaked havoc and Meyers didn’t even wrestle, the ’Canes still found a way.

“Kids like Slack and Brown, we’ve really been pounding them this year,” Nappa said. “We’ve got Dante and Mike in the room and we try to match them up with those kids. We want to make them better, because if we have a shot to win at states, it’s going to be because of kids like that. We could have made a move to take Slack out of the lineup tonight, but I wanted to see how he would do under pressure. If they can adapt and win with the pressure on them, they’re going to do well in the state tournament.”

As for Wednesday’s meet, the pressure came squarely from Pilgrim. While the Pats were happy that they could apply it, they would have liked to apply a little more.

“We got lucky and they had a couple of kids out of their lineup, but we didn’t take advantage of it,” O’Connor said.

That said, O’Connor saw plenty of positives. The Pats have a young squad this year and they’ve shown significant improvement already. They’ve lost three dual meets, but all three have been crossovers against Division I teams. As the Pats get into the thick of their D-II slate, they figure to be competitive.

“We’re young again, and we really mean it this year,” O’Connor said. “We have 17 freshmen. If we keep the numbers like that, we’ll be all set. We just have to keep working hard. I’m proud of the way we fought tonight. This is a tune-up to get ready for our season, and we’re very positive right now. A lot of the kids stepped up tonight and were better than they were two weeks ago. So as long as that keeps happening, we’ll be all set for sectionals and the state tournament.”

Toll Gate is also gearing up for the remainder of their Division II schedule. The Titans dropped to 0-5 with the losses on Wednesday, but as with Pilgrim, most of the losses have been crossovers. Though low numbers will continue to make for tough sledding, head coach Jerry Sabatelli is hopeful about the remainder of the season.

“I can’t complain about tonight, especially the match against Pilgrim,” Sabatelli said. “At the same time, we could have done better. A couple of my guys didn’t make weight so they didn’t wrestle. We have a young team with some talent, but they’re just not getting the little things, like how important making weight is. If we’re wrestling at weight, I think we’ve got a shot, even with three forfeits. But we’ll build off it and see what we can do from here.”

The Titans will take on another D-I opponent on Wednesday when they visit Cumberland. Pilgrim also returns to action Wednesday at Bishop Hendricken. Vets will be back on the mat Friday, trying to continue a hot start. The ’Canes are 5-0 and tied with Coventry for first place in Division I.

While they’ll be chasing some big goals soon enough, for now they’re thrilled with the one goal they’ve already checked off.

“This is our first goal of the year,” Schmeider said. “I always remember my dad saying, ‘We’re never going to lose a city championship.’ I always said to him, when I get to Vets, I’m not going to lose it once. I’ll cut off my arm before I lose that title.”