Andrew Kratsa was in perfect position to secure a pin during his 145-pound match. But the Fox Chapel senior couldn’t quite guide Peters Township sophomore Dane McMillon’s shoulders to the mat.

When the horn bailed McMillon out, he was facing a 10-point deficit entering the third period. But Kratsa was out of gas.

McMillon pushed the pace, picking up three takedowns and a three-point nearfall to help the Indians pick up a 36-34 nonsection victory Tuesday at Fox Chapel High School with his 16-15 win. McMillon, who was on the Peters Township football team that reached the PIAA Class 5A semifinals, is still getting his conditioning back.

“I had to push through,” McMillon said. “I was obviously gassed. Football shape and wrestling shape are much different.”

McMillon, whose brother, Donovan, plays for the Cleveland Browns, was 11-18 as a freshman in wrestling. He fell behind after Kratsa was able to get on top with a few scrambles that resulted in takedowns.

“I think (Kratsa) wasn’t as healthy as he’d like to be right now,” Fox Chapel coach Michael Frank said. “That’s a match he’ll want back, and that’s a match we’ll want back, obviously.”

Kratsa led 13-3 after a near-fall sequence to end the second period with McMillon twisting and bridging to avoid the pin.

“I always have to fight off my back,” McMillon said. “I don’t want to get pinned. I could have easily given up. I just had to fight for my guys.”

Fox Chapel (0-1) managed to put pressure on the Indians late in the match. Elias Adams (189 pounds) and Joey Geller (215) collected pins to give the Foxes a 34-30 lead going into the last bout.

It was only the sixth match of Adams’ varsity career. Adams, who weighed in at 166 pounds, was willing to go up a weight class to get experience. With the win, Adams improved to 3-3 on his career.

“Eli is a senior for us,” Frank said. “He wanted to get more experience there and wanted to give us a shot. When we talked to Eli about going up a weight class and competing he was eager to do it. I was happy to see him get that win there and show the hard work he’s done throughout the year paid off.”

Peters Township heavyweight Carson Kiger slammed the door with a deliberate approach. He was patient in the first period and was able to secure a takedown in neutral before pinning Colin Neff in the second period.

“The second he got that half in he wasn’t stopping until that kid went over,” coach Jason Carpetta said.

Peters Township opened the match with an 18-0 advantage with pins from Gabe Green at Easton Baker at 107 and 114 pounds, respectively.

Fox Chapel battled back with pins by Luke Krushinski (127), DJ Noel (139) and Calyx Kimbrough (160). Adam Haines also won by major decision at 152 pounds for the Foxes.

“It was fun to watch,” Carpetta said. “It was getting scary toward the end. I knew we were going to be out here battling.”