SOUTHINGTON - For the first 10 matches of Southington's interdivisional contest against Farmington Thursday night, it looked like the visiting Indian might pull off an upset.

But when Dan Dupuis delivered a 7-6, come-from-behind win at 125 pounds, the Blue Knights extended a slim 28-27 lead and went on to win their final four matches. A close call turned into a 49-27 victory.

Dupuis, a junior, admitted after the match that he has been struggling this season. On Thursday, he showed a lot of determination in erasing a 5-1 deficit to Farmington's Andrew Rivera with less than 40 seconds to go in the third period.

"I was losing and I was sick of losing," Dupuis said. "I figured I would try harder, and I won. I haven't done well the last week and a half, and I needed to win.

"When I was down 5-1, I just snapped down my opponent and he fell on his back," he continued. "(Rivera) was quick. He was good at defending me because I wasn't able to take him down very much."

Southington coach Derek Dion said this is what Dupuis is capable of doing all of the time.

"He's been stepping up his workouts in practice," Dion said. "He has a lot of skills; he just has to work through things. When he decides to be a champion, he will. He just has to decide it. He's got the physical tools."

After the Dupuis win, the Blue Knights rattled off consecutive pins by Tyler Morrell (130, 0:29), Mark Membrino (135, 1:21) and Cory Seeger (140, 1:21) for the runaway win.

Seeger is one in a handful of Blue Knights (11-4 overall) with state title hopes. After a bitter end to last season, the junior has started off this season winning 18 consecutive matches.

"Last year, I didn't place," Seeger said. "I had a bad day at qualifying and wasn't feeling good. I didn't care. A lot of people say I choked. I kind of did."

Instead of quitting, Seeger went to two camps over the summer and participated in more tournament-style matches to better prepare himself for the spotlight.

"I learned not to think of it as a big match every time, just to go wrestle and think of your moves and not what's going to happen after the match," Seeger said. "Last year, it was overwhelming knowing my teammates were going to states and I had to keep up with them. It should be better this year."

Dion couldn't be more pleased with his undefeated 140-pounder.

"He's got great hips," Dion said. "He's got a calm demeanor out there and nothing rattles him and he just keeps wrestling. He continuously wrestles, which is huge."

Another Southington junior, Doug Fontaine, is no stranger to big matches. He had an easy time of it Thursday against Matt Natale of Farmington, pinning him in 41 seconds.

Fontaine has been among the state's best since stepping on the mat three years ago and is a threat to win it all again. Last year, wrestling at 103, he won Class LL and placed third at the State Open. Last Friday, Fontaine put another feather in his cap when he went over the 100-win mark for his career.

"It's hard to do," Dion said. "It means you have to come out of the gate as a freshman and win a lot of matches. For him to do it in his junior year is a big accomplishment. The only other kids we had do it were Trevor Ritchie and Bill Lee. He's in pretty good company."

Ritchie set the Blue Knights record for total wins at 140 last year. Fontaine said he wants to claim that record next year.

"It's pretty big and a great accomplishment for me," Fontaine said. "The record is 140 and I think I could get it. I want to accomplish that. It's been the top of the list for me."

This year is different than the first two for Fontaine. He's grown a few inches and is now grappling at 119 pounds. He said the competition has been much tougher at the new weight class. All the same, he's compiled a 19-3 mark.

Senior captain Dillon Ritchie, younger brother of Trevor, has also put in a solid season. The 189-pounder pinned his Farmington opponent, Hanza Fodderwala, in 1:03 for his 20th win of the year against just two losses.

"The plan is to do well in states," Dillon Ritchie said. "I just want to keep working and getting ready for the big matches. As a team, we have more heart than in past years."

Also for Southington on Thursday night, junior Mike Monson pinned David Coyle in 51 seconds and improved to 20-2 on the season. Dion sees the 160-pounder as another Blue Knight who could challenge for a state title.

"He's done a lot of work in the offseason," Dion said. "The only reason he hasn't been talked about is because he has been hurt every year. He hasn't finished a year yet without being injured. Let's knock on wood and hope that he stays healthy. I think he could beat anybody out there. He works hard enough and he deserves it."

Dion said his goal is two defend the CCC North title and place well at the Class LL tournament.

"I hope to score 125 to 130 points in the double-L's and advance four to six kids to the Open and try for a couple of champions," Dion said. "We want to win the league. We have two more matches."

The big conference match is Feb. 4 at home against Glastonbury. Both teams are 3-0 in the North.

Other winners for Southington on Thursday night were Pat Riera (152, 12-1 major decision) and Tyler Calvi-Rogers (215, forfeit).

Amity 66, Cheshire 12: Jed Cervero (112, 2:35) and Kyle Copes (160, 1:13) had pins in Cheshire's lone two wins in the SCC match in Woodbridge. The Rams fell to 2-13. Amity improved to 10-2.