BIDDEFORD — Bonus points are big for any wrestling team and the Biddeford Tigers made the most of them on Wednesday night against visiting Portland.

The Tigers would get six points in all 10 of their wins – with six pins and four forfeits – as they rolled to a 60-21 win over the Bulldogs.

Picking up pins for the Tigers were Josiah Garcia (132 pounds), Dwayne Dyer (145), Myles Villarreal (160), Matthieu Gagne (182), Shayne Welch (195) and Devyn Butler (285).

Biddeford’s Peyton Bissonnette (106), Chris Doner (113), Noah Gagne (138) and Chris Lantagne (220) all accepted forfeits in the victory.

Biddeford coach Steve Vermette was pleased for the most part with what he saw on the mat, but also knows there is room for improvement.

“They did alright, they did what I expected. There were a couple matches there where I thought we should of wrestled a little tougher,” said Vermette.

Biddeford standout Brian Livermore suffered a heartbreaking 7-5 loss to Zach Elowitch at 152 pounds. Down 2-1 heading into the third period, Livermore was able to work a cradle for three back points to take a 4-2 lead. Elowitch would come right back with an escape and a takedown to go up 5- 4, but Livermore tied it with an escape with just 40 seconds left.

Unfortunately for Livermore, he gave up a takedown as time expired and Elowitch picked up the win.

“He needs to be more offensive. He needs to score right away … he’s just too defensive. We will get him there,” said Vermette, who is hoping Livermore will use this experience to become stronger. “Hopefully he’s going to learn. To wrestle tougher, he’s got to score points. He was a little sloppy with his cradle … we have some things to work on.”

Vermette was impressed with Dyer, who wrestled at 145 despite weighing just 136 pounds at weigh-ins.

“We bumped him up a weight class. The kid was really long, but he was smart … he did a good job and ended up getting the pin,” said Vermette.

Vermette was also happy with what he saw from Villarreal, who returned to the wrestling room after taking a year off.

“He’ll be tough. He’s a good little wrestler,” said Vermette.

Wednesday night’s win pushed Biddeford’s record to 3-0 on the year and Vermette is confident that his squad can compete with the area’s best teams.

“I think we are right there. I mean you have the powerhouses in Noble, Massabesic and Marshwood, but I think we are right there behind them,” said Vermette.

In other action on Wednesday, Thornton Academy’s Garin Gregoire, who competes out of the Biddeford wrestling room, dropped a 4-0 decision. Vermette believes Gregoire, who qualified for states last year, will get better once he gets more time on the mat.

“He’s just getting back … he missed a lot of practice, so he’s got to be better conditioned. If he was better conditioned, he would have done a little better,” said Vermette.

Also last night, Biddeford’s Billy Doner and Zack Vallee picked up pins against a pair of Falmouth wrestlers, who wrestle with the Portland program.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.