BERLIN — Two undefeated minds were thinking alike.

Berlin’s Jon Fiorillo would be wrestling up from his usual slot at 160 pounds, setting up a monumental scuffle with Bacon Academy’s Sean Burgess at 171. Neither had met his match in 35 previous bouts. Both were state champions last year.

Each went through the day at school trying to keep the encounter in perspective.

They wanted to hit the mat unencumbered by any mental driftwood. They knew that the result of their bout could be pivotal in a match between two of the top six teams in the state.

Fiorillo emerged with the decision and the sixth-ranked Redcoats rode a wave of senior night emotion Wednesday night in defeating No. 4 Bacon, 39-25, in a classic non-league showdown.

Berlin (21-7) had a 17-0 lead when Fiorillo and Burgess shook hands in the circle. Their meeting wasn’t inevitable. Either coach could have bumped his star away for the sake of a team victory, but a bout of this caliber would prime both for the rugged postseason road that lies ahead.

Both were mentally prepared.

“I tried not to think about it too much because that never really got me anywhere,” said Fiorillo, the reigning Class L champion at 160 who was fifth in the State Open. “I tend to just relax and then when the match comes I can turn it up pretty well.

“I train hard in practice and that’s when I give him my respect.”

Burgess shares Fiorillo’s philosophy.

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“You try and not think about it too much because then it gets into your head,” Burgess said. “If you open the door in your head in a negative direction, it’ll eat at you. You’ll beat yourself before you even get on the mat so you’ve got to try and stay positive and not think about it at all.”

Fiorillo, who weighed in about 10 pounds less than Burgess, gained the edge when he scored a takedown just over a minute into the first period. He took Burgess briefly to his back for a two-point nearfall. His confidence soared.

“The nearfall at the beginning helped a lot,” Fiorillo said. “He kept coming. He’s hard to score on and he tied up strong.”

Burgess escaped with 31 seconds left in the period and trailed 4-1.

Fiorillo deferred at the start of the second period. Burgess chose the down position and promptly escaped. He took Fiorillo down midway through the period to tie the bout at 4-4.

Fiorillo escaped 15 seconds later to gain a one-point edge. An apparent takedown at the very end of the period by Burgess was a split second after the horn. Down for the final period, Fiorillo escaped to gain the 6-4 win.

“(Fiorillo) hadn’t wrestled anybody that good yet,” Berlin coach Dave Tremblay said. “It was a test for him and it shows him what he has to work on.”

“It’s tough to find another kid who’s legitimately undefeated. (Bacon) wrestles everybody in the top 10, too, so for him to be undefeated means he’s a legit kid. Jon’s come across kids who were 18-2 who he’s tech falled in the second period, so for him to have a legit match this late in the season is excellent for him.”

Kevin Moss gave Berlin a jump-start by scoring an 8-5 decision over Matt Hill at 140.

“I bumped Moss up to 140 to wrestle their kid, who was 24-3,” Tremblay said. “I figured I’d put our best kid with their best kid.”

Ethan Berube (145) was masterful in sticking Dan Thompson in 3:13.

The Banks brothers Jack (152) and Cameron (160) each won major decisions over quality foes. Jack Banks scored a takedown with a second left in the first period and earned a two-point nearfall with a second left in the third to secure four team points.

After Fiorillo gave Berlin five straight wins, Aren Norman stopped the string with a 6-4 decision over game senior Jamie Luczynski.

Berlin 215-pounder J.R. Dynak trailed Matt Mercado 4-2 when he suddenly turned him and pinned at 2:40 to give the team a huge lift.

The Bobcats (28-4) won by fall at 285 and 103 to narrow Berlin’s lead to 26-15, but Will Matusak (112) answered with a major decision over Jesse Faipler. Bacon again crept to within 11 after a major decision by Clayton Johnston (119), but Berlin’s Ryan Bisson used a second-period nearfall to sink Andrew Hill, assuring Berlin of victory with two bouts to go.

Berlin senior Chris Solek (130) stuck Duncan MacKinnon at 3:48. Bacon’s P.J. Mickens won by fall in the final bout.