The moment everyone has been waiting for!! Wrestling season is here!!!!
Blackman opened the fire pit Tuesday night and hosted Region Five opponents Lawrence County and Warren County in the first duals of the regular season.
Opening night is always exciting for the wrestlers. That’s a no brainer. Parents on the other hand sometimes have it rough while getting used to the butterflies as little Johnny (or Suzie) goes out there all alone in that big circle.
Nothing to fear though. The Blaze came out of the gate swinging a big stick and pretty quickly, it was back to business as usual.
The first dual with Lawrence County started with an exhibition match to get things warmed up. Sophomore Adin Heathcott had a takedown in the first five seconds of his match and never looked back. Heathcott amassed a 13-3 lead before locking up a cradle for a pin.
The dual started at 113 with freshman Grant Myers earning a first period pin over Lawrence County senior Hector Gonzalez-Silva. (yes…. I said SENIOR….) Lawrence County forfeited 126 and then another Blaze freshman, Mason Sells, took the mat and scored a second period pin over Lawrence County SENIOR Bailey Murphy. Coach Bray has been telling these freshmen that they better be prepared to beat seniors in their first year of high school. Looks like they were paying attention.
At 138, Austin Marlatt was dominant. Marlatt got a few takedowns before locking up a cradle and pinning Jacob Golden.
Lawrence County is in a bit of a rebuilding mode this season and they had to forfeit 145, 152, and 160.
At 170, Anthony Gomez looked good in a quick first period pin of Carson Dubberly. At 182, Brooks Sacharzyk simply dominated his guy. Brooks hit a low single and took his opponent straight to his back for a first period pin. Jaylan Hughes looked solid as well in his first match of the season, winning by pin in 45 seconds.
Dual ended 66-0 in favor of the Blaze.
Only back from football for one week, Julian Childress won an exhibition match which went the distance. “I am SO out of shape!” said Julian after his win.
In the final exhibition, Julian Clark gave everyone a little scare after losing consciousness while in a tight bulldog hold. He forfeited the rest of the match as a precaution and he is ok.
The second dual with Warren County was a little meatier. There were several exhibition matches before the dual. Pins were scored by Alyson Colson, Josh Chew, Julian Childress (still out of shape), and Miles Workman. The other two winners were Brayden James and Justin Brown. James and Brown are fresh back from football so both are getting their lungs back but lots of great things seen in the both of them.
In the first match of the dual with Warren County (138) Austin Marlatt was not playing around. He got straight to work and pinned Alan Esparza in only sixteen seconds. Was he mad? Ready to go home? Who knows…but we like it.
Shawn Wolford did a good job knocking off De’Ark Lewis at 145. Wolford locked up a tight half and pinned Lewis in the second period. At 152, Cole Hays had a tough match. In the first period, he ended up on his back and fought off a head and arm for a full minute. This guy is tough as nails and strong as an ox. With his strong work ethic, he will keep getting better. He still ended up losing in the second period, but what a fighter!
At 160, Gabe Scruby pulled some magic on the mat and got his guy turned and pinned in one minute flat! I told you last week that Scruby is going to win some matches this season. At 170, Gabe Gomez was with Marlatt and ready to go or something. Gomez only needed 25 seconds to pin his guy. And not to be outdone, Brooks followed with a 20 second pin of his own.
At 195, Jaylan Hughes struggled to get any offense going with Issac Gillentine. Gillintine is actually a pretty tough out as Brooks and he had a 6-2 match last season in the region five finals. Jaylan avoided a major decision and only lost 8-2.
In the last match of the night, Grant Myers had a great match with Warren County’s Caleb Mackie. Mackie is a sophomore who only lost a handful or matches last season. Grant kept his composure when it counted and ended up scoring bonus points with a major decision (16-8).
Final Score with some Blaze forfeits in there, 52-27 Blackman.
Not a bad job at all for the first matches of the 2019-2020 season! For now, its on to Thanksgiving break and back to work next Tuesday back in the firepit at home. Blackman will host Smyrna, Franklin County & Grace Christian on December 3rd at home.
Want to check out some photos from these duals? Check out our PHOTOS page.
Hope everyone has a great holiday! Happy Thanksgiving and Go Blaze!