Patriots deny Golden Falcons ... again

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 6, 2004 2:00 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Denied ... again.

Charles B. Aycock's second consecutive trip to the elite eight ended in disappointing fashion Thursday evening in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A dual-team playoffs. The Golden Falcons let victory slip from their talons against archrival West Carteret, which wrestled with poise and intensity when it counted the most.

The Patriots prevailed in the final three individual matches and eliminated Aycock 27-20. They beat the Golden Falcons for the fourth consecutive time and ended Aycock's state title dreams on its home mat for the second straight year.

Each team utilized its strength in the 2-hour, 18-minute battle.

West Carteret controlled most of the lower and middle weight contests, while Aycock experienced its usual success in the upper weights.

The key for each team turned out to be its ability to not surrender pins. Thirteen of the 14 matches needed three periods or overtime to decide the outcome. Only one ended in the first period and that was with one second on the clock.

The Golden Falcons recorded the first takedown in seven matches. The Patriots didn't stay on the mat long and quickly earned escape points in five of those bouts.

Greg Coudriet (119 pounds) and Ronald Lynn (135) each earned a decision for Aycock. West Carteret picked up wins from 125-pounder Victor Hojilla and Cory Desteunder at 130, which helped set up a 6-6 tie after four matches had been completed.

West Carteret, the state's No. 1-ranked dual team, went on a 9-0 run. Travis Varner scored three points in the third period and doubled up Blake Brockmeyer 4-2. Teammates Eddo Hojilla (145) and Frankie Dennis (152) followed up with decisions.

"The coaching staff and I were extremely pleased coming out of the middle weights and being only a few points down," Aycock coach Kevin Smith said. "I can't say enough about my middle weights. They really went out there and took it to those guys.

"We really felt good about where we were coming out of the middleweights."

Sophomore Will Medus started a 14-0 spurt for the Golden Falcons with an 8-3 decision against Jake Anfinson at 160. John Robertson edged Patrick O'Reilly 12-10 in double overtime and Turner Wood stopped Ryan Offenberger 15-3 at 189.

Lacardra Mitchell gave Aycock a 20-15 lead with his major decision against Drew Ballou at 215.

"Will Medus wrestled his tail off and did a great job to win a big match for us," Smith said. "I think John won his match on conditioning ... was in a little bit better shape. Turner wrestled a very good match for us.

"The kids did a super job keeping things close and giving themselves the opportunity to win. (West Carteret's) goal was to stay off their backs and keep things close in the upper weights.

"They did a really good job of that."

But the Golden Falcons couldn't keep the momentum.

An inspired Kenny Matthews nipped Dustin Gurley 5-4 in a rematch of last week's Eastern Carolina Conference championship won by Gurley in overtime. Paul D'Elia wrestled a sound, technical match against ECC champ Derek Lancaster and triumphed 5-1.

Those two wins put the Patriots back ahead 21-20 and set the table for Ty Roach. Roach, who also claimed the match-clinching win a year ago in Pikeville, sealed the deal with a first-period pin against David Rose.

Defending state champion Eden Morehead rallied past Wilson Hunt (22-3) in its semifinal match. The Panthers (28-7) followed that up with a come-from-behind victory against West Carteret (28-2) and claimed their second consecutive regional title.

Morehead, ranked No. 9 in the Elite 10 dual-team poll, opposes Jamestown Ragsdale for the state title Saturday.

"It feels really bad to get here and lose this match," said Smith, whose team finished 12-2. "But I don't have time to sit here and worry with it. We've got regionals coming up and I've got kids that need me to keep my focus.

"I'm going to be depressed tonight, but tomorrow we're going to get right back to it. We're going to watch film and get right back to practicing."

Aycock, Eastern Wayne and Southern Wayne return to action Feb. 13-14 in the NCHSAA eastern individual regionals at Jacksonville White Oak. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the state championship meet Feb. 20-21 in Winston-Salem.

2004 N.C. High School

Athletic Association

Class 3-A Dual-Team Playoffs

(at C.B. Aycock, Pikeville)

Eastern semifinals

West Carteret 27,

C.B. Aycock 20

119 -- Greg Coudriet (CBA) dec. Kyle White, 7-5; 125 -- Victor Hojilla (WC) dec. Jackson Massey, 8-4; 130 -- Cory Desteunder (WC) dec. Luan Tran, 4-2; 135 -- Billy Lynn (CBA) dec. Sean Perryman, 13-11; 140 -- Travis Varner (WC) dec. Blake Brockmeyer, 4-2; 145 -- Eddo Hojilla (WC) dec. Randy Meisenhelder, 9-3; 152 -- Frankie Dennis (WC) dec. Tim Harrison, 10-5; 160 -- Will Medus (CBA) dec. Jake Anfinson, 8-3; 171 -- John Robertson (CBA) dec. Patrick O'Reilly, 12-10, 2 OTs; 189 -- Turner Wood (CBA) maj. dec. Ryan Offenberger, 15-3; 215 -- Lacardra Mitchell (CBA) maj. dec. Drew Ballou, 11-0; Hwt -- Kenny Matthews (WC) dec. Dustin Gurley, 5-4; 103 -- Paul D'Elia (WC) dec. Derek Lancaster, 5-1; 112 -- Ty Roach (WC) wbf David Rose, 1:59.