Warriors down Saints grapplers

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 19, 2007 1:49 PM

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The puzzle just might be complete.

Injury-plagued since wrestling season began, Eastern Wayne competed with a full complement of grapplers Tuesday evening against archrival Southern Wayne.

What a difference it made.

The Warriors recorded seven falls and a pair of one-point decisions in a 59-15 rout of the short-handed Saints. It was the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference opener for both teams.

"I'm tickled to death with the way the boys wrestled," said Eastern Wayne coach Mike Brown. "We filled every weight class for the first time in at least three weeks. It was good to have (Jon) Lagrone back and Foy (Coley) wrestled, but he hasn't practiced."

Lagrone (189 pounds) returned from a three-week absence Monday due to a strained leg muscle. He capped his appearance in the lineup with a 2-minute, 43-second fall over the Saints' Cameron Thames.

Coley suffered a left-knee injury during football season and Brown suspected he tore an ACL before taking the mat in live competition. The senior 215-pounder further aggravated it during the second period against Jake Hunter, who appeared to twist it as he tried to score a takedown.

Coley limped to center mat to start the final period. He scored the match-clinching reversal midway through the two-minute stanza and pulled out a 5-4 decision.

"215 was a hard loss," said Saints assistant coach Kevin Jones. "We needed to get a win there. We're a young team and some of them gave good efforts (tonight).

"We had holes to fill from not having a full squad and tried to piece together a lineup against them. But Eastern Wayne is a strong, seasoned team."

Coley's comeback capped an 18-0 run, which started with Cody Britt's second-period fall over Quaceem Hunter. Brandon Darby stunned John Futrell 3-2 at 171 pounds and Lagrone kept the surge going with his win.

Jones said Futrell elected to bump up a weight class to wrestle the slightly taller and lanky Darby. A senior football standout, Futrell had trouble with leverage and failed to execute either a single- or double-leg takedown throughout their six-minute skirmish.

"That was a stinger," said Jones of Futrell's loss.

Senior heavyweight Josh Robinson momentarily stopped the Warriors' run with a second-period fall over James Barrett. But Eastern Wayne collected six consecutive individual wins, including four by pin.

Senior Chris Tesar notched his county- and school-record 175th victory with second-period fall over Miles Bradshaw. Tesar remained unbeaten in 23 outings this season.

Tyshon Jones (103) and Drew Tesar (112) each received a forfeit during the decisive stretch. Corbin Harris (119), Jordan Harris (125) and A.J. Washington (135) each pinned their respective opponent.

Southern Wayne (2-3, 0-1 ECC) prevailed in two of the final three contested matches. Dustin Richards outlasted the Warriors' Zach Hahn 10-7 at 140 pounds, while 152-pounder Tristan Bass pinned Logan Wicks in 62 seconds.

The Warriors got a one-minute fall from 145-pounder Mike Pugh.

"He moved his lineup around and I think that bit him," said coach Brown. "Our boys wrestled good and it's a good win for us."

Eastern Wayne 59

Southern Wayne 15

160 -- Cody Britt (EW) wbf Quaceem Hunter, 2 minutes, 58 seconds; 171 -- Brandon Darby (EW) dec. John Futrell, 3-2; 189 -- Jon Lagrone (EW) wbf Cameron Thames, 2:43; 215 -- Foy Coley (EW) dec. Jake Hunter, 5-4; Hwt -- Josh Robinson (SW) wbf James Barrett, 2:16; 103 -- Tyshon Jones (EW) by forfeit; 112 -- Drew Tesar (EW) by forfeit; 119 -- Corbin Harris (EW) wbf Kenny Pass, 5:22; 125 -- Jordan Harris (EW) wbf Jacob Richards, 1:03; 130 -- Chris Tesar (EW) wbf Miles Bradshaw, 2:39; 135 -- A.J. Washington (EW) wbf Jacob Jones, 1:33; 140 -- Dustin Richards (SW) dec. Zach Hahn, 10-7; 145 -- Mike Pugh (EW) wbf Josh Woodall, 1:00; 152 -- Tristan Bass (SW) wbf Logan Wicks, 1:02.

Records: Eastern Wayne 6-3, 1-0 Eastern Carolina 3-A; Southern Wayne 1-2, 0-1.