Still stinging from a three-point loss to the Eagles in the Pilkington Duals, the Panthers exacted revenge with a 54-15 thrashing in the day's final match. North Johnston (16-2 overall, 5-0 CAC) earned the No. 1 seed for the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team playoffs, which begin Feb. 3.

Rosewood (14-3, 4-1) settled for the No. 2 seed.

"Our guys have done exactly what we've asked of them without hesitation," said Rosewood coach Bill Edmundson. "We moved our lineup around to try to steal a few wins and any time you gamble like that, you run the risk of losing. North Johnston has developed into a strong program, and has made our conference tougher and more respected."

The Eagles prevailed in just two of 11 contested individual matches. Zach Behrend (119 pounds) seized a 13-11 decision over James Napier. Teammate Joshua Holmes improved to 29-1 overall, with a 59-second pin of the Panthers' Travis Phipps.

Chris Lane (103) drew a forfeit to complete Rosewood's scoring.

Behrend, Holmes and Ariel Nacca concluded the day unbeaten. Edmundson, who graduated nine starters off last year's CAC title team, credited four grapplers -- Jon Rudolph, Andrew Sass, Matt Coley and Dillion Guss -- for turning in strong performances throughout the day.

Rosewood rolled to victories over archrival Princeton (64-16), Ayden-Grifton (56-24), county foe Spring Creek (63-18) and short-handed Manteo (57-24) before running into the determined Panthers.

"Coach (Dan) Miner and I are very proud of our wrestlers and the fact we finished second in the conference," said Edmundson.

The Eagles will take the week off for semester exams and return to the mats Friday against Wilson Beddingfield, which is Edmundson's alma mater. The match has been bumped back to 6:30 p.m.

Editor's note: Match and individual results were not available for Spring Creek and Princeton.