Jacksonville matmen stun Aycock in dual-team playoffs

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 9, 2011 1:47 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Sitting on the mountaintop after winning the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference wrestling tournament title just three days ago, Charles B. Aycock fell from grace Tuesday evening.

Jacksonville provided the humbling lesson.

The Cardinals triumphed in eight of 12 contested matches, and dispatched the Golden Falcons, 46-21, from the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A dual-team playoffs Tuesday evening.

"We weren't ready to go," said Aycock head coach Marc Peck. "Jacksonville didn't surprise us. Perhaps we came in a little flat off the high of winning a conference tournament and conference championship.

"We got caught."

Aycock, the Eastern Carolina 3-A champion, cruised to a 15-0 lead after the first three individual bouts. Khaleil Owens and Nick Simmons recorded back-to-back pins at 160 and 171 pounds, respectively. Travion Lewis eeked out a 3-2 decision over the Cardinals' Josh Childress at 189.

Jacksonville answered in stunning fashion.

The Cardinals easily won at 215, but completely stole momentum in the heavyweight match. Mathew Reed, who gave up 45 pounds to Golden Falcon senior Jarrod James, earned a shocking second-period pin.

James' teammates stared in disbelief.

"He got caught in a switch, went to his back and when you're a heavyweight on your back, it's kind of hard to get up," said Peck. "That certainly was a big blow, but championship teams have to come back from that."

The Golden Falcons didn't.

Jacksonville's Latrone Evans pulled off a 9-8 upset of Nick Jones at 103 pounds and teammate Brandon Seward pinned 112-pounder Jamar Owens in just 43 seconds. The Cardinals won four of the next five matches and sealed the overall outcome on Brandon Hernandez's forfeit at 140 pounds.

Daniel Romo and Zeb Darden earned points for Aycock with wins at 130 and 145 pounds, respectively.

"It was a tough night," said Peck.

Aycock dropped to 1-3 in opening-round playoff matches since reaching the eastern semifinals in 2007.