Saints collect pair of victories

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 6, 2012 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- Two programs eager to restore their respective winning traditions continued to experience growing pains Wednesday evening.

But Southern Wayne did scratch in the win column -- twice.

The Saints handed Wilson Beddingfield a 42-36 defeat and topped county foe Goldsboro, 54-18, in the nightcap. Beddingfield, of the Eastern Plains 2-A Conference, dealt short-handed Goldsboro a 41-15 loss.

"We're young, we're gonna make mistakes and we're learning from our mistakes," first-year Saints head coach Glenn Gardner said. "We're all learning at the same pace, everything is getting better together and everybody is working hard. That's the important thing for our kids."

Southern Wayne fielded a full squad that included nine sophomores for the non-conference tri-meet. The Saints' Zach Buff (120 pounds), Jalen Jones (126), Austin Williams (138), O'Khanye Wallace (145) and Anthony Wynn (160) each picked up an individual win against the Bruins, who suffered their fourth consecutive dual defeat.

Goldsboro (0-3 overall) claimed all three contested individual matches against Southern Wayne. The Saints (2-6) drew nine forfeits against the short-handed Cougars, who were missing competitors due to injuries and the flu bug.

Returning starter Kurtis Durham bumped up a weight class and defeated the Saints' Anthony Wynn at 160 pounds. Teammates Nick Wiley and DeCarlos Santos, a pair of first-year competitors, each pinned their respective opponent.

Durham concluded the night 2-0. Wiley and Santos each posted a 1-1 record.

"Kurtis has started to come into his own as a leader and a force," first-year Goldsboro head coach Ray Lippert. "Senior ShaQuan Oliver (145 pounds) stepped aside tonight to let Wiley get some mat time. Nick proved his worth.

"We have a ton of work to do and teaching fundamentals every day is the base of our program. We are conditioning, learning weight control and implementing team/family values as the key components of our program."

Southern Wayne returns to action Friday and Saturday at the North Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Duals, while Goldsboro visits Rosewood on Dec. 13.