Bears derail Eagles' state-title dreams

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 7, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Experience won out.

Senior-laden Chatham Central seized control during the lower weights and claimed the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A eastern dual-team championship with a 40-30 victory over Rosewood on Thursday evening.

Champions of the tradition-rich Yadkin Valley Conference, the Bears (19-4 overall) earned their first trip to the state finals since 2005. They'll entertain Western Highlands powerhouse Mitchell on Saturday.

"We have a lot of seniors from 120 (pounds) to 145," Chatham head coach Joe Miller said. "I took that group to the back before the match started and told those guys they were going to be a big key to this match. (And) we won all of them."

The quintet -- Bradley Harms, Regelio Amador, James Daggett, Chris Jager and Dalton Robertson -- combined for three decisions, one major decision and a third-period fall. Their strong performances helped turned a three-point margin into a 22-point cushion with four individual bouts left on the night.

Rodney Vanderwalker earned the match-clinching points with a second-period fall over the Eagles' Trevor Thompson at 152 pounds.

Miller forfeited the final three matches to Rosewood, which stumbled in the eastern regional final for the second consecutive year and fifth time overall in six tries since 1997.

"They have a lot of seniors on their team ... very experienced year-round wrestlers," RHS head coach Bill Edmundson said. "It was horrible matchups for us. Our strength wrestlers were against their strength wrestlers, and their experience worked out a little bit better than ours did.

"They kept our arms tied up more than we're used to (seeing) down here. We were not able to break away and work into our routine. The style was very different. (My) hat's off to them. They did a fantastic job and controlled us in almost every aspect of the game."

Chatham Central held an 8-2 edge in initial takedowns and won eight of the 10 contested matches. The Bears received one forfeit.

Rosewood 220-pounder Rayquon Jones and 113-pounder Malique Boyd each pinned their respective opponent. The Eagles dropped two individual matches by a combined three points.

Edmundson's team concluded the season 41-3 overall.

"(Before the match) I told them to do what got them here, not to do anything fancy, go out there and have fun because this is like our Super Bowl," Edmundson said. "

"I've had more fun this year than I have ever had coaching wrestling. It's been a great group of guys. Now, the season has gone from team concept to individuals and that's what we're looking forward to."

Rosewood will play host to the Mideast 1-A Regional on Feb. 14-15.