WRESTLING: Saints display dominating performance against Warriors

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 4, 2017 9:59 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- The gameplan seemed simple.

Don't give up.

Avoid sloppy wrestling.

Work hard.

First-year Southern Wayne head coach Frank Stauffer couldn't have asked for better execution against county wrestling rival Eastern Wayne on Tuesday evening. The Saints emerged victorious in seven of eight contested matches and rolled 54-18 on the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference scene.

"Outstanding," Stauffer said. "I couldn't be happier with how they did. Ultimately, they listened real well. They were looking for the open spot, looking to hit the right thing at the right time. They capitalized on the mistakes that Eastern Wayne made and were able to get the pin most of the time."

Especially Lucas Davis.

The junior 126-pounder yielded the initial takedown against the Warriors' Christian Torres and almost got pinned before time expired in the opening period. Davis earned a second-period penalty point and escaped Torres' hold.

Torres took Lucas to the mat again.

"He was really good, really strong, really offensive wrestler," Lucas said. "I was defensive most of the time. He made one mistake."

As the second period continued, Lucas attempted a cradle and when he turned Davis over, Lucas pulled Davis on top of him. With his coaches yelling instructions, the less-experienced Davis grabbed onto Lucas head and eventually pinned him with 23.4 seconds left in the period.

"Oh yeah," Davis said when the ref slapped the mat and blew his whistle to signal the pin.

Davis improved to 7-12 overall this season.

"Again, I think he saw an opportunity and was able to capitalize on it," Stauffer said of Davis. "That's the funny thing about wrestling. So much of it is timing and looking for that right spot. (When) that small window opened up, he was able to close the door and get on top."

The door stayed closed on the Warriors all evening.

The Saints logged the initial takedown in six of eight contested matches, earned seven falls and picked up two forfeits. They held a decisive 16-4 in total takedowns and avoided giving up points on their backs.

Raekwon Hardy, Matt Phelps, Willie Leonard, Kimari Johnson, Jywon Usher and Jefferson Whitfield each pinned their respective opponent. David Gomez and Lester Velasquez each earned a forfeit.

Stauffer said the team sought redemption after a not-so-inspiring performance four days prior in the annual Falcon Invitational at C.B. Aycock. He felt some of the wrestlers walked away a little embarrassed with their respective individual performances.

"We needed to come out and make a statement, and I think we did that today," Stauffer said.

Sophomore Jaleek Lewis claimed the Warriors' lone individual win -- a second-period fall over Joel Espinosa at 138 pounds. Teammates Dilissus Council and Quiontay Foust each drew a forfeit.

The teams double forfeited at 106 and 220 pounds.

"They came out strong, we got in bad position and we got caught," EW head coach Aaron Lynch said. "We've got to come out looking to attack, looking to score...our kind of wrestling. We cannot let them control the pace of the match or the match itself.

"When that happens, it's not going to turn out favorable for us."

Plan accomplished.