Panther wrestlers county champs

mbrown@sunmulti.com

Two wins for a top eight finish in the GHSA AAAA state

duals, and now the 2013 Houston County wrestling championship. So far, in terms

of accolades, it’s been one of the best seasons for Perry High School wrestling

in several years.

“That was a big weekend,” said first-year head coach Randy

Moss about the Panther showing at the state tournament that included a

first-round win against Cairo High. “We just got out there and competed, no

matter who we wrestled. The kids were not intimidated at all.

“We just carried it over to this weekend. The kids did what

they had to do to get big wins over Northside and Veterans. That’s what I

expect out of these guys.”

The tightest county match for Perry came against area rival

Veterans, who also happened to be the host team Saturday. But the 42-29 win

clinched it even though Perry still had one more dual with Warner Robins. By

beating the Warhawks, the Panthers were 3-0, which included a 49-18 win against

Northside.

Veterans and Northside went into their final round showdown

2-1, and second place went to the Eagles via a three-period win in the last

match of the entire day. Final score was 36-34.

As for Perry, Moss has more than 30 wrestlers in the

program, eight of which are seniors. Five of those have previous high school

experience while three others were recruited by Moss to wrestle for the first

time and fill in weight classes.

“The five seniors have been with me through the wrestling

club when I had that going,” he said. “They’ve been in wrestling a long time, and

they really lead this team.

“We have 36 strong out, so we’re going to have 28 coming

back. We’ve been trying to get these young guys as many matches as we can. A

lot of JV guys have had mat time this year. I’m excited about finishing up this

year and the years to come.”

With so many wrestlers, Moss can get two in each weight

class to build up competition in practice. That’s how he determines who gets

the No. 1 spot and who gets that extra match here and there, and how each class

gets better.

The next major event of the wrestling season is the area

traditional tournament on Feb. 2. Here, each weight class has its own

tournament.

“We have some kids who can compete (with West Laurens),”

said Moss about the major power in his area. While he wouldn’t call any one

Perry wrestler the odds-on favorite to win area, he likes numerous Panthers’

chances.

That includes Tal Lineberger at 120, Cody Eakins at 126,

Hoke Morrow at 132, Jake Parker at 138, Derekston Williams at 145, Rex Lower at

160, D.J. Collins at 170, Sean Swan at 220 and Dylan Hanners at heavyweight.

“You have to wrestle strong to beat individuals on the West

Laurens team,” said Moss. “Throughout the area we have solid kids at Veterans

and Rutland. We will have to be tip-top.”

Northside’s three other team wins at county were 75-12

against Houston County and 49-29 against Warner Robins. Perry topped Houston

63-12 and concluded a 4-0 sweep by winning 69-12 against the Demons. Veterans

had wins against Houston 69-12 and Warner Robins 57-18.

Eakins wrestled Sean Whealton of Veterans into the third

period to start their dual. Eakins had a six-point lead, but scored the pin

with 18 seconds on the clock to get six points.

Veterans won the next two by points, Grant Lensch and Mickey

Dugan earning the wins. Then there was a disqualification victory for Warhawk

Bryan Horton in a fast-paced encounter that was 9-8 after one period. The match

ended, though, went Horton was slammed hard on his shoulder.

Perry bounced back to win the next four, three by pins from

Mark Ray, Lower and Collins. Marquis Franklin of the Warhawks broke that string

with a first-period pin at the 195 class. Veterans also had points wins by

heavyweight Trent Payne and 106’s Vincent Do.

Lineberger, in the 113 match, won by pin after a

second-period escape. It was 42-25 for Perry at that point, but the Warhawks

got the final say in a 16-2 three-period win by Eli Lines at 120.

Veterans and Northside saw numerous matches go three

periods, including an opening win for Warhawk Tyler Bryant in overtime. At 138,

Eagle Kaleb Willis and Dugan battled to an 8-8 tie in the third. Each wrestler

scored two points on switches, but with 19 seconds on the clock Willis pulled

out the pin.

That sent Northside cruising to a big lead, but things

changed when Payne had a second-period pin on Diego Smith and Do convincingly

won by points 14-6.

Warhawk Justin Peacock fought through a knee injury to take

the 113 match into period No. 3. Against Graham Bolton, Peacock earned the pin

at the 42-second mark, and that shot the hosts into a slim lead, 34-33.

So it was up to Lensch and Shaddy Hassan at 126. It was all

Hassan, who led 6-2 after two periods and added a takedown with 13 seconds to

go.

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