East Coweta Wrestling: 2011 Regional Champs 01/08/2011

Where to start? We get up early, heading to a unknown location for one of the biggest wrestling events of our season. We make it to MLK high school only five minutes late, rushing into the gym I notice we are the only people in a hurry. This is not good, we are in for a very long day on some very hard wood. By the end of this day or I should say night, the pain would be replaced with a lot of pride in a team that left it all on the mat.

We finally get started around 10:30, and that's being very nice. We are split into a East and West division, four teams in each. The East would have Newnan, Langston Hughes, Westlake and the reigning champs ECHS. Langston Hughes would be our biggest threat and that is where we get to start.

Starting at 103 with Durham, we get a gift of a free six points from a forfeit. This would prove to be a bad start for L.H., one they will not bounce back from. More bad news coming, at 112 Nelson is about to start his best day of wrestling for the year. As seen in the first picture, with the vise, Nelson will transfer his pain to the four opponents that step onto the mat against him. He gets a quick pin and moves us ahead 12-0. At 119, B. Shea wrestled like the veteran that he is. Racking up points at will, he wins a major, adding four more points to stretch the lead to 16 zip.

We move up to 125 now, we know L.H. has one of their best wrestlers waiting on us. What they don't know is, we have a machine that is warmed up and ready to do some work. Higgins would have no slow starts this day, he would dismantle their prize 125 for six more points. We now move out to a 22-0 lead and L. H. gets to face one of our best. At 130 Crankshaw is about to kick off a perfect day of wrestling, one better than a hat trick, he will leave all four pinned to the mat. This little guy, have you seen his Dad/Uncle, quietly stomped his opponents all day long. I guess we have just grown to expect it, but still really enjoy it!

L.H. has now dug a 0-28 hole that they will never climb out of. They will throw a very tough 135 pounder at us, but it won't help. E. Shea will follow his brother's footsteps and pull off a great win to pad the lead even more. We could let up now, but at 140 Ragland has his own plans. He will rip through their 140 guy flexing every muscle in his body along the way. Ragland gets the pin and moves us up 37-0 and we can smell victory.

L.H. gets a small whiff of our victory smell and they will win the next five matches, four of them with pins. Now the score is 37-27 with only two matches left, and the bleachers are already starting to hurt. We see Reeves step up at 215 and Mathis warming up, the pain is going away. These two guys have carried us when we needed them, and today would be no exception. Reeves would seal the deal, and Mathis would take away all doubt that we control the East pool. We take the win 49-27.

We have Newnan next with Westlake to follow. The results are about the same for both teams, they would be beat down by a team on a mission.

We would squeeze Cox in at 119 against both teams and bump up B.Shea, Higgins and Crankshaw. This combo would prove deadly for both teams. All four wrestlers pinned their opponents and put Newnan and Westlake in their proper position in the pool. We win the East pool and await the winner from the West.

We move into the final as darkness has taken over. We have been 10 hours in this gym with no padding left to protect us. The coach keeps the wrestlers focused and about the business at hand. It will be ECHS vs. Stephenson for the 2AAAAA regional championship.

We start out at 140, Ragland would wrestle like a true warrior, but come up short in a close one. Next at 145, we would give up a pin and quickly fall behind 0-9. At this point the pain is back, and even worse Stephenson is on their feet and getting louder with each point they earn.

The next two matches would prove to be huge. At 152, Cook would step up to deliver the best match of his life. This guy left it all on the mat, and gave us a much needed six points in a perfect pin. Rogerson up next at 160 would perform as well also. After a long hard day for Tyler he would not quit, he would win the decision and tie the score at 9-9.

Now our fans and bench are back in the game, the momentum has shifted and Stephenson can feel it. The body language has changed and it is anybody's match. This is all because a 152 and 160 refused to give up.

What happens now will bring back the pain of the entire day. We lose the next three matches all by pins, putting Stephenson up 27-9. This time it is a whole new language, one that we can't even speak. Their bench and fans are back in control, the momentum is all on their side. We see one of our best go down at 215, we can all feel his pain. He has carried us all year, now it is time for others to carry.

We will now see that this is about a team, not a weight class or any one person. This is a team with great coaches, parents, the best wrestlerettes, and fans. A lot of hard working wrestlers with huge hearts, will now begin to surface.

The first to surface will be the biggest, our heavy weight Mathis is about to put on a show. Right off the whistle he looks to be out manned, his opponent is bigger, faster and stronger. Mathis will lay it all out this match, his team has to have some points. He goes on the attack and it is impressive! He goes after this giant like never before. Mathis will get the pin, and bring us back in the game 15-27. Even more important, he gives us back hope. The team will feed off this, and they are very hungry.

We move back to 103 now, our freshman is put in a very hard spot. This is not a normal freshman as we are about to see. This day, he will jump in some green shoes, like Mathis, and have a little Stephenson for dinner. Durham gets the pin and brings us even closer at 21-27.

The ECHS faithful can now feel it, the momentum has shifted again. We are all on our feet as Nelson, the vise, is about to inflect some serious pain on an unsuspecting 112 pounder from Stephenson.

The Stephenson 112 runs out on the mat, bouncing around like he is about to punish whoever gets in his way. Nelson slowly makes his way to the center, slow motion compared to his opponent, and gets set. Stephenson is on the attack even before the whistle blows, the ref resets both. At the whistle Nelson is taking a shot at both feet, very calmly he gets to work. The kid has found himself inside the "Vise" one that will remove all the bounce from his body. The next 90 seconds was painful, but enjoyable to watch. Nelson removed all doubts about the outcome of this match. The Stephenson kid somehow made it through the round and tried to find his coach. The next round was the same, but quicker, the vise locked up and the pin was on. Nelson 4 for 4 on the day, all pins, good to see him back.

Now tied up 27-27 and on a roll. B. Shea steps in undefeated on the day, and he will stay that way. He wrestles smart and hard and comes out on top with another pin. This gives us the lead that we will never give back. The machine/ Higgins and Crankshaw at 125/130 are up next. Both of these guys crush their opponents and give us a regional title for the second straight year! These two also will go 4 for 4, all pins on the day, could not ask for more. With the score 45-27 E. Shea has the choice to wrestle or not. This guy is ready, and continues the whipping for seven pins in a row!!! See what green shoes got started?

The celebration is now on, 2 time regional champs! This is something to be proud of and the entire team deserves the title they have earned. 2011 2-AAAAA Regional Champions and State Bound!!