Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM — Wrestlers don’t often get a second chance after a blown opportunity against Jack Twomey-Kozak. The slick and mat-savvy Orange 132-pounder is ranked second in the state 3-A rankings.
So when Jordan’s Terrence Moore countered a first-period, single-leg takedown attempt by Kozak, slapped a bar arm on the Panther and lost it, experience says Kozak would capitalize. But that would discount Moore’s mastery of the funk.
Even Moore had a difficult time explaining how he ended up getting a pair of back points off the move.
“He just made it up,” Jordan coach Philip Davanzo III said.
Moore simply gripped Kozak’s near arm, isolated his far arm, and with sheer muscle forced him to his back to take a 4-0 lead. Kozak held Moore down in the second period with leg rides but was unable to turn him. Moore, ranked seventh in the state in Class 4-A and owner of a 2-1 victory over Kozak earlier in the season, allowed the Panther to stand in the final period, then got a takedown at the buzzer to win 6-1.
It was one of only three wins Wednesday for the host Falcons against Orange, the reigning state 3-A champion that currently is the top-ranked team. The Panthers won 47-12. Jordan spanked Hillside 72-11 in the first match of the doubleheader.
“The score doesn’t indicate how close it was,” Orange coach Bobby Shriner said. “I knew it was going to be brutal. They’ve got some tough guys.”
“The box score says we got pounded,” Davanzo said, but “we had hard-fought matches.”
He said he’s been trying for seven years to get Orange on the schedule.
“Proverbs tells you iron sharpens iron, and we’ve got to step up,” Davanzo said. “I thought it was important for our program to bring in an Orange.”
The match also featured some returning but rusty starters who had been out from illness and injury earlier this season — Donovan Heath, Joey Dickson, Keifer Knight and Grant Spurney.
“What is the meaning of tonight,” Davanzo said. “We’re 4-0 in the PAC 6 conference (after beating Hillside).”
The Falcons host the Bull City Throwdown on Saturday, a dual-team tournament featuring state powerhouse Winston-Salem Parkland, Cedar Ridge, Carrboro, Eastern Alamance and Graham.
Orange went into the match with 10 state-ranked wrestlers — Martin Carreon at 106 (No. 9), Will Riley at 113 (10), Jordan Baker at 120 (6), Kozak (2), Anderson Pope at 138 (8), Zach Rimmer at 145 (1), David Peters-Logue at 152 (3) J.D. Wynn at 160 (3), Jarrel Lea at 195 (6), and Wes Dawson at 220 (4).
Riley was the only other ranked Orange wrestler to drop his bout, losing to Robbie Tomasic, who is ranked No. 5 in Class 4-A. All their scoring was in the first peiod. Tomasic had a pair of double-leg takedowns. Riley had two escapes and picked up a penalty point when Tomasic locked his hands without having a pinning combination, making the final 4-3.
Spencer Service was the only other Falcon to win, at 126, when he overcame an early 2-0 deficit to pin Panther Collin Smith with less than a half minute remaining in the second period.
In the earlier bout, Jordan cruised to a 72-11 victory on the strength of seven falls and five forfeits.
Pinning for Jordan were Patrick Tomasic, Dickson, Finger, Melton, Jones, Parker and Thompson.
Jarad Lewis of Hillside got a technical fall over Keifer Knight at 220, and the Hornets 285-pounder Daquan Brown pinned Parker with one tick left on the bout clock to account for their team’s points.
“It’s all those simple mistakes,” Hillside coach Bernard Bacon said, adding that his lineup is missing starters. “A lot of injuries, a lot of illness, plus their grades.
“They’re working out hard. They’re in better shape. They just have to prolong the match and get into that third period.”
