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Wrestling without 215-pounder David Lopez and 171-pounder Manuel Lopez, who suffered minor injuries in a car accident earlier in the day, Bluffton racked up seven pins en route to a 46-36 victory against Battery Creek on Wednesday, setting the stage for next week's match, which will determine the region champion and most likely the top seed in the Lower State in the upcoming Class 3-A playoffs.
The night began on a somber note, because Bluffton coach John Hollman and his wrestlers had little information on the condition of the Lopez brothers. They knew only that the brothers had been involved in an accident and had been taken by ambulance to Savannah's Memorial University Medical Center for treatment.
"I definitely think it cranked us up," Bluffton 160-pounder Tyler Rosenlieb said. "Manuel and David both love each and every person on the team, probably more than any individual person on our team, and we knew that they would've wanted nothing more than for us to just kick it up a notch in their place."
Their greatest fears were allayed when the Lopez brothers entered the gym to an ovation during the 135-pound match -- the seventh match of the night -- which proved to be a pivotal bout.
Bluffton already led 28-6 at that point, a margin it built on the back of pins by Phillip Scott, Ryan Solomon, Austin Farmer and Lincoln Joly and a major decision by Ryan Rosenlieb, but the Dolphins still had their best wrestlers to come and they were poised to regain some momentum with Josh Fields leading Josh Doamaral 15-8 in the third period.
Just then, Fields walked into a headlock, and Doamaral delivered the fifth of Bluffton's seven pins.
"I could tell he was getting worn out," Doamaral said. "I knew I needed a big move to win, so that was the perfect move to throw. He was giving it to me the whole time, but I was waiting for the right time to use it."
The Bobcats won another swing match at 140, where Josh Wetmore was trailing 8-7 in the third period before he scored a takedown and took Deshawn Smalls to his back for another pin. That allowed the Bobcats to clinch the victory three matches later when 160-pounder Tyler Rosenlieb scored a pin to add to his school record with his 180th career victory.
Four of Bluffton's seven pins came in the third period, which is a point of emphasis for Hollman.
"I'm proud of our guys doing what we've done all year long, just keep on plugging," Hollman said. "We always preach that it's six minutes. You can beat us for one period or for two periods, but it takes three full periods. We pride ourselves on our conditioning and our focus and our perseverance."
The Dolphins finished the night with three consecutive pins of their own, giving them six in all, but it was too late. The loss eliminates Battery Creek from playoff contention, but after losing 11 of 14 starters off last year's Lower State runner-up squad, Dolphins coach Chad Cox was pleased with the improvement he saw in his team over the course of the season and optimistic about the future.
"We were in this thing tonight, and for a young team to be in this kind of match, I'm proud of that," Cox said. "It's a tough loss for us. You never want to lose to a rival. But I'm proud of the effort of our kids. A lot of them are just young, and they made young mistakes."
Although they can't let down their guard for long with the showdown with the Seahawks looming, the Bobcats can breathe a brief sigh of relief, having clinched a playoff spot and learned the Lopez brothers should be ready to wrestle next week, having only suffered minor cuts and scrapes.
"It makes you kind of count your blessings and put things in perspective a little bit," Hollman said. "If you would have ever told me that a couple of hours before the Battery Creek match I would care less about the match, that I wasn't the slightest bit worried about it or worried about what would happen because I had something else on my mind, I would've told you that you needed to check into some kind of clinic. But that was definitely the case."
BLUFFTON 46, BATTERY CREEK 36
Note: The match began at 285 pounds.
103: Chris Bockelman (BC) pinned Colin Placke, second period.
112: Ryan Solomon (BLF) pinned Jimmy Sanchez, third period.
119: Austin Farmer (BLF) pinned Josh Green, second period.
125: Lincoln Joly (BLF) pinned Randolph Bracy, first period.
130: Ryan Rosenlieb (BLF) major dec. Carlos Andaverde, 14-2.
135: Josh Doamaral (BLF) pinned Josh Fields, third period.
140: Josh Wetmore (BLF) pinned Deshawn Smalls, third period.
145: Matt Heinrich (BC) pinned Jason Williams, first period.
152: Maurice Lamb (BC) pinned Braden Putich, second period.
160: Tyler Rosenlieb (BLF) pinned Dylan King, second period.
171: Jonathan Smith (BC) pinned Edgar Prada, first period.
189: Luke Johnson (BC) pinned Andrew Dean, second period.
215: Bear Childers (BC) pinned Mike Ramey, first period.
285: Phillip Scott (BLF) pinned Richard Washington, third period.
