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Hollman claimed the look symbolized strictly business. No flash. No glamour. Nothing more, he said.
But by the end of the night, it meant so much more. The black could have represented the death of the past. The end of an era of second and third bests.
And against their heated rival, the Bobcats paved the way to a better future.
For the first time in school history, Bluffton took down Hilton Head High on the wrestling mat, a 46-26 victory at the Seahawks home gym, and clinched the right to host each round of the Class 3-A Lower State playoffs. The Bobcats added the Region 8-AAA championship.
"We always believed we could beat them. We've wrestled every time with the attitude and the confidence we can beat them," Hollman said. "... It's the same as it's always been."
With one minor exception -- this time, they found a way to do it.
The Bobcats won eight of the 14 weight classes. They tallied the maximum six-point wins in seven of the eight -- four by pin, two by disqualification and one via forfeit.
None were as important as the pin they received from Braden Putich.
Wrestling at 145 pounds -- a weight in which he has struggled over the past few weeks --Putich broke a 2-2 tie with Seahawks senior Quinn Williams-McClure with the second period fall. It effectively clinched the overall match for Bluffton, giving it an insurmountable 40-26 lead with only one weight class remaining.
Putich's move sent Bluffton's section into a frenzy as he leaped into Hollman's arms.
"I don't remember what he said, but it felt great," Putich said. "... I didn't have the most confidence coming into this match. But I think I may have turned it around today."
He was one of many Bobcats to shift the momentum of a rivalry of two teams destined to meet again in two weeks with a Lower State championship on the line.
Tyler Rosenlieb gave Bluffton its first win of the night when Ray Harrington was disqualified for stalling.
Two matches later, the Bobcats picked up another disqualification victory. Hilton Head High's David Beck was disqualified for an illegal move that injured David Lopez. Beck slammed Lopez face first into the mat, keeping Lopez from finishing a match that featured the top-two ranked wrestlers in the state at 215 pounds.
Lopez, who was involved in a two-car crash just six days ago, made his second trip to the hospital in a week. Hollman said EMS personnel told him Lopez may have suffered a concussion.
"He couldn't even see," Hollman said. "He couldn't even open his eyes."
The Bobcats marched on without their captain. Lincoln Joly (119 pounds), Josh Wetmore (130) and C.J. Johnson (152) added pins; Austin Farmer won by major decision at 112 pounds; and Phillip Scott was awarded a forfeit at heavyweight.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks couldn't muster the same momentum. Whereas Bluffton tallied bonus points in each victory, top-ranked 189-pound Jack Duane provided the Seahawks with their lone pin of the night.
"They got off their backs and we didn't. That's the difference," Hilton Head High coach Mike Newton said. "We have to get better. It's the same story. We can't make the mistakes we made tonight."
They'll have a short window of time to correct them. The Class 3-A playoffs are slated to begin next Wednesday. With the win, the Bobcats will remain at home throughout the Lower State. The Seahawks, on the other hand, will be forced to travel.
Regardless, it remains highly likely the two will meet again for the Lower State championship on Feb. 10 at Bluffton -- a match that began to take shape with Wednesday night's results.
"We're going to ask them out for a date two weeks from now, and I'm sure they'll accept," Newton said. "The plan is to meet at their place. So that gives us 14 days to get everything better and beat them then."
And it gives the Bobcats two more weeks to prepare to make the black attire a fixture of the past.
"We want the opportunity," Hollman said. "We would like the opportunity to prove it wasn't any fluke.
"We'll show up again whenever and wherever."
Bluffton 46, Hilton Head High 26
Note: The match started at 160 pounds
103: Nick Tennison (HHH) def. Ryan Solomon, 9-3.
112: Austin Farmer (B) major dec. Matt Johns, 13-3.
119: Lincoln Joly (B) pinned Justin Auger, second period.
125: Campbell Miller (HHH) major dec. Ryan Rosenlieb, 13-2.
130: Josh Wetmore (B) pinned Chris Ordonez, third period.
135: Nic Levy (HHH) tech. fall Jason Williams, 17-2.
140: Seth Anthony (HHH) major dec. Josh Doamaral, 14-6.
145: Braden Putich (B) pinned Quinn Williams-McClure, second period.
152: C.J. Johnson (B) pinned Lewis McKeliver, first period.
160: Chad Dimmock (HHH) major dec. Manuel Lopez, 11-3.
171: Tyler Rosenlieb (B) def. Ray Harrington, DQ (stalling).
189: Jack Duane (HHH) pinned Andrew Dean, first period.
215: David Lopez (B) def. David Beck, DQ (illegal move causing injury).
285: Phillip Scott (B) won by forfeit.
