Wrestling rivals Bluffton, HHH to meet in Lower State championship

To say the least, Tuesday wasn't your typical wrestling match. But for as unusually lopsided as Bluffton's 80-0 victory against Swansea in Monday's second round of the Class 3-A playoffs was, Tyler Rosenlieb didn't need to squint his eyes at the scoreboard or outwardly celebrate the program's first trip to the Lower State final.

For him, the dual was just another symbol of a Bobcat squad deep in postseason form and plenty hungry after last year's absence from the playoffs.

"Was this shocking? No," Rosenlieb said. "But it definitely sends a message. We've had our ups and downs this season, but I think we're wrestling at our highest point right now -- and really, that's how it should be."

Likewise, the Bobcats' next opponent comes as little surprise after Hilton Head High defeated Airport, 62-10, on Monday to set up a much-anticipated rematch of the Region 8-AAA championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bluffton.

It's safe to say the Bobcats' next dual will be much tougher than Monday's tilt, when they notched 10 pins, a technical fall and saw just one match go the distance against a tough but undermatched Tiger squad. Quick shots and aggressive maneuvers on the mat characterized Bluffton's effort, as all of their pins came in the first two periods.

As expected, the matchup at 119 pounds brought the night's closest decision, but it featured neither Swansea's Kyle Livingston nor Bluffton's Lincoln Joly, who are listed third and fifth in the latest SCMAT.com rankings, respectively. After seeing the Tigers hold out Livingston for unspecified reasons, Hollman pushed Joly up to 125 and inserted Austin Farmer at 119, resulting in Farmer's 6-1 decision against Jonathan Britton.

The onslaught began from there, with the Bobcats (33-4) notching pinfalls in eight of the next nine weight classes. Only Rosenlieb's match ended differently, as the state's defending champion at 160 earned a technical pinfall after going up 17-1 in the second period.

"No disrespect to anybody else, but you never want to be surprised, because at this point, an effort like this is what we expect and demand," Bobcats coach John Hollman said. "I don't care what sport it is -- all coaches want their teams to be peaking at this point in the season. I love the development of our program and our team right now because we know this is our time and like we've said all year, we believe in now."

Indeed, Hollman and the Bobcats illustrated this belief some minutes after Monday's big win by stepping back onto the mat for a 45-minute practice session, just as they had done in the 45 minutes prior to taking on Swansea. Yet not one wrestler appeared to bat an eye at this abnormal routine, signaling the Bobcats' professed hope that by extending their effort they can extend their season into an unprecedented trip to the state championship.

"That's what this moment means for us," Hollman said, pointing toward the mat as his wrestlers went through warm-ups. "You get out what you put in, and we believe if we put in a little extra that we can get a little extra out of ourselves and move on to where we need to be in the playoffs."

Bluffton 80, Swansea 0

Note: The match started at 103 pounds

103: Colin Placke pinned Thomas Jumper, first period

112: Ryan Solomon won by forfeit

119: Austin Farmer def. Jonathan Britton, 6-1

125: Lincoln Joly pinned Stephon Hallmon, second period

130: Ryan Rosenlieb pinned Kaylin McCarson, second period

135: Josh Wetmore pinned Cassidy Brown, first period.

140: Jason Williams pinned Ricky McLeod, second period

145: Braden Putich pinned James Kyzer, first period

152: C.J. Johnson pinned Aubrey Horton, first period

160: Tyler Rosenlieb tech. fall Tyler Britton, 17-1

171: Manuel Lopez pinned William Daley, second period

189: Andrew Dean pinned Matt Rabon, first period

215: David Lopez def. Anthony Lewis, injury forfeit

285: Phillip Scott pinned Garrett Sharpe, first period

Hilton Head High 62, Airport 10: Hilton Head High earned another crack at Bluffton, dominating Airport in the second round of the Class 3-A state playoffs.

Seven Bluffton wrestlers won by fall: Label Lewis (103), Nic Levy (135), Quinn Williams-McClure (145), Chad Dimmock (152), Ray Harington (171), David Beck (215) and Jack Duane (heavyweight).

Nick Tennison (112), Chris Ordonez and Campbell Miller won by decision while Richard Jenkins (119) won a major decision.

Seth Anthony (140) won by forfeit.

"We were able to win a couple of close matches which was nice," Hilton Head High coach Mike Newton said. "Lately, we've been losing the close ones. It was a good tune-up for Wednesday."

Luke Barsness (160) lost by fall and Nick Bautista (189) lost a major decision.

The Seahawks will travel to Bluffton at 7 p.m. on Wednesday for the Lower State championship.