Jacksonville\u2019s Blake Moses briefly broke out of high school wrestling \u201cretirement\u201d while teammate Maxwell Davis recorded what he hopes is the first of several individual accomplishments this month.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday night, the two seniors earned milestone victories during the host Cardinals\u2019 wins over South Johnston and West Brunswick in the first two rounds of the NCHSAA 6-A dual-team playoffs.<\/p>\n
The 138-pound Davis notched high school win No. 150 while the 190-pound Moses returned to the mat for one night to grab his 100th victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey both have been with me for four years,\u201d Jacksonville coach Mark Holbrook said. \u201cBlake has some big schools looking at him for football, so he was a little worried about getting injured, but he squashed that fear. Max really put in the work and has stepped up to get wonderful results. I expect a lot from him in state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis finished 53-6 last year at 132, capturing the East Regional title and going 3-2 in the state tournament to place fourth.<\/p>\n
He entered second-seeded Jacksonville\u2019s 63-15 first-round triumph over No. 15 South Johnston with 148 victories and moved a step closer with a forfeit win. In the Cardinals\u2019 43-31 second-round win over No. 7 West Brunswick, Davis then quickly pinned Josue Herrera to get 150.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was excited at first, but then West Brunswick pulled a cheap win over us, and that got me really fired up. I knew I had to go out there and get that six points back,\u201d Davis said. \u201cGetting 150 means a lot to me and my family because I reflect back on all we\u2019ve been through and all the practices to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later in the second-round match, Moses reached the century mark in wins by pinning Byrcen Mabe. Moses got No. 99 with a pin over Jordan Barefoot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it would be tough, but when I have something very important to me, I am going to do whatever I can to get it,\u201d Moses said. \u201cThis means a lot. With football taking so much time, I started half of last season. So, this means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Moses was 35-13, won the 165 regional title and wrestled in the state tournament. But his athletic passion is football, a sport that saw him earn first-team all-area linebacker honors last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been focused on football, but then over the weekend, I was like \u2018You know what, it\u2019s two matches. What\u2019s it going to hurt?\u2019 \u201d Moses said \u201cI had one practice and my teammates pushed me. It\u2019s a great feeling and I am glad I did it. The support and love from the Cardinals are just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, can we expect to see Moses on the mat as the Cardinals continue in the dual-team playoffs?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m done,\u201d Moses said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Davis, however, is only just beginning his run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good, but I don\u2019t want to let it get to my head and think about it too much,\u201d he said. \u201cI know I got Greensboro in almost two weeks. That is where you make it big.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cardinals also look to make it big in the dual-team playoffs.<\/p>\n
They grapple rival and third-seeded White Oak in the third round likely on Monday although the site for the four-team pod has yet to be determined.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like that match (against White Oak) and hopefully it will go our way again,\u201d Holbrook said. \u201cWe got some things to work on. We didn\u2019t do our best tonight. I think we took it for granted, but we are going to fix that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other Jacksonville individual matches: Jake Geist (106) pinned South Johnston\u2019s Worth Williams and downed West Brunswick Ayden Hewett 14-4, Tyler Gardner (113) pinned Blake Williams and pinned Graham Andrews, Garrett Moses (120) topped South Johnston\u2019s Saleem Jones 19-3, Gabriel Robida (126) won topped Amor Dykes 17-0 and Chris Bui 13-9, Elijah Bailey (144) pinned Isaac Byrd and won via DQ over Jacob Dalverny, Brock Smith (157) defeated Logan Starling 16-1 and pinned Noah Maier, Jonathan Berry (215) pinned Landon Wilchinski and pinned Liam Keane and Hunter Saiebilski (285) pinned South Johnston\u2019s Nicholas Dexter.<\/p>\n