Rock Hill wrestling comes up short in quest for state title

River Bluff High head coach Evan Moxie told his kids to ignore the history and tradition of Rock Hill High and just wrestle. It worked. They won 31-30 and take home their first ever 5A state wrestling title.

“I felt like coming in we were the underdogs,” Moxie said. “For us to be here and win that match it’s amazing.”

There couldn’t be two teams more different heading into the 5A state dual wrestling championships Saturday at Dreher High School in Columbia than No. 2 ranked Rock Hill (52-8) and No. 3 ranked River Bluff (26-4).

Just from a numerical standpoint, the Bearcats were in their 31st state championship match. River Bluff was in its first.

Rock Hill was going for state title No. 19 in the sport, but first at the 5A level. River Bluff was going for its first, in just its fifth year of existing as a school.

Rock Hill was looking for its third state title in four years. Bearcats’ head coach Cain Beard was looking for his fourth state title at the school, and Moxie was looking for his third state title.

The Bearcats came into the match-up having beaten River Bluff earlier this season with a 42-25 win. In fact, Rock Hill has wrestled twice as many matches this year with the state title match being its 60th dual match of the year, compared to the state title match being the Gators’ 30th dual match of the year.

The draw for the title match was at 138 pounds, the same as it was for Rock Hill in the Upper State title match. Rock Hill’s Bailey Wilkins and the Gators’ Ben Emery got things started for both schools. Emery got an early take down in the first period and controlled the match to give River Bluff an early 4-0 with a 11-1 major decision.

The 145-pound match was a lot closer with Chris Clayton taking the mat for Rock Hill, but the outcome was the same as River Bluff extended its lead to 7-0 with a decision in that match. The Bearcats saw another tight match at 152-pounds with Coleman Hoffman, but Rock Hill couldn’t get the points they needed as River Bluff kept the match going their way.

Turning point

It wasn’t until near the end of the match that the Gators could breath a sigh of relief.

River Bluff lost at 126 pounds by major decision with Danny Love getting the win for the Bearcats, but the Gators were able to clinch the state title mathematically, by putting things out of reach for Rock Hill with just one match left.

“Sometimes it just comes down to guys not giving up pins,” Moxie said.

Critical

The Gators got a pin at heavyweight, which was unexpected to go up 28-8 and put the Bearcats in a hole as they circled back around to the lightweights. It was their second pin of the match.

With River Bluff leading 31-14 and just three matches left, Rock Hill needed a pin at 120 pounds, and had the right man for the job in Justin Beck. Beck dominated the match, but it looked like he was going to have to settle for a decision until he caught his opponent in a cradle in the third period leading to a pin.

“We had a great season,” Beard said. “We just had a couple matches not go our way. Our backs were really up against the wall, and they did a super job in getting back in the match.”

Star contributions

Down 19-0, Rock Hill’s first dominant match was at 182 pounds as Noah Reynolds came out and went up 10-0 after the first period with two near falls. Reynolds would try to get the pin, but eventually had to settle for a technical fall.

Brandon Mills came back at 195-pounds for the Bearcats to get a 3-2 decision, which helped to keep River Bluff at bay.

Jose Mora got a pin at 106 pounds for Rock Hill, which was critical to close the gap on River Bluff, who was closing in on putting the match away. The pin helped to set up things for Beck coming up two weight classes later.

On deck

Both teams turn their attention to the Upper State and Lower State individual wrestling tournaments next weekend. Rock Hill will be heading to Laurens High School to participate in the Upper State individual tournament.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Rock Hill wrestling comes up short in quest for state title."