Soddy Daisy opened with four straight pins and cruised to a 69-23 win against arch-rival Red Bank Thursday night at the Soddy Daisy Wrestling Arena, in the annual girls wrestling match known as the "Rumble on Highway 27."

The Trojans, who lead 8-1 in the series, won 12 of the 18 matches, including 11 via fall, for their sixth straight win against the Lions.

"I am very proud of the way the girls wrestled tonight and they fought their tales off," said a happy Trojan coach Steve Henry after the match. "The match shows me what we need to work for as we look to qualify for the state invitational in February."

The TSSAA will host a girls invitational duals tournament, February 2 in Clarksville, Tenn., in conjunction with the boys TSSAA Division I state duals finals.

Trojans Melissa Downs, Brooke Hensley, Taylor Lewis and Hailey Moreno recorded the falls for the quick 24-0 lead before the near capacity crowd.

Lions’ Kacey White and Caressa Moyer stopped the Trojan run, with a pin and regular decision, respectively, to trail 24-9 after half dozen matches. White, 2-0 on the night, returned to the mat a dozen matches later for a technical fall triumph.

"The Red Bank girls wrestled tough in every match and this gives us something to build on," said Lions coach Kevin Emily. "Tonight’s match is great exposure for girls wrestling and we will continue to work towards the state invitational."

Trojan senior leaders Lyndsey Cross and Lewis stayed unbeaten with career marks of 5-0 and 4-0 records, respectively.

"Coach told us to go in strong and come out a winner and that’s what we did," said Cross who recorded the night’s quickest fall in 20 seconds against Lion foe Katie Wolfe.

"The team has high expectations and Lyndsey and I needed to make a strong showing," said Lewis. "I think we did just that."

Yet, freshman teammate Melissa Downs looked like the veteran in the night’s opening match by stopping Red Bank’s Erica Banus in 1:27 for a 6-0 team lead and the Trojans never looked back.

Two Wins: Red Bank’s Kacey White and Caressa Moyer each had a pair of wins on the night.

Hard Day’s Night: Red Bank’s Erica Banus is to be commended as she wrestled in the first and the 11th matches, plus an exhibition in a little more than an hour … She was 1-1-1 on the night.

Officials: Don Elsea, Eddie Davis

Match-by-Match

Melissa Downs (SD) pinned Erica Banus, 1:27 … Downs scored the initial takedown for a 2-0 lead, but Banus led 3-2 after one period … Downs had an escape and a, takedown before recording the fall … 6-0.

Brooke Hensley (SD) pinned Sara Williams, 1:32 … Hensley used a takedown and 2-point near fall and led 4-0 after one minute … She scored a reverse in the second before stopping Williams …12-0.

Taylor Lewis (SD) pinned Storey Reddick, :59 … Lewis had a takedown and recorded the pin one second before the end of the opening period ...18-0.

Hailey Moreno (SD) pinned Brooke Reed, 1:59 … Moreno used a takedown and 3-point near fall for a 5-0 first period advantage … She also recorded a second period escape followed by a takedown and the pin … 24-0.

Kacey White (RB) pinned Sara Jones, 1:59 … In a high scoring first minute, both wrestlers had a near fall and White led 6-4 … Jones scored a reverse and 3-point near fall for a 9-6 lead after two … White rallied to take the lead for good at 10-9 with a takedown and 2-point near fall … added a 3-point near fall before the pin … 24-6.

Caressa Moyer (RB) dec. Tara Ridge, 5-4 in the first match to go the distance … Ridge led 2-1 after one and 4-2 after two … Moyer rallied with a 3-point near fall for the win … 24-9.

Madison Murray (SD) pinned Katie Wolfe, 3:24 OT … In the most exciting match of the night, Murray rallied from down 6-2 in the second to tie it at 8-8 to force overtime … Murray scored a takedown and a fall in the extra minute for the win … 30-9.

Brittany Davenport (SD) dec. Lauren Reed, 7-5 … Davenport led 4-1 after one … Reed tied it (4-4) with a 3-point near fall in the second … Davenport used a late third period takedown to win … 33-9.

Shelby Garren (SD) pinned Danah Tatum, :59 … Garren used a takedown and a fall for the win … 39-9.

Katie Hall (SD) pinned Jami Scoggins, 2:51 … Scoggins led 2-1 on a third period takedown, but Hall used an escape and a takedown before the late pin … 45-9.

Erica Banus (RB) pinned Simone Stewart, 3:08 OT … In her second match of the night, Banus trailed 3-0 in the third period before rallying with a takedown and 2-point near fall to force the second overtime match of the night … The Lion scored a takedown and a fall eight seconds into overtime … 45-12.

Blakely Morgan (SD) pinned Sara Williams, 1:30 … Morgan led 5-1 after one and scored a takedown and fall to win … 51-12.

Lyndsey Cross (SD) pinned Katie Wolfe, :20 … Cross posted the quickest fall of the night after the opening takedown … 57-12.

Laura Lee Clark (SD) pinned Danah Tatum, 1:29 … After a scoreless first period, Clark used a reverse before recording the fall … 63-12.

Caressa Moyer (RB) dec. Savannah Hartman, 9-8 … Moyer won her second, 1-point match of the night … Hartman led 5-2 after one ... Moyer used a takedown and near fall for a 7-6 lead after two… Hartman then used a penalty point and escape to go up 8-7 before Moyer scored the winning takedown with 10 seconds remaining …63-15.

Lauren Reed (RB) dec. Taylor Oakes, 13-7 … the high scoring match had four reverses, a pair of takedowns and a pair of 3-point near falls … The match was tied 6-6 in the second, before Reed scored a reverse and 3-point near fall for an 11-6 lead which she never relinquished ... 63-18.

Kacey White (RB) tech. fall Jordan Marlow (15-0) … After recording a fall in match No. 5, White returned to the mat in match No. 17 for the night’s only technical fall … White used a trio of 3-point near falls, a pair of takedowns and a 2-point near fall to stop the match mid-way in the third … 63-23.

Taylor Wilson (SD) pinned Jami Scoggins, :41 … Wilson used a takedown followed by a fall to end the match … 69-23.

Wins: SD, 12-6
Pins: SD, 11-2
Technical Falls: RB, 1-0
Major Decisions: None
Regular Decisions: Red Bank, 3-1
Takedowns: SD, 21-13; Erica Banus (3), RB
Reverses: RB, 6-5; Lauren Reed (4), RB
Escapes: SD, 11-4; Savannah Hartman (3), SD
2-Point Near Falls: SD, 5-3; Kacey White (2), RB
3-Point Near Falls: RB, 10-3; Kacey White (3), RB,

Exhibition:
Erica Banus (RD) vs. Katherine Albrecht (SD) … 0-0 tie …

Contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net