The last time both Heath Eslinger (wrestling for Bradley Central) and Cleveland competed in the TSSAA Division I state wrestling duals was 1995.

Next Friday (Feb. 1), Eslinger and Cleveland return to the state duals, this time on the same bench wearing the same school colors – blue and red.

Saturday evening, Coach Eslinger guided the visiting Blue Raiders to a 31-30 win against defending state duals champion Soddy-Daisy for the Region3/Region 4 wild card spot.

“Our goal all year was to wrestle in Clarksville in early February and now we are going,’’ said Eslinger, who has seen the Blue Raiders (21-5) beat the Trojans (21-5) twice this season.

We wrestled great in spots and not so good in others,’’ said Eslinger. “But at the end of the day, I can make hotel reservations in Clarksville.’’

Two of those Blue Raiders wrestling great were Marvin Lopez (119) defeating 2007 state medallist Justin Hammons, 6-2 and Clay Bunch (135) pinning Alex Ford.

Both coaches pointed to the 135-pound match as the turning point.

“We pin at 135, then we are up by 11 (21-10) with seven matches to go, instead of being down one (16-15),’’ said Soddy-Daisy coach Steve Henry.

“Clay got off his back to post the pin (1:26) against Alex Ford which was a huge win,’’ said Eslinger. “That is what a senior is suppose to do.’’

With the match starting at 285, Cleveland jumped to an 11-6 lead after four matches with decisions by Adam Peters (285) and Marvin Lopez (119) sandwiched around Bryan Alvarado’s technical fall at 112 to offset Dustin Gardner’s pin at 103 for the Trojans.

But Soddy-Daisy then won four of the next five for a 24-16 lead with five matches remaining. Jake Gamble (125) and Brandon Lane (145) registered pins, while Taylor Witt (130) and Mikey Fuller (140) had decisions.

The one match in that stretch that got away from the Trojans was the crucial match at 135.

In a high scoring first period at 135, Ford led 5-1, but Bunch got off his back to stop Ford at 1:26.

Down 24-16, Cleveland won three straight on a decision from Travis Leonard (152), a forfeit win by Harold Gage (160) and a fall by Matt Sharp (171) for a 31-24 advantage.

The host Trojans then needed eight team points in the final two matches to return to the state duals, but could only manage six, via regular decision wins from Ben Young (189) and Billy Zimmerman (215).

“I respect Cleveland for the efforts tonight and all season,’’ said Henry. “Maybe they worked harder than we did.

‘‘I am not saying that we didn’t wrestle tough, but they created opportunities and took advantage of those opportunities.’’

Unfamiliar Territory: This is the first time in this decade, in which Soddy-Daisy will not be wrestling for the state duals title … In 2000, Red Bank defeated the Trojans for the Region 4 title and a spot at the duals … Soddy then won the next seven Region 4 crowns (2001-2007) and Ooltewah won the region on Thursday.

Best Match: 140 Mikey Fuller (SD) dec. Bailey Jones (Cleve), 14-8. Fuller used a pair of takedowns and an escape for a 5-4 lead after one … Jones used an escape and a takedown for a short-lived 7-6 lead midway through the second period, but Fuller was up, 9-8, with two minutes remaining … Fuller upped the lead to 10-8 with an escape and then used his fourth takedown of the match and a 2-point near fall at the end for the win.

Quickest Fall: Matt Sharp (Cleve) pinned Kyle Odom in 20 seconds at 171.

Cleveland 31, Soddy-Daisy 30

285 – Adam Peters (Cleve) dec. Eddie Richmond, 8-4

103 – Dustin Gardner (SD) pinned Taylor Spurlin, 3:17

112 – Bryan Alvarado (Cleve) technical fall Peyton Pelfrey, 16-1

119 – Marvin Lopez (Cleve) dec. Justin Hammons, 6-2

125 – Jake Gamble (SD) pinned Ben Spires, 5:24

130 – Taylor Witt (SD) dec. Jacob Sewell, 5-1

135 – Clay Bunch (Cleve) pinned Alex Ford, 1:26

140 – Mikey Fuller (SD) dec. Bailey Jones, 14-8

145 – Brandon Lane (SD) pinned Will Moreland, 4:31

152 – Travis Leonard (Cleve) dec. Tristan McCroskey, 10-5

160 – Harold Gage (Cleve) forfeit win

171 – Matt Sharp (Cleve) pinned Kyle Odom, :20

189 – Ben Young (SD) dec. Chip Norwood, 5-3

215 – Billy Zimmerman (SD) dec. Max Ofori, 1-0

Record: Cleveland (21-5), Soddy Daisy (21-5)

Time of Match: 1:43

Wins: 7-7

Lead Changes: 6

Decisions: Cleveland, 4-1

Major Decisions: Soddy-Daisy, 4-2

Tech Falls: Cleveland, 1-0

Pins: Soddy-Daisy, 3-2

Forfeit Wins: Cleveland, 1-0

Team Bonus Points: Cleveland (11), Soddy Daisy (9)

Takedowns: Soddy-Daisy, 19-13
First Takedowns: Soddy-Daisy, 6-5

Reverses: 3-3

Escapes: Soddy-Daisy, 17-14

Cautions Against: None

Warnings Against: 2-2

Points Awarded Off Warnings: None

Penalty Points Awarded: Cleveland (2), Soddy-Daisy (1)

2-Point Near Falls: Cleveland, 4-3

3-Point Near Falls: Cleveland, 4-3

Most Takedowns: Dustin Gardner (SD), 5

Most 3-Point Near Falls: Brandon Lane (SD), 3

Most 2-Point Near Falls: Bryan Alvarado (Cleve), 3

Team Penalty Points Against: Cleveland, 1

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