FRANKLIN -- The defending A-AA champion Central Purple Pounders cruised to the championship finals of the State Duals wrestling tournament here at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center Friday night, but the Hixson Wildcats weren't so fortunate.
Central may have been the most impressive team in any classification as they lost just one match total while waltzing past Page 78-3 in the quarterfinals before blanking Sycamore, 73-0.
Hixson had a much tougher time, but the Wildcats defeated Sullivan East in the first round by a 51-27 final before losing a heartbreaker to Pigeon Forge in the semis.
The match with the Tigers was a dandy, but with a berth in Saturday night's finals on the line, senior David Kieta came through in a big way, earning a second-period pin to give his team a hard-fought, come-from-behind 33-32 victory.
"It could have gone either way," said Pigeon Forge coach Greg Foreman after his team had improved to 19-10 with their biggest win of the season.
"There were four matches I thought were key and we won two of them and that was important. I feel good about Saturday night as we feel like we match up well with Central," Foreman added.
Hixson coach Garrick Hall certainly didn't make any excuses.
"We didn't get a pin call at 170 and that was the difference in the match. It look like he was stuck at least three times, but it was never called. Things just didn't go our way tonight," he said afterward.
"Life isn't always fair, but we just can't quit. We'll find out what we're made of tomorrow, but there are times when you have to battle through tough situations. Pigeon Forge has a fine team and we knew that going in, so we tried to make some key moves. It just didn't work out this time," Hall added.
Central breezed to its two wins during Friday's action.
The Pounders got pins from Trumand Martin, Josh Tisdale, Zac Calhoun, Logan Duckett, Cody Stacks, Mike West, Logan Griffith, Zac Fordham, Larry Dickerson, Michael Frazey and Sam Sledge in the win over Page.
They added nine more in the shutout over Sycamore, including falls from Tisdale, Calhoun, Duckett, West, Fordham, Sledge, Martin, Bryson Lemons and James Hughes.
Central coach Marquis Dotson was hoping his team would get a rematch with Hixson, but it didn't work out that way. Hixson had beaten Central in the finals of the Vandergriff Duals the week before Christmas.
"We got some big pins tonight, but we'll try to get our heads together and get ready for Pigeon Forge," he said after his team rolled into the finals.
"We came ready to wrestle today and I just hope we can carry that same energy over to tomorrow night. I thought the match with Sycamore would be a lot closer.
"I feel pretty good right now, but I'll feel better if we can win one more tomorrow night. It will be tough," Dotson added.
While Central will face Pigeon Forge for the second straight year, Hixson will wait for the winner of the Page-Stone Memorial match in the semifinals of the losers bracket.
<b>A-AA QUARTERFINALS </b>
<b>CENTRAL 78, PAGE 3 </b>
195 - Lawrence Martin (C.
Cent) pinned Connor Gittere, 0:31;
220 - Joshua Tisdale (C. Cent) pinned Harper Greiner, 1:16;
285 - Zachary Calhoun (C. Cent) pinned Cody Sadler,1:32;
106 - Cody Bowman (C. Cent) wins by forfeit;
113 - Bryson Lemons (C. Cent) wins by forfeit;
120 - Logan Duckett (C. Cent) pinned Dalton Dorris, 2:59;
126 - Cody Stacks (C. Cent) pinned Tristan Laravea, 0:37;
132 - Mike West (C. Cent) pinned Nathan Sizemore, 3:37;
138 - Logan Griffith (C. Cent) pinned Brian Lacey, 5:11;
145 - Zac Fordham (C. Cent) pinned Peter Leichner, 2:31;
152 - Larry Dickerson (C. Cent) pinned Austin Inglis, 1:26;
160 - Michael Frazey (C. Cent) pinned Bryce Teague, 1:56;
170 - Dylan Davis (Page) dec. James Hughes, 6-2;
182 - Samuel Sledge (C. Cent) pinned Micah Baldree, 1:34.
<b>HIXSON 51, SULLIVAN EAST 27 </b>
195 - William Alston (Sull E) pinned KC Shelton, 0:30;
220 - Christian Varner (Hix) pinned Matthew Jones, 0:36;
285 - Hallie McQuality (Sull E) pinned James Gossett, 1:43;
106 - Austin Payne (Hix) pinned Hunter Arnold, 5:53;
113 - Ryan Whitaker (Sull E) dec. Grayson Layne, 4-0;
120 - Steven Sklavenitis (Hix) pinned Leo Icenhour, 1:45;
126 - Isaiah Hawthorne (Hix) pinned Justin Smith, 0:58;
132 - Giovanti Palacio (Hix) pinned Stephen Love, 5:52;
138 - Ameer Jibrin (Hix) pinned Frankie Stigall, 3:13;
145 - Bailey Hodge (Sull E) pinned Jamison Roddy, 0:47;
152 - Aaron Alemany (Hix) dec. Tanner Perry, 6-2;
160 - John Hayes (Hix) pinned Victor Gomez, 2:25;
170 - Justin Mathieson (Hix) pinned Nelson Elliott, 3:53;
182 - Seth Embree (Sull E) wins by forfeit.
<b>A-AA SEMIFINALS
CENTRAL 73, SYCAMORE 0 </b>
220 - Joshua Tisdale (C. Cent) pinned Alex Blackwood, 0:23;
285 - Zachary Calhoun (C. Cent) pinned Billy Black, 2:11;
106 - Cody Bowman (C. Cent) major dec. Austin Henley, 12-3;
113 - Bryson Lemons (C. Cent) pinned Seth Douglas, 1:50;
120 - Logan Duckett (C. Cent) pinned Chase Springer, 0:44;
126 - Cody Stacks (C. Cent) dec. James Eads, 6-0;
132 - Mike West (C. Cent) pinned Otto Dowlen, 1:27;
138 - Logan Griffith (C. Cent) dec. Mike Binns, 8-5;
145 - Zac Fordham (C. Cent) pinned Austin Higgins, 0:46;
152 - Larry Dickerson (C. Cent) won by technical fall over Jesse York, 5:00;
160 - Michael Frazey (C. Cent) major dec. Christopher Carlton, 13-0;
170 - James Hughes (C. Cent) pinned Ben Knack, 5:08;
182 - Sam Sledge (C. Cent) pinned Tony Seay, 4:43;
195 - Lawrence Martin (C. Cent) pinned Peyton Harris, 2:44.
<b>PIGEON FORGE 33, HIXSON 32 </b>
220 - Cody Davis (PF) wins by forfeit;
285 - Christian Varner (Hix) dec. Brett Stelzer, 2-1;
106 - Austin Payne (Hix) pinned Chase McDonald, 1:00;
113 - Grayson Layne (Hix) pinned Travis Ward, 5:00;
120 - Caleb Poole (PF) pinned Steven Sklavenitis, 1:30;
126 - Isaiah Hawthorne (Hix) dec. Joseph Dodgen, 9-4;
132 - Spencer Davis (PF) dec. Giovanti Palacio, 1-0;
138 - Ameer Jibrin (Hix) major dec. Chris Rasberry, 8-0;
145 - Nate Croley (PF) wins by forfeit;
152 - Nathaniel Parton (PF) dec. Aaron Alemany, 8-4;
160 - Justin Mathieson (Hix) pinned Trevor Reed, 5:21;
170 - John Hayes (Hix) major dec. Ezekiel Sancreek, 13-1;
182 - Nathan Breeden (PF) dec. Chris Nicholson, 5-0;
195 - David Kieta (PF) pinned William Wallen, 3:04.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)