Lyons, GA. – January 31, 2024 | Coach Todd Allen
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The TCHS MatDawgs left no stone unturned throughout this season traveling all across the state of Georgia to seek out the best competition to hone their skills. All of their efforts culminated at the GHSA 1A State Dual Championships, where the top 16 1A schools traveled to Heard County to compete for the title of State Dual Champions. The MatDawgs had a tall order in front of them going into the tournament as the #2 seed overall behind the #3 team across all classifications and #1 seed in the tournament, Social Circle. The MatDawgs started off the tournament with a dominant 63-13 win over Berrien County. The second round proved to be a more formidable opponent against an opponent the MatDawgs had not seen, Gordon Lee. “Gordon Lee snuck up on us a little. I knew they had some good wrestlers, but they came ready to wrestle and weren’t going to just hand us the win.” Coach Allen said of their matchup against Gordon Lee. The semi-finals were set and the MatDawgs were facing an opponent they had seen multiple times throughout the season, Bremen. Coming off a 3rd place finish last season at the GHSA 3A State Dual Championships, the Bremen Blue Devils were eying a state dual finals appearance.
The matchup started at the 215 pound weight class and didn’t sway in the MatDawgs favor going down 0-12 giving up 2 pin falls. Lukas Young and Walker Bunch were able to knot the score back up (12-12) with 2 pins of their own. As the dual progressed, it looked meek for the MatDawgs as Bremen held onto the lead for the next 8 weight classes. Going into the final 2 weight classes the MatDawgs were trailing 30-25, leaving senior and returning State Finalist Lucas Coley and freshman Leeson Allen the task of winning to send their team into the State Finals. Lucas Coley did not disappoint as he pulled out an impressive technical fall victory to tie the score 30-30 heading into the final match of the dual. The final match to determine the dual was set as freshman Leeson Allen stepped onto the mat against 1A #7 ranked junior Jagger Patterson for Bremen. “I didn’t know what to think. I knew Leeson could win the match, but I didn’t know how he would handle the pressure.” said Coach Allen about the lead up to the final match of the dual. Leeson Allen was able to secure an 8-2 victory ending the dual score at 33-30 for the MatDawgs, sending the team to the State Dual Championship Finals. Coach Allen said this of the final match to send the team into semi-finals, “I was ecstatic for Leeson. A freshman at those higher weights can be difficult, along with the pressure to win the dual for your team in the State Dual semi-finals could make a kid crumble. He performed flawlessly and a Dad moment I will never forget also.”
This set the finals where the MatDawgs faced Social Circle. Though a valiant effort by the MatDawgs, they came up short in the dual against Social Circle with a score of 51-18. The MatDawgs ended the dual season with an overall 11-2 record and STATE DUAL RUNNER-UPS.
Congratulations to all of the MatDawgs for a great dual season. Now the MatDawgs finish up as they head into the individual postseason. The traditional Area Tournament kicks off on Saturday, February 1st at Dublin High School. We would love to see you all come out and support the MatDawgs going for an individual State Title!
