Lyons, GA. – December 12, 2022 | Coach Todd Allen
The MatDawgs ended a jam-packed week of wrestling at the Rebel Invitational at Effingham County High School this weekend. The tournament culminated an impressive week for the MatDawgs.
On Thursday the MatDawgs hosted the 2nd Annual Rivalry Dual against cross-county rival Vidalia High School and came away with a dominant 45-21 victory. It was an electrifying atmosphere that began with a close dual match against the two middle school programs. The middle school MatPups dropped a close dual, 57-54. Despite the loss, the MatPups are making huge strides. “We are improving. Every match our wrestlers are learning and that’s really the goal. Our kids did a great job Thursday!”, said Coach Bratton about his team’s performance.
The spotlight was on for the Varsity squad as Wil Watts kicked off the dual for the MatDawgs. He started the dual controlling the entire mat and came away with a decision to send the team score to 3-0 for the MatDawgs. The Indians began a short run by winning the heavyweight match and earning a pin in the 106 match. Newcomer Benjamin Parra turned things around for the MatDawgs with a victory over #12 ranked (Georgia Grappler) in 2A state Myikel Johnson. This sparked a flurry of points for the MatDawgs! Toombs went on to earn a forfeit at 120, pin fall at 126, forfeit at 132, pin fall at 138, pin fall at 144, and pin fall at 150. The MatDawg’s explosion put them up in the dual and solidified a victory with the dual score sitting at 42- 9. The MatDawgs dropped matches at 157, 165, and 175. This set up a final matchup against 2 of the top 190’s in Georgia 2A class, Toombs County’s senior Tank Morris versus Vidalia’s Ronald Pointer. Tank ended the evening with a convincing 5-2 victory. The final team score put the MatDawgs on top of the Indians 45-21.
“It was a good victory for us, but we can’t stay idle. We have to continue to improve if our team has expectations of winning a state championship this season. I’m happy with the performance, but not satisfied.” stated Coach Todd Allen about the Rivalry victory.
The Rebel Invitational was a big test for the MatDawgs. With 32 teams in attendance, it would be the best competition they’ve seen all season. The MatDawgs definitely stepped up to the plate and came away with strong performances all around, finishing in 6th place overall. “Finishing in 6th place out of 32 teams is great for us. It just proves that classification doesn’t matter and that we really can compete against some of the best teams in the state of Georgia,” said Coach Allen. Individually, the MatDawgs ended with two 3rd place finishers (Tank Morris and Dabvn Wadley), one 4th place finisher (Brock Nobles), one 5th place finisher (Wil Watts), and one 6th place finisher (Robert Bruce Agzigian).
The MatDawgs Varsity squad head down to Valdosta Georgia this weekend to compete in the All-State Wildcat Invitational tournament.
See the results below from the Rivalry Dual and Rebel Invitational:
106- Jahir Lopez defeated by Vidalia (Fall)
113- Benjamin Parra defeats Vidalia (Dec.)
120- Sam Register receives forfeit
126- Giovanni Yescas defeats Vidalia (Fall)
132- Dylan Vetter receives forfeit
138- Robert Bruce Agzigian defeats Vidalia (Fall)
144- Dabvn Wadley defeats Vidalia (Fall)
150- Tyson Brantley defeats Vidalia (Fall)
157- Slade Landrum defeated by Vidalia (Fall)
165- Jamar Jones defeated by Vidalia (Dec.)
175- Hayden Roy defeated by Vidalia (Dec.)
190- Tank Morris defeats Vidalia (Dec.)
