The Montezuma-Cortez dual against Mancos on Thursday evening came down to the 120-pound weight class.
The teams were tied at 33 with M-CHS’ Matt Broughton and Mancos’ Richard Martinez set to face off in the final match.
Broughton struck first with a takedown and near fall to gain a 5-0 advantage, but Martinez escaped and returned the favor, getting takedown and near-fall points of his own to end the first period with a 6-5 lead.
Broughton started the second period with another takedown to regain the lead, and then Martinez’ escape evened the score at 7-7.
From then on, Martinez had control of the mat.
The Mancos junior nearly pinned Broughton in the second period, but Broughton escaped, sacrificing just near fall points and giving Martinez a 12-7 lead to begin the third.
Martinez continued to accumulate takedown and near fall points in the third, but Broughton continued to fight and refused to be pinned.
When the final buzzer sounded, Martinez walked away with an 18-7 win, giving the Blue Jays the final four team points on the evening to win the dual, 37-33.
“We haven’t had the numbers to be a dual team since we started three years ago,” said Mancos head coach Grant Hobbs. “So it was nice. This is our first ever dual win.”
“When it came down to the line and we were coming out with Richard Martinez, I couldn’t have felt any better,” he continued. “He’s an experienced kid in that situation and I felt confident.”
Ricky Lobato got Mancos out to an early lead, beginning the dual at the 126 weight class and pinning Vinny Conklin in the first period.
Chance Garcia followed with a 6-4 decision over Jared Gray at 132-pounds, and then Nick Valdez pinned Reid Littlefield in the 138-pound match to push Mancos out to a 15-0 lead.
M-CHS junior Josh Ramos got the Panthers on the board by pinning Jake Skinner in the first period of the 145-pound contest, and then Sonny Boren added another six points by pinning Kaleb Hargraves in the 152-pound match.
Next, at 160 pounds, Mancos’ Drew Morgan pinned Durban Briggs.
Then, Kerwin Tom scored for the Panthers with a 14-12 decision win over Austin Howerton at 182-pounds, and Victor Perez pinned Casey Orange to win the heavyweight division.
After Mancos had received forfeit points in the 170 and 195-pound classes, they returned them to M-CHS by forfeiting the 106 and 113-pound divisions, evening the teams’ scores at 33 and making the final 120-pound match between Broughton and Martinez the deciding contest.
Prior to their 37-33 loss to Mancos, the Panthers took on Norwood in a dual, with the Mavericks winning 42-22.
Broughton and Ramos highlighted the Panthers’ contest with Norwood by dominating their matchups and each winning by tech fall.
Gray and Perez were the only other Panthers to win in the dual, picking up pins against their opponents.
Shawn Higgins and Stevie Fuentes each won their exhibition matches against Norwood, with Higgins coming away with a pin and Fuentes winning by an 8-1 decision, but in their dual matches they were dropped by decision.
Panthers head coach Shad Bellmire is happy to have the numbers to be able to compete in duals, and said that the next step is to improve and better compete.
“The only way to get better is to get out there and get after it,” he said. “Just working the room. Because the young kids are going to fill it again this weekend with the 4-and-5A schools that we’ll be going against.”
The Panthers head to Grand Junction High School this Saturday for the Tiger Duals, while the Blue Jays will be in Dove Creek for the Dawg Fight.