JCCHS second in area, heads for state

The Panthers started the dual meet with a match against Morgan County, who had defeated Jackson County earlier in the season.

“I knew that Morgan County was going to be one of our toughest matches and I felt that our line-up was good enough to beat them and it was,” Powers said.

Ryan Shekey picked up a huge upset major decision over Jacob Akins in the 112 lb. class.

“The rest of the night fed off of that momentum,” Powers said. “I really don’t think Ryan realized the importance of his match. It’s always key to get a great first match so that the team can feed off of the momentum of that match.”

The Panthers went on to win 43-29 over Morgan County.

Jackson County then took on Hart County, defeating them 53-18, and bringing up the next match-up, this time with Oconee County.

“I knew going into the Oconee match that this was going to be our toughest match of the night,” Powers said. “While we were wrestling Hart County, Oconee defeated Morgan County easily. At that point, I knew we were going to have a battle.”

The Panthers took an early lead, but an Oconee upset in the 152 lb. class swung the momentum. Oconee went on to win the next two matches by fall.

“I knew we had to win all three remaining matches, two by pin and one by decision, in order to beat Oconee,” Powers said.

The 189 lb. match started out with a quick pin by Cody Atkins. Ryan Howe then went on to get a second period pin. A come from behind win by Jacob Hyder gave the Panthers a 42-33 victory.

On Saturday, the Mat Panthers defeated Stephens County 61-13, Elbert County 65-13, and Franklin County 70-9.

Jackson County suffered their only loss of the weekend to a tough Eastside team.

Wrestlers going undefeated were Izzy Carrillo-Garcia, Ryan Howe and Jacob Hyder. Panther wrestlers suffering only one loss this weekend were Cole Meaders and Kevin Spicer. Those with only two losses include Ryan Shekey, Tre’ Horton, Charles Smothers and Jamari Davis.

The Mat Panthers were scheduled to face Stephens County and Franklin County on Tuesday during Senior Night. Results of that match were unavailable at press time.