Ethan Sellers of host Colquitt County High wrestling wins his 113-pound match in the dual victory for the Packers over Lowndes in Saturday's 1-7A region meet.

MOULTRIE – In dual wrestling, pins are touchdowns and decisions are field goals.

Colquitt County High School’s Packers are going to the GHSA Class 7A duals championships because, after scoring early ‘touchdowns’ on the Lowndes Vikings, they didn’t give up the ‘big play’ down the stretch, making their foe settle for ‘field goals.’

To set it up, all four Region 1-7A teams gathered at the Colquitt County High gym for the duals tournament where two could earn spots in the state event to be held Jan. 18-19 in Macon. The format was two pairings at the beginning with the winners and losers then facing each other. The first team to go 2-0 got the region championship, but second place was a little more complex.

There was nothing complex, though, about the perennial state power, Camden County. As the top seed, the Wildcats crushed Tift County 63-3. They awaited the winner between host Colquitt County and Lowndes. When the Packers came out victorious, it was a one-on-one dual with Camden for Benjy Scarbor and his club. It also set up Lowndes to take on Tift County, and it was the Tift Blue Devils with everything to gain. That’s because, due to Camden’s victory against Colquitt, a Lowndes victory meant an automatic bid to state for the Packers (having already beaten Lowndes) and a Tift win meant winner-take-all wrestling with both the Devils and Packers 1-1. Tift took the Vikings to the last of 14 dual matches, but it was Lowndes prevailing 39-31 and Colquitt wrestlers celebrating.

It all went back to the start of the day and the Packers’ 40-25 dual win against the Vikings. The order of wrestling began with the 195-pound division and football lineman Michael Roberts. He scored the ‘touchdown’ in the first period, pinning his foe in 1:31.

Dealing with 220-pound senior Nic Jarvis – getting the chance at dual state wrestling for the first time – is almost like bull riding in a rodeo. His Viking opponent only lasted 18 seconds, another ‘touchdown’ pin for Colquitt County.

Since Lowndes had no counter for heavyweight Brian Merritt – one more fresh off the Packer football defensive line – that was six forfeit points and 18-0 advantage for the host squad.

That only turned the dual over to what may be the strength of Scarbor’s lineup, the lightweights to middleweights. Jared Collum, Colquitt’s 106-pound senior, is still getting back to wrestling shape after his injury issues, but he got through his first period with Lowndes even at 2-2. At 1:11 of the second period, Collum scored three points on the near pin. Lowndes reversed and forced an injury timeout for Collum. He was able to continue and end the period still with the lead at 5-4.

In the third period, Lowndes reversed Collum’s early advantage and was able to fight off his efforts to get reverse points himself. That was a 6-5 win for the Vikings, worth a ‘field goal’s’ three points.

Ethan Sellers, Zac Kirkland, Timmy Brinson and Austin Paradice combined to blow the team score wide open.

Sellers, at 113 pounds, won his first period 2-0 and got a near fall in the second. With one more near fall, and pitching a shutout, he won by points 8-0, which is the minimum for a major decision and four team points.

Kirkland, 120 pounds, got through his first period even 2-2 but did the only second period scoring with a near pin (7-2). By maintaining control, Kirkland won and had Colquitt in front 25-3.

Before Brinson took the mat, Lowndes won the 126-pound match by decision – but not major decision – 7-0. Brinson set a furious pace for the 132-pound action, blocked a reverse attempt with 30 seconds on the clock, then gained the ‘touchdown’ pin at the nine-second mark.

Paradice, a varsity newcomer, pretty much forced Lowndes into touchdown mode by winning 136-pounds 9-5. He was up 4-3 after the second period, then owned the final two minutes with a takedown and escape.

As Colquitt’s lead was 34-6, there were five matches left and a chance for Lowndes, but it needed pins. Deonte Edwards didn’t let them get that at 145 pounds. Lowndes scored two takedowns, one by the leg, but Edwards was even at 4-4 until the Viking scored the last two to win 6-4.

In the next two matches, the Vikings gained 10 points by technical falls, which is building a lead of 15 points. That automatically ends the match. But Lowndes had just two more chances for points with Colquitt leading 34-19. The Vikings got the elusive pin at 170 pounds, then ‘Bubba’ Spradley, a Packer running back making his mat debut, put an exclamation point on things winning by pin in the first period.

Camden’s Wildcats handled Colquitt 58-9 despite this dual beginning with the 220 pounders. This meant an early showing for Jarvis, who won by pin. The next two matches went to Camden by decision, one a major decision.

Sellers gave his Wildcat foe a battle, taking the lead on an escape to end the second period at 6-5. But the only scoring move of the third went to Camden, the 7-6 win giving them an edge of 10-6 as a team.

That lead grew to 22-6 before Brinson took his next turn.

He made for a stalemate on the mat until Camden escaped him at the buzzer of the second period. In the third, however, Brinson had the takedown right away and was awarded three more on a near fall. With that, he won 6-3.

That was Colquitt’s final points, though Paradice had a tight match where he stormed back from trailing 9-1. He was in a near pinning situation in the third period, but Camden eventually prevailed 12-8.