Cougar wrestlers take down Eagles

North Putnam's wrestling team improved to 1-8 on the season Wednesday night with a hard fought victory against rival South Putnam, 52-27, at North Putnam.

North Putnam fell behind early as South won three of the first four matches of the evening but fought it's way back with some aggressive wrestling.

"We wrestled hard all night," NPHS Coach Kenny Kerns said after the contest. "The kids fought all the way around tonight."

The turning point for the Cougars came in the 140 weight class as Chris Humphries defeated South's D.J. Adams 18-8 in an exciting match. The match had to be stopped twice due to the Eagles' wrestler bleeding. Early on, the match went back-and-forth until Humphries gained control and won. With the win, Humphries catapulted the Cougars ahead of the Eagles, 16-15, and never let the lead slip.

The evening started with a forfeit win for C.J. Lofton of North Putnam. That was followed with a win at 119 by the Cougars' Michel Bird against Eric Hunter.

South won the next two matches of the night as Antonio Hernandez pinned North's Mike Pryor in the 125 class and Seth Green defeated North's Bren Donaldson to take the 130. Logan Kenny captured the 135 weight class as he pinned North's Kenneth Quisenberry.

After North's Humphries put the Cougars' on top, South's only two wins came through forfeits in the 157 class by John Parker and at 103 by Brandon Vaughn.

The Cougar's B.J. Brewer came out strong and won the 145 class by pinning Justin Sanders with only 13 seconds remaining.

Darr Boruff of NPHS defeated Hunter Edwards at 153 helping North Putnam build it's lead to 34-21.

Another exciting match of the night came at the 160 level as North's Jim Davis faced off against the Eagles' Jacob Parrish. The match was tied 4-all at the end of the first period and seemed to stay close as both wrestlers were unwilling to give any ground. But with 57 seconds left in the second period, North's Davis quickly reversed over Parrish and gained a quick pin to win the match.

The 171 weight class saw a stalemate between Norths' Alex Lance and South's Josh Sanders as the wrestlers ended the first period without scoring a point. In the second period, Lance grabbed the upper hand and took Sanders to the mat gaining a 2-1 advantage and maneuvering Sanders into position for the pin.

And with 30 seconds remaining on the clock, Lance did just that.

Jacob Stigall of the Cougars' pinned Chris Hurst just 40 seconds into the match to raise the lead to 46-21.

Not to be outdone by earlier heroics, North Putnam's Emmett Boruff came to the mat with North having a comfortable lead.

Some may have taken it easy but Boruff remained aggressive and pinned the Eagles' Andy Peyton in just 10 seconds sealing North Putnam first victory of the season.

"This is the best we've wrestled all year" Coach Kerns said after the meet.

North Putnam will host Tri-West next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., while South Putnam will compete in the Putnam County Meet next Thursday.

At North Putnam

North Putnam 52, South Putnam 27

103 - (S) Vaughn - forfeit

112 - (NP) Lofton - forfeit

119 - (NP) Bird pin (SP) Hunter

125 - (SP) Antonio Hernandez pin (NP) Pryor

130 - (SP) Seth Green dec. (NP) Bren Donaldson

135 - (SP) Kenny pin (NP) Quisenberry

140 - (NP) Humphries dec. (SP) Adams 18-8

145 - (NP) Brewer pin (SP) Justin Sanders

152 - (NP) D. Boruff pin (SP) Edwards

157 - (SP) Parker - forfeit

160 - (NP) Davis pin (SP) Parrish

171 - (NP) Lance pin (SP) Josh Sanders

189 - (NP) Stigall pin (SP) Chris Hurst

H.W. - (NP) E. Boruff pin (SP) Peyton

Next Meet - North Putnam will host Tri-West next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., while South Putnam will compete in the Putnam County Meet next Thursday.