State Duals preview: Jefferson, Buford, Commerce look to defend state titles

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

Posted 5:31PM on Thursday, January 15, 2015

(NOTE: Here's an update with Thursday's first round state duals results -- In Class AAA Jefferson defeated McNair 54-21 and will face Rockmart in Friday's quarterfinals. Lumpkin County defeated Westside, Augusta 57-12 and will take on Spencer in the quarterfinals. and Banks County defeated Glenn Hills 78-6 and will next face Sonoraville. ... In Class AAAA Buford defeated Crisp County 45-24 and will face face Marist in Friday's quarterfinals. North Hall also hammered Cook 72-6 and will tackle Northwest Whitfield in the quarterfinals. ... In Class AAAAA Gainesville fell to Woodland, Cartersville 63-6 and will wrestle Ware County in Thursday's first "wrestleback" round. in Class AAAAAA North Forsyth defeated Alcovy 50-19 and will face Etowah on Friday. ... Classes A and AA will begin state tournament action on Friday.) Like in the Old West, the Jefferson, Buford, and Commerce wrestling teams are the seasoned gunslingers while most everyone else is the young upstart ready to make a name for himself. All three teams head to Macon Thursday looking to defend State Duals titles. And each expects to have large bullseyes on their backs. "That's what we're like," said Jefferson coach Doug Thurmond, whose Dragons have never lost a State Duals title in the 13 years since its inception. "You can't overlook anyone because they are all wanting to knock off the top dog." Jefferson won the Class AA Duals title last year but will put that streak on the line in Class AAA after moving up this season. Buford won the Class AAA Duals title last year but is now in Class AAAA. Commerce will try and defend its Class A Duals title. Commerce coach Kendall Love agreed with Thurmond. "We know we can't sneak up on anyone this year," Love said. "We know we'll have a target on us for sure. But we'll be ready for the challenge." Buford finds itself in a similar position as last year. The Wolves lost the Area 7-AAA title only to pull off a run to the state title in 2014. They lost to North Hall last week in the finals of Area 8-AAAA and hope to find lightning in a bottle for a second straight season. Only this time they may be the hunters as they try to knock off five-time defending champion Gilmer. "That was last year and in a different classification," Buford coach Rob Carlyle said. "But, we've been here before. We lost to Banks County in the area finals (last year) and then came back to win the state title so the guys have that experience." In Class AAAA, five-time defending Dual State champion Gilmer earned the top seed after taking the Area 7 title. Buford will get a first round match with Area 1 champion Crisp County at 1 p.m. Thursday. The Wolves and Gilmer would meet in the semifinals if both advance through the first two rounds. Carlyle said his team is taking an underdog approach despite winning a state title last season. "We know we have a tough road ahead," Carlyle said." I would think we're underdogs in this thing this year. We have Gilmer on our half (of the bracket) and they are definitely the team to beat. We'll see if we can do it again." The Wolves have plenty of firepower, however, with three defending individual state champions in the lineup. Junior Jack Barber (130-pounds) is a two-time defending state champ and sophomore Eli Hartley (120) and senior Darius Bunch (126) won state titles last season. Sophomores Trent Ferguson (145) and Jack Ness (182) and senior Grant Simonds (195) give Carlyle a deep lineup. "We feel we can wrestle with anyone," Carlyle said. "But we have a tough draw. If we get by Crisp we will probably get Marist, which is always tough, and then we would probably get Gilmer in the semifinals. We'll have to earn it for sure." North Hall will take on Cook in the first round play and could meet the winner of the Locust Grove-NW Whitfield match in the quarterfinals. In Class AAA, Jefferson has earned the top seed in just its first season in the classification. The Dragons are as dominant as they've ever been with a 30-4 duals record, with all four losses to nationally ranked teams and none to teams in Georgia. They sport six individual state champs from last year and two others that finished as runner-up. Thurmond said a touch of fear mixed with maintaining the status quo is what drives his squad each season. The Dragons will take on McNair in the first round. "It's a neat streak and there's a little fear of not wanting to be the team to have it end and a desire to keep things going," Thurmond said. "Our guys know they always have a target on them. But we have a very balanced and experienced team." Ben Kelly (Sr., 120), Brice Joiner (Sr., 126), Will Ballard (Jr., 152), Caleb Little (So., 182), and senior Mike Paolozzi (220) all are defending state titlist from last season. Little won the 170-pound title last year. Senior Chase Piparto (145) is a two-time defending state title holder. Junior Tanner Thurmond (132) and sophomore Zach Boobas (160) were state runners-up for the Dragons last season. Banks County, which won the Class AAA Duals title in 2013, is the No. 2 seed in Class AAA after winning the rugged 7-AAA crown. The Leopards will meet Glenn Hills in the first round. Leopards coach Kasey Hanley said they are expecting a dogfight the entire three days, if they advance to the finals. "(Class) AAA is loaded, top to bottom," Hanley said. "We expect a tough match every round. But I would have to say that Jefferson is the overwhelming favorite. "We're going in with high expectations but we also know there won't be any easy matches. We have Toombs County, Westminster, Oconee County, and Pepperell all on our side of the bracket. That's a tough field." Banks County is 24-1 in dual matches this year with its only loss coming to last year's Class AAAAA traditional state champion Cambridge. But the Leopards did graduate nine seniors from last year's state runner-up squad. However, Hanley said his young charges have risen to the challenge so far. "We are young but we have some talented freshmen and sophomores that have stepped up," Hanley said. "We just need to keep doing the little things that win matches. Our strength is probably our depth." Junior Chris McCrackin (126) is undefeated on the season and the only returning state champion. McCrackin won state titles at 106 in 2013 and at 113 in 2014. Senior Matt Dilbeck (220) finished second in the state last year and senior Dylan Settles (132) was third in the state last year. Senior Logan Free (285) also returns for the Leopards. Freshmen Devin Mullinax (106) and Clayton Dykhouse (145) and sophomore Corey Turner (120) have had solid years so far in their first season for Banks County and are expected to play key roles for the Leopards. Lumpkin County also advanced out of 7-AAA and will take on Westside-Augusta in the first round. In Class A, Commerce won Area 4 and returns to defend its Class A Duals title from last year. The Tigers, ranked No. 1 coming into the Area Duals, are the only team in the eight-team field that has won a Duals state title. Commerce will take on Treutlen in the quarterfinals at 8 a.m. Friday. The winner of that match will take on the winner of the Eagles Landing-Trion match in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday. Tigers' coach Kendall Love said they are looking forward to the challenge of defending their title. "Our guys are ready," Love said. "We have nine guys back from last year and I think they want the challenge. We don't know much about Treutlen but we expect them to be pretty good since they made the state field." The team to watch out for may be Mt. Zion, which is 29-1 on the season and faces Area 4 runner-up St. Francis, which Commerce hammered in the Area finals 77-3, in the opening round. "I think (Mt. Zion) is probably the team most of Class A is talking about," Love said. "From what I hear they are solid top to bottom. We would not see them unless we make the finals but if we both make it I definitely expect a tough match. But we're as healthy as we've been all season and peaking at the right time." Commerce is led by sophomore and defending traditional state champ Dalton Flint at 120. Sophomore Owen Brown (138) has just one loss this season and sophomore Cole Chancey (170) returns and took fourth in the state last season. Freshman Knox Allen (160) had a strong Area tournament for the Tigers. In Class AAAAA Gainesville will take on Woodland, Cartersville, the No. 1 overall seed, who won the Area 7 tournament. The Red Elephants finished second in Area 8-AAAAA to Clarke Central. In Class AAAAAA, North Forsyth nipped Chattahoochee to win its fourth straight Area 6 title. The Raiders will take on Alcovy in the first round. They face a possible matchup with Area 5 champ Etowah and then possibly No. 2 seed Mountain View in the semifinals. Two-time defending Class AAAAAA State Duals champion Archer returns as the top seed to defend its title.

Jeff Hart Sports Reporter