Fort Madison has just enough to get past Fairfield

FORT MADISON ? Weather finally stepped aside long enough for Fairfield to open up the Southeast Conference wrestling season, but Fort Madison ? namely Bloodhound 145-pounder Austin Pauley ? got right back in the Trojans? way.

Pauley, ranked No. 10 in class 3A, posted a pin in the meet?s final match to complete Fort Madison?s rally and a 39-36 come-from-behind victory. Braxton Klett also recorded a win by fall in the second to last match with the score 36-27 in Fairfield?s favor.

?It is not the time to hang our heads and dwell on a tough loss,? said Fairfield head coach Jeff Courtright. ?Instead, we?re going to use the dislike of this loss to motivate us to increase our efforts and get better.?

The Trojans and Bloodhounds split seven wins apiece over the course of the meet, but it was Fort Madison?s six six-point victories via pin and forfeit ? compared to Fairfield?s four ? that made the difference. Aaron Gevock (130) held on to a 10-5 decision loss vs. Clayton Hocker to keep Fort Madison from making it a clean sweep of wins by fall in their seven victories.

?Obviously, the bonus points made the difference in the outcome,? Courtright said. ?Fort Madison did a good job of wrestling tough in some scramble situations, which allowed them to pick up some of those big points.?

The Bloodhounds? sixth-ranked 152-pounder Andrew Cartwright posted a pin in the first match of the night, but from there, the heavier weights from Fairfield once again showed their dominance. Seth Davisson (160, 3:52), Jeff Guttry (171, 3:31) and Mike Smithburg (285, 1:43) all won by fall while Tanner Metcalf (189) won 6-2 and Logan Metcalf (215) posted a 15-0 technical fall to shoot Fairfield out to an early 26-6 lead.

But with a shift to the low weight classes coming up, the Bloodhounds started to claw back. From the 26-6 deficit, Fort Madison posted victories in six of the final eight matches beginning with a forfeit victory at Fairfield?s open 103-pound weight class.

?Going into the dual, we knew it was going to be a close battle. Fort Madison was able to move some guys around in the lower weight, which allowed them to match up with us even better,? said Courtright.

Dakota Simmons won by fall (3:15) in his 125-pound match vs. Brady Petry, and Ryan Brewington tallied a 10-2 major decision vs. Dakotah Dunn at 135 pounds to salvage the two victories for the Trojans.

With the Fairfield momentum halted slightly, the Trojans will now look to get it back starting with Saturday?s tournament action in Centerville beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Fort Madison 39, Fairfield 36 (@ Ft. Madison)

Match started at 152

103 ? Thomas (FM) win by forfeit; 112 ? C. Dunn (FM) win by fall vs. Chookolingo (FF), 2:38; 119 ? Gray (FM) win by fall vs. Nelson (FF), 2:33; 125 ? Simmons (FF) win by fall vs. Petry (FM), 3:15; 130 ? Hocker (FM) win 10-5 vs. Gevock (FF); 135 ? Brewington (FF) win 10-2 vs. D. Dunn (FM); 140 ? Klett (FM) win by fall vs. Shaner (FF), 1:00; 145 ? Pauley (FM) win by fall vs. Bradfield (FF), 1:05; 152 ? Cartwright (FM) win by fall vs. Hammes (FF), 1:11; 160 ? Davisson (FF) win by fall vs. Berg (FM), 3:52; 171 ? Guttry (FF) win by fall vs. Goldensoph (FM), 3:31; 189 ? T. Metcalf (FF) win 6-2 vs. Richers (FM); 215 ? L. Metcalf (FF) win 15-0 vs. Horner (FM); 285 ? Smithburg (FF) win by fall vs. Fincher (FM), 1:43