Two years ago the Bellmont Braves were beat up and hurting. They lost a match they felt they shouldn’t have at Snider, breaking a win streak that had spanned over 30 years against the Panthers.
Tuesday night they return to that same gym with a chip on their shoulders and they hope to take it to their old rivals, but a busy opening schedule could add an extra layer of intrigue for the Braves.
It will be the season opener for the host Snider Panthers.
The BHS coaching staff wasn’t thrilled with the idea of weighing in four times in the season’s first eight days, with a feast-focused holiday wedged in between. The #2-ranked Braves will practice on Thanksgiving Day to make up for it, preparing for 10 duals at Goshen on Friday and Saturday.
But before they focus on the RedHawk Duals, they will want to beat Snider, a team that is growing and gaining momentum with nearly 50 JV wrestlers hungry for a match to begin the action Tuesday night.
Head Coach Brian Tun’s team features his son, Tyler, at 113. Now a senior, Tyler won 22 matches last year and reached the Coliseum. Bellmont forfeited 113 Friday and the Panthers have plenty of depth to avoid Tun taking a forfeit Tuesday.
The heart of the Snider lineup comes from 126 to 144, where all four wrestlers are varsity-tested and they’ve all reached at least the regional level. They will line up with Bellmont’s Henry Faurote and Gabe Myers, both of whom won by tech fall Friday against Wawasee.
In the upper weights the Panthers have much less experience – and that should bode well for the Braves, who seem primed to score some fall points Tuesday with the big guys.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Bellmont Braves (1-0) vs. Snider Panthers (0-0)
106-Jacob Binegar (1-0) vs. Jayland Davis
113-Ben Mills (0-0) vs. Tyler Tun
120-Luke Ruble (0-1) vs. Owen McCann
126-Ethan Curtis (0-1) vs. Carter Krouse
132-Gabe Myers (1-0) vs. DeJuan Clardy
138-Henry Faurote (1-0) vs. Deacon Rhoades
144-Will Franze (1-0) vs. Kendi Quoi
150-Kade Cutler (0-1) vs. Dalton Rhodes
157-Austin Manley (0-1) vs. Spenser Shively
165-Gavin Davis (1-0) vs. John Dinwiddie
175-Landon Rich (0-1) vs. Dallas Woodson
190-Xavior Palacios (1-0) vs. Thomya Yu
215-Ryne Fawbush (0-1) vs. Jamin Portee
285-Grady Baker (1-0) vs. Daniel Ramos
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