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West Forsyth Wrestling Has Davie’s Attention
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When West’s current crop of seniors were freshmen in 2003-04, the War Eagles rocked West 56-9 on its mat. The teams staged three extra-charged showdowns the past two years, and Davie captured each one, all of them lacking suspense.
Davie was ranked No. 1 in 4-A when it hosted No. 9 West in 2004-05, and Davie stomped the Titans 50-6. Davie went to West last year with all the Central Piedmont Conference marbles on the table, and Davie romped 34-15. A few weeks later, they squared off in the state quarterfinals at Davie. The No. 2 and eventual state champion War Eagles mounted a 32-15 lead, forfeited the last two weights and celebrated a 32-27 victory over a West team that was 35-4 and ranked third.
Jan. 25 will be another season-changing match, as long as Davie sets the stage with a home win over North Davidson on Jan. 23. But this time West is the favorite, and a prohibitive favorite.
The Titans are 24-3, with two losses to out-of-state teams and one by three points to perennial power Riverside.
Their 103-pounder has 30 wins. Star Joey Smith is a fourth-year starter at 112. Chad Rhodes is 37-4 at 119. They have a third-year starter with 25 wins at 130. Their 135 has 30 wins. Transfer Lawrence Manns, who was fifth in the state last year for Mount Tabor, is 34-1 at 140. Jesse Leonard is a fourth-year starter with 20-plus wins at 145. Their 152 has 20-plus wins. Their 189 has 30-plus. Josh Downs is a state contender at 215. And their 235-pound heavyweight has 30-plus Ws.
“Smith is a stud. He could win it all this year,” West coach Mike Bryant said of his 112. “Downs has a shot at winning it all (at 215).”
Bryant inherited a long-suffering program in 2001-02, and the rebuilding process was painful - three wins his first year with 12 wrestlers and seven wins with 16 wrestlers in 2002-03. Bryant took West to new ground his third year, going 22-9 for its first winning season in 12 years.
West has increasingly amplified its success, going 23-3 with 45 kids in 2004-05, going 36-5 with 50 kids last year and building around four state qualifiers on a 54-deep team this year.
That’s a four-year run of 105-20. Davie is 22-0 all time against West, but ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.