Saturday showdown

The Patriots got tested early.

Then they had to battle in the second round as well.

The toughest test comes first thing this morning.

Jay County High School’s wrestling team was one of two squads to open the Allen County Athletic Conference team dual tournament with a pair of wins on Friday at JCHS.

“I knew they were going to be battles,” said JCHS coach Eric Myers, whose team is the defending champion. “We came in, wrestled hard and won a lot of tight matches, a lot of 50-50.

“I was really pleased with our guys.”

Jay County and Adams Central — the Jets won their matches handily on Friday — meet first thing this morning when the tournament resumes at 9 a.m. with rounds three through seven.

In the first round against South Adams, Jay County lost its first match before rattling off six consecutive pins to go ahead 36-6.

Bryce Wenk (182 pounds), Ramon Bravo (195), Tristin Stout (220), Conner Specht (285), Landon Garringer (106) and Cody Rowles (113) all recorded pins in the first period.

Specht had the quickest pin of the day, topping Koby Eaton in 21 seconds. Bravo’s win against Luke Bauman took 1 minute, 46 seconds, while Garringer and Rowles both needed less than 60 seconds to dispose of their opponents.

At 120, Taye Curtis defeated Logan Bauman by major decision, 14-4, before Ethan Reiley (126) and Tony Wood (132) also had pins in the first period.

With four matches to go, Jay County led 52-6 and was not in jeopardy of losing the overall match against South Adams.

However, the Starfires won the next four for a respectable 52-30 loss to Jay County.

Wenk, Bravo and Stout staked Jay County to a 12-0 lead over Bluffton in round two, with Wenk and Bravo both winning by decision. Stout pinned returning semi-state qualifier Cameron Farmer in 66 seconds.

“We came up with a huge win at 220,” Myers said of Stout. “Our backup guy — who is really talented just hasn’t found a spot in the lineup — pins a semi-state guy. Huge.”

Conner Specht won by disqualification at 285 against Juan Cruz. Specht was down 14-7 in the third period, but Cruz was called for his fourth penalty resulting in the disqualification. The rule violation, however, wasn’t caught until the completion of the match (Cruz led 16-11).

Instead of leading 12-3, the DQ made it 18-0 in favor of Jay County. Bluffton won at 106 before Rowles pinned Jed Logan 1:42 into their match.

Curtis was leading his match 2-0 in the first period, but Bluffton had sent out its 126-pounder to wrestle Curtis at 120. The mishap forced the Tigers into forfeiting both 120 and 126 weight classes as Jay County jumped ahead 36-6.

“Taye Curtis, I felt wrestled really well today,” Myers said. “Bauman is wrestling really well. He was able to grind out a nice win for us there.”

Wood won at 138, and Cameron Gage got a first-period pin at 152 to help JCHS to a 48-22 lead.

A.J. Myers, who lost at 170 pounds to Maverick Summersett of South Adams in the first round, bounced back to pin Bluffton’s Levi Kahn almost 50 seconds into the third period.

“A.J. had a tough kid and found a way,” Eric Myers said. “Kept wrestling and bounced back (from the loss).”

Myers also commended Wenk and Bravo for earning their decisions, 9-2 and 6-0, respectively.

“I guess that would be the theme for some of those guys, they are just able to grind out and win for us,” he said. “Sometimes it goes overlooked because it’s not a big, flashy pin. But those guys are essential for us.”

Adams Central, meanwhile, cruised to its two victories. The Jets beat Woodlan 75-0 in the first round, and topped Heritage 60-15.

“We just have to take care of business,” Myers said of the matchup with Adams Central first thing this morning. “We’re going to look at some moves here and there.”

Also in the first round, Blluffton defeated Heritage 64-9. The other match in round two had South Adams defeat Southern Wells 66-12.

South Adams and Bluffton are both 1-1. Woodlan and Southern Wells are 0-1, and Heritage is 0-2.

After its match against Adams Central, Jay County has the bye in round four, then takes on Woodlan, Heritage and Southern Wells in rounds five through seven, respectively.

“We’ve got to wake up ready to go,” Myers said.