With the 1A/2A state championship dual meet tied at 27-27 going into the final bout of the evening on Saturday, an older gentleman near the head table said it all: "This is what high school wrestling is all about."
It had all the drama wrestling was made for: one man versus another, with the state championship on his shoulders.
Oakland Mills' 220-pound senior Zach Vincent ended up playing the hero, winning the final bout 6-2 to give the Scorpions a 30-27 victory over Middletown for the program's first ever dual state title and first state championship since 1986.
"I had a dream last night. I just knew it was going to come down to me," Vincent said. "When coach Howell told me all I need to do is win and we'll be champions, I was ready to go win it for my team. We've been working hard all off-season, and the character this team has is just tremendous. We deserve to be champions. ... My teammates put me in the position to be champions."
Oakland Mills coach Brad Howell knew his senior wouldn't fold under the pressure. Just after teammate Roy Gomez got pinned in the first period in the 195-pound match, Vincent said, "I got this one, coach."
The match tied at 2-2 heading into the final 20 seconds of the second period, Vincent just barely locked up a cradle. He brought the head of Middletown's Tyler Clemmer toward his own knee, and locked his hands by the fingertips. It was just enough, he said, to put Clemmer on his back for three state-championship points.
"He was dominating him on the mat. We felt pretty comfortable there," Howell said. "As soon as he broke that kid down to his belly and the kid came to his elbows, I yelled to him, 'go to your game.' He went right to that cross-face, hooked that near leg ... I knew he was going to get it then, once he locked it up."
Oakland Mills, which fell to Middletown 41-26 on Dec. 5, had jumped out to a 9-0 lead after senior heavyweight Antonio Rozier held on for a 10-8 decision and freshman Kyle Farace pinned his 106-pound opponent in 3:15.
After that, things took a turn as Middletown took two swing matches. Sean Farran earned a hard-fought 9-7 decision over Johnny Rynn at 113 pounds, and Josh Grossnickle took down Oakland Mills' Dakota Thompson late in overtime for a 4-2 win.
Middletown's Danny Bertoni took a forfeit at 126, Mark Guglielmimi won a major decision, Adam Bain dominated to a technical fall, and just like that Middletown took a 21-9 lead.
The Scorpions, as they have been saying all season long, just stayed composed despite unexpected losses.
"I had a prediction in my head, and things didn't go as planned, so I got a little worried at first," said senior Jaron Smith. "But then we started pushing through."
The turn-around started with Matthew Claxton, who won 7-4 at 145. Alex Asifo held on for an 8-7 win at 152, and Sidique Furet got just enough takedowns to win 12-8 at 160. The momentum had switched again, this time in the favor of Oakland Mills, which trailed only 21-18 with four bouts to decide the state champion.
If it wasn't the final bout, the most important match was at 170 pounds. Jamore Tinsley, who has often been the lone-man-out of many of Oakland Mills' duals this season, was thrust back into the lineup to wrestle Sean Herrman, who pinned Tinsley in the first period in the first weekend of the season.
"We really believed in Jamore," Howell said. "He's really come on. We actually went for that matchup, that's what we wanted. We said, this ain't happening again. We had a lot of confidence in Jamore."
Not only did Tinsley stave off defeat, he won the bout, 3-1, to tie the match. With defending state champion Jaron Smith, and state place-winner Vincent still anxiously waiting their turn, it seemed all but certain the final bout would determine the outcome.
Smith got the job done, needing only 52 seconds to get the pin, before Middletown's Tucker Ziegler pinned Gomez in 1:30 to set up the final bout.
For a team with eight seniors in the varsity lineup, the win cemented a legacy that will stand for years to come.
"It means a lot. It's a huge thing for me and for the community," Howell said. "What was so big to me was that it sent the message to them that they were doing the right thing. ... I think these seniors are going to leave this with that as their trademark."
1A/2A State semifinals
In the 1A/2A semifinals, Oakland Mills took on No. 10 Sparrows Point, which was making its first ever appearance in the state duals.
The Scorpions, just as they have done since the first weekend of the season, dominated through and through, taking the win convincingly, 49-13.
"Oakland Mills is one of the best teams in the state. I knew it was going to be a battle. I didn't like the matchups necessarily," said Pointers coach Mike Whisner. "We were a little banged up from the other day, but Oakland Mills is a very good team."
Zach Vincent started it off with a 33 second pin at 220 pounds, followed by a close 6-3 win for Antonio Rozier at heavyweight.
In a potential state finals matchup, freshman Kyle Farace battled Sparrow Point's freshman Skylar Minutelli at 106 pounds.
From the bottom position, it looked like Minutelli would earn a reversal in the second period, but Farace turned the move around and put Minutelli on his back to earn three near-fall points. Farace then executed a switch to get a reversal to start the third period en route to a convincing 5-0 win that gave Oakland Mills a 12-0 lead.
"I thought that heavyweight match could have gone either way. I was hoping to catch him at 106 ... that could have gone either way," Whisner said. "There were a couple things that didn't go our way. Out 126-pounder was out with a knee injury. When you get those couple of matches that don't go your way it's hard to rebound."
The lightweight domination continued for the Scorpions, as Johnny Rynn (113) and Dakota Thompson (120) each notched major decisions before Julian Capino (126) secured a first-period pin to make it 26-0 in the Scorpions' favor.
"I was hoping we would start off in the middleweights, kind of gain some momentum," Whisner said.
Sparrows Point battled back earning a forfeit at 132 and a pin from Taylor Randolph at 138 to cut the deficit to 26-12. Soon after, though, the wheels started to fall off for the Pointers.
Before the 145-pound bout, Sparrows Point was deducted a team point for a bench violation. Brody Underwood won the 145-pound match 6-1 to cut the lead to 26-14, then Oakland Mills won the 152 pound match by major decision and the 160 pound bout by decision.
In the latter match, Sparrows Point was deducted a second team point for a coaches violation.
Oakland Mills finished up the meet with a major decision at 170, a pin at 182 and a forfeit at 195.
Oakland Mills 30, Middletown 27 (1A/2A Championship)
285: Antonio Rozier (OM) dec. Sean Mullican (M) 10-8; (3-0)
106: Kyle Farace (OM) pinned Ethan Grossnickle (M) 3:15; (9-0)
113: Sean Farran (M) dec. Johnny Rynn (OM) 9-7; (9-3)
120: Josh Grossnickle (M) dec. Dakota Thompson (OM) 4-2 OT; (9-6)
126: Danny Bertoni (M) fft; (9-12)
132: Mark Guglielmimi (M) major dec. Julian Capino (OM) 19-5; (9-16)
138: Adam Bain (M) tech fall Justin Gatewood (OM) 17-2; (9-21)
145: Matthew Claxton (OM) dec. Josh Paige (M) 7-4; (12-21)
152: Alex Asifo (OM) dec. Casey McCauley (M) 8-7; (15-21)
160: Sidique Furet (OM) dec. Will Davis (M) 12-8; (18-21)
170: Jamore Tinsley (OM) dec. Sean Herrman (M) 3-1; (21-21)
182: Jaron Smith (OM) pinned Jake Ridgley (M) :52; (27-21)
195: Tucker Zieglar (M) pinned Roy Gomez (OM) 1:30; (27-27)
220: Zach Vincent (OM) dec. Tyler Clemmer (M) 6-2; (30-27)
Oakland Mills 49, Sparrows Point 13 (1A/2A Semifinal)
220: Zach Vincent (OM) pinned Nick Borsh (SP) :33; (6-0)
285: Antonio Rozier (OM) dec. Sage Jones (SP) 6-3; (9-0)
106: Kyle Farace (OM) dec. Skylar Minutelli (SP) 5-0; (12-0)
113: Johnny Rynn (OM) major dec. Brandyn Stencil (SP) 15-2; (16-0)
120: Dakota Thompson (OM) major dec. Shane Williams (SP) 14-5; (20-0)
126: Julian Capino (OM) pinned Jon Harris (SP) 1:22; (26-0)
132: Randolph Watson (SP) fft; (26-6)
138: Taylor Randolph (SP) pinned Justin Gatewood (OM) 5:28; (26-12)
145: Brody Underwood (SP) dec. Alex Asifo (OM) 6-1; (26-14) *SP -1 team point
152: Matthew Claxton (OM) major dec. Brent Kline (SP) 9-0; (30-14)
160: Paul Johnson (OM) dec. Quentin Hager (SP) 3-2; (33-13) *SP -1 team point
170: Sidique Furet (OM) major dec. Eric Marvin (SP) 15-3; (37-13)
182: Jaron Smith (OM) pinned Rick McNew (SP) :49; (43-13)
195: Roy Gomez (OM) fft; (49-13)