After dominating the county this season en route to a 11-0 record, Oakland Mills was expecting some stiff competition in the 1A/2A South regional duals on Feb. 11.
Instead, the top-seeded Scorpions did what they have done all year – dominate.
Oakland Mills took eight of the 10 matches wrestled against Poolesville in a 43-30 victory in the semifinal, then crushed Easton, leading 36-3 before forfeiting the rest of their matches to win 36-33, to take the region title and advance to the 1A/2A state duals on Feb. 14 at North Point High School.
"I kind of feel like it was made to be," said senior Jaron Smith. "Going through struggles and stuff, and this year kind of fit perfectly. ... It just kind of all fit in place. It just seems like the perfect storm for our senior year."
In the semifinal against Poolesville, Smith said early on the team had a "composure issue", after being tied 6-6 after three bouts and losing two straight decisions at 126 and 132 pounds, but once they got over that, it was full steam ahead for the Scorpions.
"We knew what we had coming down the pipe for us," said coach Brad Howell.
Oakland Mills turned it into a slugfest, earning pins at 138, 152, 160, 182 and 220, a major decision at 170 and a decision at 145 take a 43-12 lead.
The Scorpions forfeited the last three matches with the win already sealed.
In the other semifinal, Kent Island, the defending 1A/2A dual and tournament champions and team that knocked Oakland Mills out of the regional duals last season, fell to Easton, 39-33.
It seemed like it didn't matter which team would face the Scorpions in the final. They were determined to make a statement.
The Scorpions' Dakota Thompson, who lost his opening match against Poolesville, made up for his loss with a dominating pin to kick off the dual meet at 126 pounds.
Julian Capino followed suit, pinning his 132-pound opponent in the opening period to extend the lead to 12-0, then Justin Gatewood earned a decisive 5-0 win at 138 to make it 15-0 in Oakland Mills' favor.
Alex Asifo, who Howell said had an "awesome day" won a 5-3 decision against Poolesville, wrestled the full six minutes again, this time winning 5-1, giving the Scorpions a 18-0 lead.
At 152, however, Matthew Claxton battled in a tight match, but up 4-3 late in the match, he got called for locking his hands on top, which gave the Easton wrestler a point on a technical violation and tied the match at 4-4. Easton's Eddie Burgstahler escaped in the waning seconds to earn a 5-4 win and put Easton on the board, 18-3.
As it turned out, it ended up being the only win Easton would get that wasn't a forfeit.
Oakland Mills' Paul Johnson, who earned a come-from-behind pin in the third period against Poolesville, put the team back on track at 160 pounds, earning a 13-9 decision.
"Paul's been really coming on for us," Howell said. "I was happy with his performance."
Sidique Furet made it 27-3 after a pin at 170 pounds in 1 minute, 17 seconds, but Smith one-upped his teammate, securing a pin in only 14 seconds at 182 pounds.
"I don't really keep track, but it was probably one of the faster (pins) I've had," Smith said.
Senior Zach Vincent closed out the final match in style, winning 5-3 after securing a takedown in overtime to give the Scopions a 36-3 lead before forfeiting the final five matches.
"I felt like we wrestled really well, especially in the second round (against Easton)," said Smith. "In the early rounds we started getting pins, major decisions, and after that we just kind of set the pace, and then other guys built off that and kept rolling."
"I thought we we're wrestling in our game, and I thought our guys looked tough" Howell said. "We had a couple tough match-ups."
The dominating wins put Oakland Mills in the 1A/2A state duals along with North Caroline, Middletown and Sparrows Point.
The Scorpions have only two losses on the season, both coming in the opening weekend of the season at their own Scorpion Duals tournament. One of those losses was to Middletown, which beat them handily, 41-26.
But Smith knows that was a long time ago, and it is a different team now compared to then. He thinks this team has what it takes to win it all this weekend.
"We can go all the way. This is a state champion team, and the only thing that will hold us back is us. If we don't want to win, then we won't win," he said. "But we kind of want to win, so I think we'll take a state title this year."
No. 1 Oakland Mills 43, No. 4 Poolesville 30 (Semifinal)
120: Johnny Rynn (OM) pinned Ethan Hinds (P) :54; (6-0)
126: Luke Maher (P) dec. Dakota Thompson (OM) 7-2; (6-3)
132: Dmitri Agnew (P) dec. Julian Capino (OM) 7-1; (6-6)
138: Justin Gatewood (OM) pinned Michael Bent (P) 4:45; (12-6)
145: Alex Asifo (OM) dec. David Frendlich (P) 5-3; (15-6)
152: Matthew Claxton (OM) pinned Ryan Seigal (P) 5:20; (21-6)
160: Paul Johnson (OM) pinned Justin Budd (P) 5:27; (27-6)
170: Sidique Furet (OM) major dec. Chase Garrett (P) 13-3; (31-6)
182: Jaron Smith (OM) pinned Lee Dodds (P) :58; (37-6)
195: Keith Wilkins (P) fft; (37-12)
220: Zach Vincent (OM) pinned Dillon Trent (P) 1:33; (43-12)
285: Kyle Wilkins (P) fft; (43-18)
106: Chris Danna (P) fft; (43-24)
113: Brian Truppe (P) fft; (43-30)
No. 1 Oakland Mills 36, No. 3 Easton 33 (Final)
126: Dakota Thompson (OM) pinned Von Kirchoff (E) 3:55; (6-0)
132: Julian Capino (OM) pinned Jason Perez (E) 1:45; (12-0)
138: Justin Gatewood (OM) dec. Dre Webb (E) 5-0; (15-0)
145: Alex Asifo (OM) dec. Colby Palmer (E) 5-1; (18-0)
152: Eddie Burgstahler (E) dec. Matthew Claxton (OM) 5-4; (18-3)
160: Paul Johnson (OM) dec. Coulby Miller (E) 13-9; (21-3)
170: Sidique Furet (OM) pinned Garrett Ennis (E) 1:17; (27-3)
182: Jaron Smith (OM) pinned Alex DeGuzman (E) :14; (33-3)
195: Zach Vincent (OM) dec. Nolan Muganda (E) 5-3 OT; (36-3)
220: Andrew Wade (E) fft; (36-9)
285: John Kurnz (E) fft; (36-15)
106: Unknown (E) fft; (36-21)
113: Dallas Strickland (E) fft; (36-27)
120: Zach Daniels (E) fft; (36-33)