Damascus, tied for the top spot in the state poll with Mount St. Joseph, proved its ranking yesterday. It won the first six bouts and clinched victory with four bouts left in a 52-12 decision over Oakland Mills in the Class 1A-2A South Region dual-meet semifinal at Atholton.
Damascus (13-0), which lost to North Carroll in last year's state final, went on to rout Lackey, 43-18, in the region final. The Swarmin' Hornets advance to the state final four tomorrow at South Carroll, starting at noon.
Lackey defeated Central, 51-11, in last night's other semifinal.
Oakland Mills coach Brian Chadwick said he knew exactly what was facing his team last night, and the loss did not surprise him.
Still, he thinks his team gained from the match.
"It kind of reinforces to everyone that there's plenty of room for improvement," said Chadwick, whose team recently won the Howard County Tournament. "All we could do is come in here and go all out. The kids did that."
Even though Damascus scored five pins -- Brandon York (103 pounds), Sean O'Neill (119), Danny Wolford (152), Rick Stott (160) and Tom Horwat (171) -- Oakland Mills (16-4) still fought hard.
The Scorpions stayed close in several bouts, especially in the lighter weights, but could score only two victories -- pins from Casey Moffett (140) and heavyweight Bryan Howard.
Moffett scored the fastest pin of the night when he took care of Joe Lefave in 25 seconds. Howard turned in the best overall performance for Oakland Mills in his pin of Tim Falls.
Howard took control of the bout early, eventually taking a 9-1 lead before pinning Falls with 34 seconds left in the bout.
"We all knew how good Damascus is supposed to be," said Howard. "Coach wanted heart. He didn't want us to give up."
In fact, Chadwick said the Scorpions impressed him with how hard they worked.
Wolford's pin of Kurt Ricketts gave Damascus a 36-6 lead and sealed the victory with four bouts left, but Oakland Mills did not quit.
The Scorpions kept battling and forced Damascus to work hard for its final three victories.
L "Nobody just let it go," said Chadwick. "I'm proud of that."
But Damascus never gave up either. The Hornets wrestled aggressively throughout the match, repeatedly taking it to the Scorpions.
Oakland Mills took some early leads, but Damascus kept rallying to victory. For example, the Scorpions took leads in four of the first six bouts -- but lost all of them.
"We just like to go for it," said Damascus coach Dave Hopkins. "We're not here just to beat a person. We're here to put the shoulders on the mat."