Versailles finds the going rough in Buccaneer waters
Tigers split double duel match
By George Starks

COVINGTON- It wasn't the best of nights for Versailles wrestling coach A.J. Bey.

Then again, it wasn't the worst either.

Versailles gained a split on the night losing the opening match to Covington, 46-20, but was able to rebound against North Ridge, 72-6.

Heading into Covington Tuesday for a tri-match with the host Buccs and the Northridge Polar Bears, Bey knew it wasn't going to be easy against Covington.

A forfeit in the 106 pound weight class was staring Bey in the face right from the jump.

To make matters worse, he was forced to deal with two wrestlers that traveled far a year ago.

Covington had two wrestlers that went to state a year ago with 195 pound A. J. Ouellette placing in his weight class.

The other wrestler that went to state for Buccs coach Tom Barbee was Daniel Jennings at 160 pounds.

"I knew Covington was good," said Bey. "We are young. We start five freshmen but they are getting better as time goes along. We were missing our 106 pounder tonight (Damon Miller) tonight as well due to illness."

Despite the loss to Covington, Bey was already looking down the road to a future match.

We will see Covington again in a couple of weeks at Versailles," said Bey. "If we have everyone there and healthy, we will be much better and that will be a better gauge for us."

While the final score with Covington shows that the Tigers didn't fare well, it doesn't tell the whole story.

In the loss, Versailles was able to hold its own early.

After a Covington forfeit in the 120 pound class, the Tigers were up 14-9 before Covington was able to get a pin in the 126 lb. class when Branden Robinson stuck Lane Feltz with 1:27 showing in the second period.

The Tigers were trailing 22-14, when Bey put his opponents shoulders to the mat.

"That was a big spark for us," stated Bey. "That pin got us to within two points of them with several matches left to go."

If the Tigers had a problem, it was the fact there were too many matches left to wrestle.

At 22-20, that was as close as Versailles would get to Covington the rest of the match as the Buccs would win the next five matches and take the lopsided victory.

The Tigers then were on the mat with Northridge.

The Polar Bears were no match for Versailles as the Tigers scored pins in every weight class except 170 when Kevin Mayes pinned Eric Knapke with 50 seconds left in the penning period.

Versailles will be next Tuesday at Indian Lake.