Biting the bulldog
By Brian Egeston
Sports Editor
be@brianwrites.com
Darriel Sloan had suffered several loses heading into the Miller Grove Wolverines match up Tuesday, Jan. 13 against the visiting McNair Mustangs. His nemesis was a move called the bulldog. The freshman first-year wrestler was bumped up to the varsity squad and asked to drop weight, a move that had shaken his confidence. In wrestling, confidence is key.
The match opened with a Miller Grove forfeit in the 130-pound division, but the Wolverines showed prowess when Corey Jones won 16-3.Jones took his opponent to three periods, stacking up four take downs in the first period. |
Darriel Sloan(left) and Jamal Newman won individual matches against McNair, Tues. Jan.13 at Miller Grove. (Photo) by Brian Egeston |
Another forfeit in the 119-pound division helped McNair’s cause, followed by a McNair victory with a pin as the third period ticked away to 4:49.
Miller Grove’s Jhari Johnson won by forfeit at 130 pounds. Charlton Benjamin followed the forfeit scoring a momentum-shifting pin 3:28 into the match for the Wolverines. Miller Grove’s lone senior Jamal Newman carried his 145-pound match the full three periods and won by a technical fall.
“I was listening to Lil Wayne’s Playin’ Wit Fire,” said Newman. “The whole time you’re wrestling, you’ve gotta stay focused.” The senior’s focus was evident as they entered the third period. “I shot on him. He grabbed my head and the first thing I thought was ‘this dude is pretty strong’,” said Newman. “I got elbow control. Once I got on top of him, it was over with.”
Newman’s third period victory would be one of the few highlights of the match for Miller Grove. The Mustangs claimed two forfeits and three pins in the last five matches to win the overall team score.
But moral victories are the stuff movies are made of.
After Newman’s win, Sloan took the mat. Wolverine wrestlers wear purple uniforms, but on this day, Sloan was clad in a generic black wrestling singlet. Insert preferred metaphor here; black sheep of the team, bad guys wear black, luminous black cloud.
As Sloan’s match began, his father Daryl watched from the stands. The father, this time, was at the match without Slaon’s mom. She’d stopped coming to the matches after seeing her son struggle with losses. Less than one minute into the match, Sloan slipped into the fatal bulldog move.
The move applies pressure under one arm and twists the neck muscles until the body wants to turn on its back. A wrestler is vulnerable to the move if he drops his head during a match. “I said not again,” the father recalled after the match. “He’s been struggling and gotten so disheartened and discouraged. I know he’s strong. But some of these guys have more experience. And I kept telling him, when they get you like that, you gotta reach down and fight.”
Coaches, recognizing the all-too-familiar move, shouted commands to counter the attack. Wolverine teammates joined in the mayhem. The squad did everything but jump on the mat and wrestle for Sloan. Suddenly, the father left his perch and made his way to the floor. Standing on his toes, he tried to look over the heads of shouting teammates and coaches.
"Fight Darriel, fight!” the father yelled. His pleas were drowned out by the ensuing madness. He scurried to the far corner of the mat, watching, yelling and willing his son out of trouble. As quickly as Sloan slipped into the dilemma, 52 seconds into the first period, he rolled over, reversed the move and pinned his opponent for the win.
Coaches, teammates and dad jumped, rejoiced and celebrated at the taming of the bulldog.
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