CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Scott Cummings, introduced Tuesday night to Cleveland High School fans as their new football coach, got a glimpse of the fierce rivalries within Bradley County that he'll stepping into.
The host Blue Raiders -- the meet was held at Cleveland Middle -- twice jumped ahead of visiting Bradley Central, establishing leads of seven and six points. Then, though, it was the Bears' awesome foursome in the lower weights that first erased the lead and then slit a Cleveland win streak that had reached more than a dozen over the last three seasons.
Few thought the Bears, though they were third-ranked and a notch ahead of Cleveland in the latest Tennessee coaches' poll, would win. They did, however, posting a 39-27 decision and handing coach Ben Smith his first victory over the Blue Raiders. It also was the initial loss to the rivals in Jake Yost's tenure at Cleveland.
"I knew we would catch them at some point. It's just a bit sooner than I thought it would happen," Smith said. "But this is bigger for our program than for me. Our kids needed to believe they could beat Cleveland, just like Cleveland needed to know four years ago that they could beat us."
This is just round one of what could be at least two more meetings.
"Their kids came out and were in shape and fought hard. They're hard-nosed kids and they're a good team," Yost said. "They'll be tough to beat, but that doesn't mean I don't think we're capable, because I do."
There were three lead changes.
With the meet starting at 145 pounds, Cleveland jumped to a 10-3 lead on Ezra Taylor's pin and 160-pound Aaron Oliver's major decision. However, coupled with Caleb Akins' decision at 152, a decision from Corey Gatlin at 170 and Brett Brown's pin at 182 gave the Bears their first lead, 12-10. They stretched it to 15-9 with a decision from Ed Elkins at 195 and a team point deduction from Cleveland for unsportsmanlike conduct.
"I'm really proud of our 170- and 195-pounders," Smith said. "They stepped up, and then our hammers down low got pins where they needed to get pins."
It wasn't over after the 195-pound Bradley win. Consecutive pins from John Gaither (220) and Koran Kennedy (285) pushed the Blue Raiders back in front 21-15 and set the stage for Smith's "hammers" and the spine-tingling finish.
T.J. Hicks (106) cut the Cleveland lead to three with a decision at 106, and Toribio Navarro's pin at 113 handed the lead back to the Bears. Ryan McElhaney was handed a forfeit win at 120 and Bradley assistant Shawn Cordell must've leaped three feet in the air when Knox Fuller's second-period pin clinched the Bradley victory with two matches remaining.
Smith made it clear, though, that for Bradley wrestling Tuesday's win was simply a steppingstone.
"I'm proud to be a part of this sport, proud to be a part of this town and proud to be a part of this rivalry," he said, "but winning a district dual against Cleveland is not the goal. We have work to do and goals still to reach."
The same could be said for Cleveland looking forward to at least one rematch.
"I really do think we had a good dual meet," Yost said. "We can do some things better and I think possibly reverse some of those matches and have a chance to win it next time."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.