The team outcome was all but predetermined, yet Soddy-Daisy wrestling fans jammed the home stands Thursday for their Trojans' match with District 5-AAA rival Ooltewah.
Soddy-Daisy won 74-0.
The fans were there to see an anticipated upper-weight battle between the Owls' Victor Bednarski, the state's top-ranked 220-pounder, and their own Ty Boeck, the versatile football player who manned positions at quarterback, running back, tight end, wide receiver, linebacker and punter this past fall.
This was a meeting of returning state medalists, the senior Bednarski third at 220 pounds and the junior Boeck a sixth-place finisher at 182. Boeck rallied three times and finally pulled out a 9-8 victory with a takedown in the final 20 seconds.
"It's an awesome feeling, beating the No. 1 wrestler in the state. I was nervous before the match. I felt like I could take him to the deep end of the pool and drain him," said Boeck, who now stands 18-0. "He's the strongest guy I've ever wrestled, without a doubt."
They were tied at 7 and Boeck elected to start in the neutral position, giving Bednarski a one-point advantage. He then went to an outside single, slipped behind the built-like-a-tank Bednarski and gained control for the win.
"That one got me fired up for sure. We have a great kid in Boeck and he was going against a great competitor," Trojans coach Jim Higgins said. "We have a lot of respect for Bednarski. He's such a huge, strong kid and a good wrestler that has had a lot of success. Ty is a tremendous worker and such a great student - the epitome of a student-athlete - we obviously were all pulling for a guy like that to do well, and it's awesome to see him come through."
Boeck's win nearly overshadowed the Trojans' team accomplishment. In posting their 12th match win they scored the first shutout of the Higgins era.
"I'm pleased across the board with the team effort," the coach said. "I did challenge the guys beforehand to do exactly what happened. We've come close to it two-three times this year but had yet to do it. I didn't believe they were ready to accomplish it.
"I didn't think they were listening and I told them they were the weirdest group of guys I'd ever been around, and I just walked away from them."
The Trojans scored bonus points in 12 of the 14 matchups, getting pins from Jacob Pratt (120), Landon Wheaton (126), Jacob Kilgore (132), Austin Crowe (145), Tony Wilson (152), Hayden Maynor (170), Caleb Addison (182) and Bryce Settles (195).
While it was a team goal, it wasn't an effort meant to embarrass the visitors.
"Ooltewah is in a rebuilding phase and they're rebounding from coaching changes," Higgins offered. "I'm sure the dust will settle eventually and they'll be back to prior form."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.