MACON, Ga. - This wrestling season hadn't been an especially memorable one for Ethan Roher.
Until Saturday, that is.
The Ringgold High School sophomore 113-pounder recorded the biggest pin of his young life to lift the Tigers past Lumpkin County, 32-29, for third place in Class AAA competition at the GHSA state duals championships.
Ringgold joins Trion as third-place finishers from northwest Georgia. The Bulldogs rallied from 20 points down to defeat Treutlen County 47-25 in Class A. Gilmer won its ninth state duals title with a 45-21 win over Buford in Class AAAA.
Like Trion, Ringgold came from behind to take third. Five consecutive Lumpkin wins beginning at 160 pounds left the Tigers in a 29-15 hole with just three bouts left in the match that started at 120 pounds.
Heavyweight Enrique Maravilla kick started the comeback with a second-period pin, cutting the deficit to eight. Tanner Stone did his best to follow suit at 106 pounds but had to settle for a five-point technical fall after opponent Jonathan Rhines managed to stay off his back.
Up stepped Roher, who had to get bonus points since the Tigers would have lost in a tiebreak situation. As is his custom, Roher quickly fell behind 2-0 but soon had opponent Zane Poe on his back, though he could not secure the pin through the first period.
However, after taking Poe down in the second, Roher managed to gain momentum and used his legs to lift Poe off the ground and onto his shoulders. After struggling for a few seconds, Roher secured the pin to set off a massive Ringgold celebration.
"I knew I had to get a pin for us to win," Roher said. "My shoulder had been hurting me all day, but we worked on it and I was ready to go. I banana-split him to get the pin. This is great for us, especially considering we were in an eight-year drought of not making the state."
The outlook wasn't positive early on. Ringgold is strong from 126 pounds to 152 but managed only three regular decisions and an injury default to lead only 15-9, a lead that was soon gone.
"Our guys fought hard and found a way to win, which they've done all year," coach David Moss said. "It was fun. This was an awesome tournament for us. We saw some things we need to work on the next couple of weeks (for the traditional postseason).
"Ethan's awesome. He's always in the match. He gives up a lot of takedowns at the beginning of matches, but we felt if he could get on top we had a great chance, because he's a pinner."
In Trion's win there was never much panic, though coach Eric Brock admitted that trailing by 20 after four bouts had him a bit worried. However, consecutive wins by Cole Luallen, Branson Bowman, Andrew McGuire, Scott Frazier, Jake Wells and Logan Blevins - including four pins - were more than enough to turn the tide.
"I got a little nervous, but starting about 145 to 182 - we call it 'Death Row' - we're tough, and we knew we still had a good shot," said Brock, who earned his 200th dual match win. "The pin at 220 was big and we knew if we wrestled well at heavyweight we would win it, and Seth Cox did an awesome job."
The lead was just four when Henrri Reynoso pinned Jamison Masters at 220, and heavyweight Seth Cox clinched it with another pin.
"It's great," said 138-pound Luallen, who pinned his way through the tournament. "Our team captains, Scott Frazier and Andrew McGuire, led us through and we got the job done. There's more to hear from Trion down the road. We're mostly sophomores and some juniors, so we're only going to get better."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22