In the game with ... Nathan Sawyer

VIRGINIA BEACH

The entire Salem community seemed to be clamoring for football player Nathan Sawyer to take up wrestling a year ago.

"A lot of my teachers - and even random teachers - would come up to me in the halls and try to get me to come out for wrestling," Sawyer said. "My coaches told me they wrestled in high school and it would help me be a better athlete."

Even the principal made a pitch to get him on the mat.

"We finally got him out there; I said it would help him be a better football player," SunDevils wrestling coach Justin Fentress said. "I knew he could move and he'd be a big body. He started seeing some success and bought in about the middle of last year."

That initial success came early with four wins in the Granby Kickoff Classic.

"I didn't think I would be as good," Sawyer said. "I never thought I'd succeed at wrestling."

Fentress, though, had a feeling Sawyer could thrive in the sport, given his football background, and the 285-pounder didn't disappoint. He finished fourth in the Beach District tournament.

"He's an athlete - a big athlete, but moves like a middleweight kid," Fentress said. "He's very new to the sport, but he's been a sponge - picks up stuff very quick."

Now a senior, Sawyer already has his football pedigree established. He was a first-team all-Beach District pick at offensive and defensive line. Some of the skills that allow him to stand out on the football field translate to wrestling.

"As a lineman, I need to get out of my stance quick," Sawyer said. "In referee's position, I need to get out quick."

This season, he's making strides on the mat. He's racked up a 12-1 record with five pins - the lone loss coming to Cox's Ross Burbank, ranked second in South Hampton Roads in the preseason. Fentress said most of those wins are by major decision.

"He's very offensive this year," the third-year coach said. "He takes shots, takes kids down - he doesn't wrestle like a heavyweight."

Sawyer said the combination of football and wrestling work has made him a lot quicker and more balanced, allowing him to do things most big kids can't.

"I'm a lot faster than most heavyweights," Sawyer said. "I move better than you'd expect a 285-pounder would. Most of them just bang on the head and use underhooks."

Said Fentress, "Nate's biggest thing is he attacks the legs, but he doesn't look for a pin. He takes them down, cuts them (loose) - then takes them down again. He likes the domination factor."

Darrell Cuenca, (757) 446-2366, darrell.cuenca@pilotonline.com