Cox wrestler Jack Burbank’s got some pretty big shoulders.
That’s no surprise as he’s every bit of the 285 pounds at which he’s listed. But would they be big enough to carry his wrestling team’s undefeated Beach District record?
The answer’s an emphatic yes – barely.
Cox (7-1, 4-0 Beach District) entered the final bout against Kempsville Wednesday night with a scant 31-29 lead, and after giving up the go-ahead escape to Dwayne Paschall to make it 3-2 with 1:03 left in the third period, Burbank’s quick move to Paschall’s ankles ensured the Falcons would pass their most trying test of the season.
The takedown, recorded with just 30 seconds left, sealed a thrilling 34-29 victory over the fourth-ranked Chiefs and capped a meet sweep as the Falcons disposed of No. 8 Ocean Lakes 59-9 at Ocean Lakes High School on Wednesday night.
“Tonight showed that we can fight through a lot of adversity,” Cox coach Corey Williams said. “Dealing with the pressure (of competing in last weekend’s Beast of the East tournament in Delaware) helped us tonight, definitely.”
Cox’s wins over the Beach’s final two ranked teams paves the way for smooth sailing to a Beach District regular season championship for the perennial wrestling power.
The second-ranked Falcons made surprisingly quick and easy work of the Dolphins, who debuted on South Hampton Road’s rankings yesterday. Ocean Lakes could only muster three decisions against Cox, who soon had their hands full with a scrappy Kempsville squad.
Cox took a 6-5 lead after two bouts when second-ranked 103-pounder Shelby Sizemore pinned Hayden Bills, but Kempsville followed with a major decision by third-ranked 112-pounder Sterling Briscoe over Joey DeMasi.
Kempsville rode the momentum all the way to a 17-6 lead, highlighted by 119-pounder Frank Hruska pinning Cyril Chavis.
The Chiefs avoided top-ranked 135-pounder Ben Dorsay to set up a more favorable matchup between Jeremy Mosley and Tejovan Edwards. And while the second-ranked 140-pound Edwards won in dominant 11-2 fashion, the decision kept Cox in the red at 17-15 Kempsville.
After Cox retook the lead at 19-17 with a Chase Shroder win the 145-pound class, the teams traded falls in the 152 and the 160 with Kempsville’s Eric Brown and Cox’s John Dickson coming up with the respective pins to make it 25-23.
The Falcons looked to have the match in hand after winning the 171- and 189-pound bouts, but 215-pounder Josh Cole came up with pin of Ross Burbank to set up the do-or-die heavyweight bout.
“I knew I couldn’t lose, and it almost always comes down to me,” said Burbank, who nipped Paschall's ankles for his first take down with 1:01 left in the first. “I didn’t do as good as I should have (at Beast of the East), and this week I was just conditioning Sunday, Monday, Tuesday – every sprint, just working my hardest. That’s what got me through in the end.”
Top-ranked Burbank dominated Paschall for much of the second as well, but a late escape salvaged the period for the Chiefs.
The bout’s tide turned early in the third, when Paschall was awarded a point for an illegal Burbank hold, evening the score at 2-2. But Burbank’s last-second heroics rendered that mistake moot.
“At the Granby tournament, they scored more on Great Bridge than we did, so I kind of had in my head that (Kempsville) is a good team. They’re not going to slouch and they’re definitely not going to give up,” Burbank said. “Every time we wrestle them, something seems to go wrong, something happens. But we always push through it and come out on top usually.”