Chapter 28

When Zach walked onto the mats at Cedar Creek High School Friday evening after weighing in and dressing he tried to remember the district tournament from a year earlier. As a JV substitute he had been seeded low. He had known going in that everybody expected him to be eliminated without winning a match, which was exactly what happened. This time the situation was different. His record of 16-9 wasn’t outstanding but it was good enough to land the sixth seed at 171 pounds. All he needed to do was finish three spots higher than he was seeded in order to advance to the region tournament the next week. He had lost close matches against top-seeded Luis Sanibel and second-seeded Rennie Brandon during the season, which was part of the justification for his own low seed. Making it out of districts wasn’t out of the question if he wrestled well because he had come close to beating those two during the season.

Fauquier and the band were probably on their way to Philadelphia for the showcase presentation, Zach figured. Dumphries had been relieved to get the phone call on Wednesday after Zach knew he was back on the team because it also meant that the band wouldn’t enter the showcase without a singer. After the wrestling was over that night Zach would be delivered to a ballroom in the Center City Four Seasons Hotel where he would morph from wrestler to rocker.

He wasn’t worried about what it would be like back with the band. After ten minutes it had been just like old times during the practice session he’d gone to the night before. They’d even run through the songs that Joe wanted to play at the showcase. All he had to do was get there, something that had already been arranged.

The tight Ace bandage that the trainer recommended bothered him and he didn’t understand how it would help anyway. She’d told him that it would help prevent the wrist from bending too far, which was the least of his worries. He was far more concerned about his inability to grip, something that the Ace bandage had no effect on. After ten minutes he ripped it off and stuffed it into a pocket.

There was still an hour to go before the opening session would begin. Every few minutes another wrestler or two emerged from the locker room and headed for the mats. Some sat or lay passively while others stretched. A few jogged casually around the perimeter of the mats. Two wrestlers in green uniforms shuffled up and down the mats sideways in their wrestling stances, making sure never to cross their feet.

A crowd of men in street clothes milled around in front of the bracket sheets that were taped to the wall. Zach recognized some of them as coaches. The rest must be wrestling dads, he figured. The ones who were obviously copying down information moved slowly and deliberately. The others darted from sheet to sheet as if they were making a mental list of bouts they didn’t want to miss.

As the start time drew closer wrestlers reached the mats in bigger groups and at a faster rate. Each of the twelve teams staked out an area as their home base, but there was some inter-team mingling. Within each team’s domain some wrestlers practiced moves or loosened up while others lounged. Some had stern looks on their faces while others laughed and talked. Zach saw some drills that he’d never seen before. That intimidated him because he knew he was one of the least schooled wrestlers there.

Being seeded sixth meant Zach would have to win twice on Friday night to survive until the next day. “Don’t worry about it,” Tim Betterton had advised him. “Wrestling somebody who’s seeded eleventh in his own district shouldn’t be any harder than doing a few extra pushups.”

“That was me last year,” Zach said.

“You’ll hardly break a sweat,” Betterton replied.

When the other Chapel Forge wrestlers finally made their way out of the locker room Zach made a point to seek out Mark Easton. He hadn’t had a chance to talk with him one-on-one since being reinstated. “Thanks, man,” he said as he slapped him awkwardly on the shoulder. “You didn’t have to do it.”

“No problem,” Easton said. “I was just doing my job. We have a better chance of winning the tournament this way.”

“Yeah, well thanks,” Zach said. “I won’t screw up again.”

“You better start thinking about your match,” Easton said. “The prelims go quick. There’s only one or two in each weight class. You’ll be up sooner than you think.”

Most of the Chapel Forge wrestlers didn’t seem to care much about Zach’s return and didn’t say anything to him. It had always been that way so Zach didn’t think much about it. Most were busy preparing for their own matches, just as Zach was. Even Kevin Salisbury, who had been so angry about the Williamsboro match just a few days earlier, nodded at Zach without saying a word.

A few minutes before the session was scheduled to start Zach loped around the mats a few times trying to loosen up. By then tournament officials were bustling around the gym, busy with last minute preparations. Timers, ankle bands, pencils and score sheets were delivered to each mat table. Scoreboards were rolled into place and plugged in. Buzzers and air horns sounded around the gym as equipment was tested. Stacks of papers were brought to the head table where they were sorted and distributed. Zach tried not to laugh when a man carrying a stack of neatly folded souvenir shirts tripped over a power cord and dropped the shirts into a heap.

Moments after the session began Easton found Zach in the bleachers. “I forgot to ask. You know what to do after your second match, right?” he asked. “Your hippie girlfriend is driving you into the city.”

“Yeah,” Zach said. “Thanks, I remember.”

“You can just head down that hallway by the snack bar as soon as you can get away from Coach. There’s a door there. Somebody will have your stuff there waiting. If the coaches hold on to you too long we’ll come around and distract them.”

“I hope I don’t get anybody else suspended for this,” Zach said.

“It’ll be okay,” Easton said. “We already have a cover story for the coach. He thinks you’re riding home with my dad and me. Just bring everything into the car when you leave. You’ll have to change in the car. I doubt if she’ll see anything she hasn’t seen before.”

“Her name’s Jeanine,” Zach said.

“Jeanine, okay,” Easton said. “Is she even here yet?”

“No,” Zach said. “But it’s early. She’ll be here.”

“Yeah, I’m not worried,” Easton agreed. “She seemed like she was into it. You won’t be able to go for at least two hours anyway.”

~~~

Before any matches had been wrestled Crisfield gathered his wrestlers around him. “This is it,” he told his team. “It’s a new season. Nothing matters anymore except what happens starting tonight. If you win you advance. If you lose, you’re done. Leave everything you have on the mat, understand? Don’t walk away wondering if you could have done more. Understood?”

Everybody nodded. “Put it in here,” Easton said. Each wrestler leaned towards him and put their hand on top of his. “Remember what Coach said,” he told them. “Leave it on the mat. One Two Three!”

“Chapel Forge!” they all roared, the way they had before every dual meet. Crisfield nodded with approval as the group dispersed.

Just as he had been led to expect, the preliminary round went quickly and Zach’s match was called on deck soon after the session started. When the announcement was made Coach Hancock walked over to retrieve Zach, who was in a corner of the gym jumping up and down and swinging his arms to loosen up.

“Don’t go thinking this match is a ‘gimme’ now,” he said. “From here on in it’s sudden death. If you lose you’re done. Wait until after the match is over before you decide if it was easy.”

“Got it, Coach,” Zach said. “I can’t even remember the last time I won a match.”

“How’s the wrist feel?” Hancock asked.

“Not too bad,” Zach said. “But I can’t grip very hard,” he said, opening and closing his hand.

“You’ll just have to make do,” Hancock said. “At least you’ve got another hand. Just use your head and you’ll be fine.”

Zach was to face Luke Avero, a sophomore from Newcastle. According to the bracket sheet Avero came to the districts with a record of 6-14. “That doesn’t seem that bad for such a low seed,” Zach had complained to Betterton earlier. “I was hoping for a guy who hadn’t won any matches.” Zach knew he should win, though, even with the bad wrist and weak hand.

He tried to score with his fireman’s carry for most of the first period, even after the Newcastle coaches had yelled “Watch the fireman’s” at least fifteen times. Finally, Coach Hancock got tired of watching Avero snuff it out and yelled “It’s not there!” Zach decided to try something else but before he could Avero shot at his legs looking for a takedown of his own. He was able to get his arms around both of Zach’s legs but the hold was weak. It took only a few seconds for Zach to cross-face Avero and spin behind for a takedown and a 2-0 lead.

Avero chose the bottom position to start the second period. Zach had already planned on trying the cross-face cradle ride that Coach Crisfield had taught in practice a week earlier. When the referee started the period Zach reached across and grabbed Avero’s far shoulder. This had the effect of placing Zach’s forearm against Avero’s face, pinning his head against the shoulder.

Zach hadn’t thought about the wrist injury when he decided on the move. He was able to overcome the weakness of his grip by hooking his hand on the shoulder but the pressure of Avero’s face on the wrist was painful. He tried to work the move as quickly as possible, hoping that a change in position would help. With his free arm he reached through Avero’s legs from behind. After a brief struggle he locked his hands, completing the tight cradle. He glanced at the clock before trying to turn Avero to his back and saw that only thirty seconds had elapsed. There was more than enough time.

Zach shifted his body behind Avero’s and began pulling him backwards. He could tell almost immediately that his hands weren’t going to stay locked because the grip of his bad hand was just not strong enough. He paused to adjust his grip by grabbing his bad wrist with his good hand, replacing the original hand-to-hand clinch. That worked better, and made the cradle even tighter, but it was more painful because he was now squeezing his own injured wrist. He ignored the pain, knowing that if all went well it would be over quickly.

After planting one foot firmly on the mat Zach wrenched his opponent backwards until he was on his back. Avero began to flail but when Zach dug his knee deep into Avero’s side, just below the rib cage, the rocking motion subsided. The pain in his wrist slowly ratcheted up, but Zach was determined keep the cradle in place and win the match right there. Somehow Avero was holding on.

He had a clear view of the clock and watched as time ticked away. The cradle still felt tight and he didn’t know anything else he could do to improve it. When the clock had run down to thirty-five seconds Zach began to think that there was going to be a third period after all. Then, as he was straining to hear what Coach Crisfield was yelling, the referee called the pin. Zach released Avero, rolled away and flexed his throbbing wrist as he lay on his back near the center of the mat.

“Zach is back!” Hancock said afterwards. “I hope you’re ready to go. The next round isn’t far away.”

“How’s that wrist?” Crisfield asked.

“It hurts,” Zach said. “I can wrestle through it.”

“Okay,” Crisfield said with a nod. “Nice job.” He and Hancock left for another mat where George Prince had already been called on deck for a 215-pound preliminary round match. Zach collected his warmups and walked under the bleachers where he mopped his face with them before putting them on.

Zach heard his name being called as he walked back out from under the bleachers. When he turned and saw Jeanine he walked up the aisle and sat down next to her. “Hi,” he said, still breathing hard. “Thanks for coming.”

“Yuck!” she said. “You’re all slimy!”

“Yeah, but I finally won a match,” Zach said, forgetting momentarily that he was talking to somebody to whom that couldn’t mean any less.

“Joe says he needs you on stage by ten,” she said. “It’s not even seven o’clock yet. We should make it with no problem.”

“I still have to wrestle again,” Zach pointed out. “But I think we’ll make it.”

“They told you where to go, right?” Jeanine asked. “All I know is what door to park at.”

“Yeah, down by the snack bar,” Zach said. “Look, Jeanine, thanks for everything you’re doing. Everybody’s really doing a lot for me.”

“It’s all about the karma,” she said.

Zach smiled. “Yeah, that must be it,” trying not to sound sarcastic. “Is that anything like ‘what goes around comes around’?”

Now it was her turn to smile. “Exactly!”

“It’s all about the karma,” Zach repeated.

“By the way, Joe wanted me to tell you that Max is playing with you guys tonight,” Jeanine said, referring to fill-in bassist Max Richmond. “So you just have to sing.”

“Good,” said Zach. “I don’t even know if I could play with this,” he said as he held up his wrist.

He could see that the 103-pounders were back in action, which meant that the next session was underway. He apologized for running off before returning to the floor where he consulted the bracket sheets on the wall. Next up for him was Colin Collier of Vista. He knew nothing about Collier and decided to keep it that way. If he could beat Collier, the third seed, it stood to reason that he could place in the top three and advance to the region tournament the following week.

As he watched his teammates win matches a sense of calm came over Zach. Betterton, Salisbury and Easton all won with pins. Seeing other Chapel Forge wrestlers racking up victories made him feel more confident about his own chances.

“You held that cradle pretty good for a guy with a bad hand,” Coach Crisfield said after appearing abruptly at his side. “Maybe it’s not as bad as we thought.”

“It hurts like hell,” Zach said. “I just wanted that pin real bad.”

“I’d tell you to take it easy on it this time but somehow I don’t think you’ll go along with that,” Crisfield said.

“I’ll try,” Zach said. “I just don’t know any one-handed moves.”

“When you’re on top you might try arm bars,” Crisfield suggested. “”You don’t need much grip strength for it and it won’t be much pressure on the wrist.”

Zach nodded. By then the current match had ended and it was time for them to move into their corner and prepare for the bout. Zach took his time stepping out of his warmup pants. As he pulled his singlet straps over his shoulders he took a good look at his opponent. Collier was tall and lean with electric red hair that was cut into a Mohawk. When Collier looked back over from across the mat Zach suddenly felt less confident. He had no idea what Collier’s wrestling pedigree was but he looked like a wrestler who knew what he had to do and usually got it done.

Collier tied up as soon as the match was under way. Zach felt uncomfortable in that position, knowing that Collier could use his height advantage to stand him straight up for a headlock or a throw. He was unable to break out of the tie up but managed to maneuver out of bounds for a new start. “Stay out of the tie!” Hancock yelled as the wrestlers walked back to the center of the mat.

When Collier reached high for another tie without bothering to defend down low Zach saw his chance. He shot quickly and grabbed Collier’s legs behind the knee and locked his hands. Pain shot up his arm but he ignored it, knowing that he was in a good position to score a takedown.

He tried pulling the legs into his chest but Collier’s resistance was too strong. When he felt his grip slipping he tried to salvage the situation by giving up one leg while tightening his hold on the other. He looked over to his coaches but his eye was caught by Betterton, who was gesturing frantically for Zach’s attention. As soon as he saw that Zach was watching he grabbed Salisbury and showed Zach what he needed to do to score.

After a quick study of Betterton’s demonstration Zach hooked Collier’s ankle with his own leg. Then he threw his arm across the close leg and behind the far leg before pushing Collier in that direction. Collier was unable to step back because Zach had that leg blocked, so he couldn’t avoid toppling to the mat. Zach had his takedown and the two points that came with it. Moving quickly before Collier got off his stomach, he inserted the arm bar that Crisfield had recommended. When he knew it was in securely he came out to the side and used the barred arm as a handle to turn Collier to his back. It ended up being worth only two back points, because Collier was able to wriggle out of danger, but Zach felt better than he had earlier now that he was taking a 4-0 lead into the second period.

When the whistle blew Zach was unable to stop Collier from standing up out of the bottom position. Zach locked his hands around Collier’s waist from behind but Collier was working hard on breaking that lock by pushing Zach’s hands down along his thigh. Zach grunted in pain and let go. Collier whirled to face Zach, the lead cut to 4-1 with the escape. Before Zach could avoid it Collier went back to the tie up and threw a headlock. Zach felt himself being pulled toward the mat and onto his back. In that split second his instincts told him to concede the takedown but fight off the back points. He went to his back briefly but was able to roll all the way through. When he was on his stomach he watched the referee shake his head from side to side in response to the cries of Collier’s coaches for back points.

The lead was down to 4-3 after the headlock resulted in two points for Collier. Zach was sure he didn’t have enough points to win yet. He faked a switch and then stood up just as Collier had done. Since Collier seemed to have been fooled by the fake switch, Zach faked another switch before quickly reversing directions. For whatever reason Collier chose to release Zach, surrendering a point.

There were twenty seconds remaining in the period. Zach expected Collier to tie up again and go for a jackpot headlock before time expired. Instead, Collier surprised him by diving at Zach’s ankle and picking it up. Just before the buzzer sounded Collier tripped Zach’s free leg and took him down to tie the match at 5-5.

Everywhere Zach looked he saw coaches and teammates signaling him to choose to start the final period on bottom, which he did. All he needed was an escape to win, but he didn’t relish the thought of trying to fight Collier and his dangerous headlock off in the neutral position. Again he went to the switch but this time it wasn’t a fake. He pivoted to his right, locked on Collier’s arm and swung behind for a reversal and two points. Collier grabbed Zach’s wrist and tried to re-switch immediately but Zach stepped over him to retain control. When Collier grabbed the wrist again and twisted it Zach understood that Collier was trying to wear him down by hurting him. The pain was more severe this time and Zach groaned audibly. Collier stood up and broke Zach’s grip the same way he had done earlier. With forty seconds left Zach was hanging on by a score of 7-6.

With both wrestlers on their feet Collier went back to the tie up. Despite the pain in his wrist Zach pummeled with Collier, each going for the inside position with their own hands. After fifteen seconds passed Collier seemed to sense that an upper body attack wasn’t going to work, so he flung Zach across the out-of-bounds line for a new start.

With nineteen seconds left Zach knew Collier would try to score on a quick shot the way he had at the end of the second period. When the whistle blew Zach hunkered down with his hands in front of him. The first time Collier shot in Zach easily staved him off but was too tired to counter with an attack of his own. Instead, he simply returned to his defensive stance. This time Collier shot wide, scooping Zach’s ankle up as he passed by. As Collier elevated the leg Zach checked the scoreboard and saw that he had to hold out for only twelve more seconds. He leaned into Collier and jammed his arm underneath Collier’s. That allowed him to step his free leg further out of reach of Collier’s foot sweep. With four seconds left Collier gave up on the trip and simply ran straight at Zach. They collapsed to the mat but Zach held tight to Collier’s arm to deny him the takedown. When the period ended Collier slapped the mat hard with both hands in disappointment. Zach had held on for a tight 7-6 victory. He was still alive.