Red Devils Ready To Rumble

Ed Brown knows exactly what it's like to step onto the mat for the biggest match of your life.

Avon Park's co-head wrestling coach, a former Maryland state high school wrestling champion, was a first-time competitor at a regional wrestling tournament once, and he knows the nerves of stepping up to an unfamiliar opponent can be overwhelming.

"I'm trying to alleviate their fear by using it as an ally, not an enemy," said Brown, a 25-year veteran of high school coaching. "Fear can freeze a wrestler up or it can make them sharp and focused and quick on their feet.

"It's like going into a dark room that's strange to you and a noise is made - you're immediately on your toes and alert and focused. And that's where I'm trying to get them to."

The district champion Red Devils, led by Brown and co-head coach Lee Elder, send 10 wrestlers to the Class 1A-Region 2 meet today at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast.

Leading the charge for Avon Park will be senior and three-time district champion James Bland, a third-place finisher at state in 2008 who's amassed an 88-1 mark over the past two seasons.

Brown said Bland, who will wrestle at 160 pounds, is "hitting on all cylinders" in his preparation, which at this point in the season is sharpening his "chaining" moves.

"That's where you hit one move right to another without breaking a motion," Brown said, noting such moves are where conditioning and endurance are at a premium. "If James gets in a scramble, it looks like chaos, but it's just one move countered by another, countered by another.

"James is good in those situations and he needs to create those situations and make an opponent wrestle his way."

Another 2008 state qualifier is junior Kemosi Hatten, who will look to make a return trip to Lakeland after cruising to the 171-pound championship the district meet and improving his record to 38-3 on the season.

"Kemosi has to be mentally focused," Brown said. "Being sure of yourself and keeping the momentum going in your mind is so important in this sport.

"You have to believe in yourself and your ability before you go out there and attack somebody else."

Senior John Chittum, wrestling at 125 pounds, has picked up his game toward the end of the season, Brown said, while fellow senior and heavyweight state hopeful Jace Grimmett will look to avenge a triple-overtime loss in last year's regionals that delayed his first trip to Lakeland.

"He's relived those losses over and over again and he knows he's got to do it now," Brown said.

Also taking his last shot at state will be junior Alvin Moore, who's in his last year of eligibility. Brown said Moore is a talented wrestler with good mat sense and good management skills despite a lack of experience.

"Alvin has to realize he needs to pull out all the stops," Brown said. "There's no tomorrow for him, so he really has to go for the gold."

Sophomore Charles Hubbard is finally feeling healthy after battling the flu last week and powering to the district title at 145 pounds. With his strength returning and a favorable tournament draw, Brown hopes his talented underclassman can adjust to the level of competition at regionals and be wrestling on Saturday night.

"You can look at the brackets, but what I keep emphasizing is every match has to be wrestled," Brown said. "They can't take any opponent lightly ... you have to go out with the same intensity and level of execution every time."

Senior 215-pounder Isuel Guzman and junior 189-pounder Omar Torres both have tough paths to the final night, as the specialty wrestler Guzman tries to get out to an early start, while Torres hopes to hang with often bigger opponents.

"If Isuel can get that first takedown and control his opponent on the mat, I'm confident we can win the match," Brown said. "It's a heck of a confidence booster if he can get that first takedown. It doesn't matter where he is, he's very good on the mat."

As for Torres, Brown said the junior is hampered by the fact that he's a small 189-pounder, and that he'll have to be at his best against bigger opponents.

"He's naturally at 174, and he's in a class that's pulling from 200," Brown said, noting Torres has a defending state qualifier and state placer in his bracket. "He's fixing to meet some real tough competition and we'll see how he handles it. He has the mat skills, he just can't get overpowered."

Also facing that issue is freshman Miguel Perkins, who will need to get out to a quicker start at his first regional meet.

"Miguel has a real hard time getting started and that could be detrimental to his success," Brown said, noting Perkins is one of his toughest-minded wrestlers he has this year. "He's never wrestled at this level, and he'll have to be hitting on all cylinders."

Brown, who started the Red Devil wrestling program just four years ago after starting and coaching Lake Wales' program for 17 years, said he had Elder have a good system in place and are pleased with the team's success out of the gates.

"We have a very confined area to practice, so we split the team in half and Coach Elder takes half out running and I take the other half in and teach technique," Brown said. "It seems to have been successful."