Orange Park goes 4 - 0 at Home

At home for the first time this season, the Orange Park Raiders put on a show, going 4 - 0 against Fleming Island, Ocala Forest, Camden County (GA), and Bradford County.  "We only gave up 3 pins," Raiders Head Coach Chad Parker said.  "We preach it every day in practice before every match, don't give up pins and we are in every match."

    Wrestlers going 4 - 0 on the day were Timothy Lattimore, Luke Frame, Bryan Somera, Levi Duvall and Richard Brown.  Team pin leader Daniel Wolfe earned 3 falls on the day, giving him a total of 17 on the year.  "Obviously, our core guys performed well," Parker said.  "What I really like about this team is we have multiple guys in the lineup who can be that spark.  That hasn't always been the case in the past.  Those five guys are really getting it right now, and having success because of it."

    In the first round Orange Park defeated Bradford County 72 - 6.  "They [Bradford] were giving up a lot of weights," Parker said. "So the score looked a lot worse than what happened on the mat.  The guys who did wrestle, looked ok.  First match jitters.  As a coach, its my job to prepare them a little better for that.  Its something we'll have to work on."

    The second round featured fellow Region 1-3A participant Ocala Forest.  The Raiders won 49 - 23.  "They [Ocala] are new to the region," Parker said.  "So that match was more about preparation for regionals.  We looked really good, racked up 4 pins and 2 tech falls." 

    In a rematch of county rivals, Orange Park bested Fleming Island 49 - 20.  "I'm not that excited about that win, honestly," Parker said.  "I'm excited about the individual wins, but Fleming didn't have their full lineup.  They had a couple guys out between injuries and SATs, I believe.  What I love most about that win was Leecan's loss.  The last time we wrestled that kid, we lost by fall.  As a senior, he's come a long way, and we are really excited about his improvement."

    In the last dual of the day, Orange Park wrestled Camden County (GA) to a 63 - 6 win.  "Camden is a true power in Georgia's big-school division," Parker said.  "They sent their B team to our place, and we were fortunate to win some of the matches to be honest.  That group was all freshmen I believe.  That is a good example of what we want to build.  Have a full back-up lineup.  And I say back-up on purpose.  I don't believe anyone who wrestles for me is Junior Varsity.  At any time you could be called upon to wrestle, and we treat them like that."

    The Raiders will next wrestle at Gainesville in a dual on Wednesday, January 27, and conclude the week with the St. John's River Conference Tournament on Saturday.  "Gainesville is a great program," Parker said.  "They are a bit down this year, but if we underestimate them and wrestle like they are going to give us wins, we will lose."

    "The Conference tournament is a great opportunity for us," Parker said.  "We know we are a good dual team.  Now its time to prove we can be a good tournament team.  We are probably the fourth best team in the conference right now.  We have some backups in the line-up and they are going to have to come up big time for us this Saturday.  If we want to be competitive, we are going to have win matches in the wrestle-backs.  Just because you lose one match, doesn't mean you have to lose another.  If anything, you should be motivated to not add another loss to your record."   

The Raiders are just two weeks away from the start of the State Championship Series.  "Districts is the beginning of a new season.  The playoffs.  Win or go home.  Place in the top four and you get to move on." 

    "What guys can't get into, is a mind-set that they can't improve between now and then," Parker said.  "Every practice is a day that you can improve.  As a coach, I'll make sure they are peaking at the right time, as wrestlers it is their job to bust their butt in practice.  The end is almost here, end the season on your terms."