Page 6—MIRROR-HERAIX)—Thursday, February 9. 1978
Moimties Experiencing Best Year Ever
Wrestlers Making Moffitt’s Dreams Con,
mm
True
By GARY STEWART
Sports Editor
Kings Mountain High
School’s young wrestling
coach, Steve Moffitt, is a man
with a lot of dreams. And his
flrst team at KMHS is making
some of them come true.
The Mountaineers recently
tied Shelby and East Gaston
for the Southwestern 3-A
Conference title and that
represents KM’s first
wrestling trophy in history.
Now, Moffitt’s setting his
goals a lot higher and he won't
be satisfied until the Moun
taineers have won the state
championship.
That dream might not be
realized this year, even
though the Mountaineers do
have several grapplers who
have the potential to go all the
way. But with eight of his 12
starters being sophomores,
that big trophy could be within
reach within the near future.
Moffitt, who never lost more
than one match in a season in
four years at Kings Mountain
Junior High, worked wanders
with the Mountaineers this
winter. In the past, the
Mountaineers had turned out
their share of individual stars
such as Alfred Ash, Hal Glass
and David Gordon, but as a
team, the Mountaineers were
losers.
Moffitt turned the team
around quickly. The Moun
taineers finished 9-3 overall,
two of those losses coming to
4-A schools, and most of their
victories were by huge
margins.
Although Moffitt is due a lot
of the credit, he credits the
team’s success to the hard
work of the wrestlers.
“The guys worked really
hard,” he noted. “They
practiced hard and always did
what I said. We didn’t have
any problems except the week
of the East Gaston match
when we had some guys
Suspended"
^ Those suspensions, whidb
came to three of Moffitt’s key
grapplers, could have been the
key to the Mountaineers’
success.
“Two of those suspensions
came on the day of the East
Gaston match,” Moffitt
recalled, “and we lost that
match. But the men stuck it
out together and their attitude
was that they could still win
it.”
That loss left the Moun
taineers a game behind Shelby
and East Gaston in the race
for the title. KM’s only hope
for a share of the prize was to
beat Shelby and then have the
Lions knock off East Gaston.
That’s exactly what hap-
poied.
I expected. I expected we’d
endup at .500 or a little better,
depending on how ihe
sophomores did. We had some
good young talent and I
figured they’d come through
for us. But I didn't know
they’d do that well. The way
they wrestled this year. I feel
we should really be a con
tender for the next two
years.”
their program by having this.
If you don’t have a wrestling
club you can’t practice in the
summer. High school kids
have tennis tournaments in
the summer. I don’t see why
you can’t have a wrestling
club ”
record of 47 wins. Hal Glass
was 47-10 during his four-year
career. Gordon’s 15-0 so far
this year, was 18-1 last year
and 11-4 as a sophomore.
’’I think we have several
others that can place," said
Moffitt. “Those include
The KM-Shelby match, held
at the KMHS gym, was a
classic, reminiscent of some
of the Mountaineer-Lions
football game of old .. . a
match that went down to the
wire.
Most of the members of this
year’s team wrestled for
Moffitt at the junior high,
which Moffitt feels has been a
valuable asset to the high
school program.
Moffitt is not new to sum
mer wrestling. A former high
school wrestler at Asheville,
for the past several summers
he nas worked in some of the
south’s top wrestling camps
and has supervised camps in
the local schools.
It was so close, in fact, that
the Mountaineers trailed by
five points going into the final
bout. TTiat means KM’s un
beaten heavyweight, David
Gordon, had to pin his op
ponent in order for the
Mountaineers to win by a
single point
“The exposure in junior
high gives them something
like 30 matches under their
belts before they ever get to
high school,” he said. "If we
didn’t have a junior high
program, everyone would be
starting from scratch.
•I’ve always been in
terested in wrestling and I
always wanted to coach
wrestiinv." he says. “Luckily,
I’ve gotten the chance here
and I’ve got a good situation
here. Everybody works with
me. Dan Brooks and Bud
Bumgardner have really
helped me a lot.”
“I felt good at that point,”
Moffitt recalled, “because
earlier in the day I told David
that I hoped it would boil down
to his match. Anytime a
match boils down to David,
you can expect to win it.”
“We’re starting eight
sophomores,” he pointed out,
“and most of them won first
places in individual tour
naments when they were
in junior high. The last three
years I took my junior high
wrestlers to the tournament in
Rock Hill and we had the most
valuable wrestler two of these
three years. One year, out of
the 12 places, we had eight in
the finals and seven of them
won.”
looking to the upcoming
sectional, regional and state
tournaments, Moffitt feels
several of his men will stand
good chances of placing high.
Of course, he, like many
otliers, feels Gordon could win
the state championship.
Gordon, though, said it
would suit him just fine if
matches were settled a lot
earlier ... in KM’s favor, of
course.
“Talk about headache,”
said Gordon. “When it came
my time and I knew I had to
pin my man, I didn’t know
anything else to do but pray.
He must have heard me.”
Another goal Moffitt would
like to accomplish at KMHS is
to form a summer wrestling
club. It would provide the
opportunity for young men
here to wrestle in out-of-stat e
summer toirnaments and also
participate in the junior
Olympics.
“I think Gordon will win the
sectionals this weekend in
Charlotte.” he said, “and 1
feel like he will meet the
Watauga boy (Bobby Cooper)
for the regionals next week in
Hickory.” Ckioper, a 6-6, 320-
pouiid giant, is the same man
that defeated Gordon for the
Western N. C. High Schools
Activities Association title last
winter.
Moffitt feds the leadership
shown by bis seniors, Gordon,
Norman Ptillips and Robert
Ingram, played a big role in
the team’s success.
“All of our men did a super
job,” he said. “To be honest,
the season was a bit more that
“It’s legal,” says Moffitt,
“and that’s what it’s going to
take for us to be state
champions. It really gets die
kids inte^sted,in wrestling,
Tha<*tf Why 'Sbllivan Juuior'
High and Rock Hill have been
so successful. They’ve took
some to the junior Olympics
and last year they had a
heavyweiglu to finish first.
They have really Improved
"I think Gordon can beat
him." Moffitt noted. “Gordon
really moves good now and he
works on his pinning com
binations and controlling his
man more than he did last
yeor. 1 figure if he beats the
V^atauga boy he can win the
slate (Stampionship.”
(Jordon, many feel, is the
best wrestler in KMHS
history. He currently sports a
44-5 record and needs three
more victories to tie the school
'i\
Js
TRI-CHAMPIONS — Here’s the Kings Mountain High
wrestling team which finished 9-3 this winter to share the
Southwestern 3-A Conference title with Shelby and East
Gaston. Front row, left to right, Maurice Jamerson, Johnny
Ross, Sammy Bell, Robert Ingram and Miles Boyce. Second
row, Darryl Brown, Jeff Guyton, Unny Guyton, Jeff Rowell
and Monte Rhea. Back row. Coach Steve Moffitt, Kenny
Womic, Norman Phillips, Mike Womic. David Gordon and
Ponder Sherill. manager.
KM’s Gk>rdon Top
Seed For Sectional
jROGERS PONTIAC
CADILLAC
\V. Dixon Blvd.
■^iiclby, N. C.
Kings Mountain
Representative
Kings Mountain High’s
unbeaten heavyweight David
Gordon is seeded first for the
sectional wrestling tour
nament which will be held
Friday and Saturday at In
dependence High School in
Chiu'lotte.
The top three finishers In
each we.faht division will
advance to the Western
Regionais Tnumament next
Friday :iiiu Saturday at
Hickory High School The top
eight fimsher* in each class
there will quaiuy fur the state
tournament the following
weekend in Winston-Salem.
Gordon, who is closing In on
Kings Mountain High’s all-
time record for victories,
takes a 15-0 record into the
sectionals. Most of his regular
season wins came on first
period pins.
Several other KMHS
grapplers are seeded second
in the 132-pound class, Sammy
Bell, 13-2, is seeded third at 121
pounds, Maurice Jamerson 10-
2, Is seeded at 145 pounds, and
Norman Phillips, 11-4, is
seeded third at 167.
Mike Womic, 7-3, is seeded
fifth at 155 poumk. Robert
Ingram, 11-4, is seeded sixth
at 138 and Jeff Guyton 64. is
seeded seventh at 114.
Other KMHS grappleri
competing will be lOO pound
Miles Boyce, 126pouna Monte
Rhea, 185-pound Kenny
Womic and ne-pound Darryl
Brown.
The tournament geU un
deray Friday at 1.30 p m .1- i
nma throu^ Saturday nignt
9POR:T9
Sammy Boll, Johnny Roas,
Robert Ingram, Maurice
Jamerson, Mik Womic and
Norman Phillips
•‘1 think the main thing
about the upcoming tour
naments is that we can’t af-
fordtolook opponent,”
Moffitt noted "Even though
some of our men may have
better records than their
opponents, y-ju can’t always
go by records. We haven't
wrestled the same com
petition. The guys are going to
have to be up for every single
match. But if they prepare
themselves mentally, a lot of
them could place or win.
"I’m really looking forward
to the tournaments,” he went
on. “I’ve enjoyed this year.
Sharing the conference tias
been a big step.”
dti'
.V
('
E'YE TOURNAMENTS — Coach Steve Moffitt, left,
discusses upcoming sectional, regional and state wrestling
tournaments with the four senior members of the KMHS team.
which •!> :
membei ■
Robert I. -
1 arcing its best season in history. Team
to .>‘hf include Ponder Sherrill, manager,
'-■-■cman i’hillips and David Gordon.
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