His coach tried to offer calming words, but Austin Setzer admitted they had little effect.
Setzer, a jittery Newton-Conover High senior, took the mat knowing that a possible Red Devils conference title rested on his shoulders in the 135-pound match.
His goal was simple.
"I just wanted to get the win," Setzer said. "I didn't want to do anything crazy, just wrestle smart and do my job on the mat."
Setzer performed exactly as he hoped, earning a decision over Bandys' Cameron Wesson in the night's final match and the cherished three points needed to leapfrog visiting Newton-Conover past the Trojans for a dramatic 35-34 victory and a Catawba Valley Athletic 2A championship.
The Red Devils went 7-0 in the CVAC and Bandys went 6-1, with both teams now gearing up for the league tournament in two weeks.
Tuesday night's match hardly started out as the squeaker it ended. Seth Ratchford opened the match with a pin of Eric Holbrook, giving the Trojans a quick 6-0 lead.
But a night filled with plenty of ebbs and flows saw Newton-Conover (30-4) rattle off the next 17 points with pins by Randy Ortega and Terrell McCombs in the 145 and 160-pound classes sandwiched around a technical fall by Eric Cemuda at 152.
Bandys (18-7) responded with a pin by John Reep at 171 and a decision by Cody Wesson at 189 to pull within 17-15 before the Red Devils responded with the momentum-swinging match of the night at 215, said Trojans head coach Sean McIntosh.
Newton-Conover's Joseph Platt avenged an early-season loss to Anthony Christopher with his second-period pin, stretching the Red Devils' advantage to 23-15.
"We knew we needed to win that one because going into heavyweight, they have the No. 1 guy in the state," McIntosh said. "They had some kids step up and get some wins when they had to, but tonight I think showed our guys that we can wrestle with the state's best teams."
Andrew Tremain's pin of Andrew Christopher at heavyweight extended the lead to 29-15, and Newton-Conover added three more points with an Ian Canrobert decision at 103.
The Trojans rallied with Garrett Hinson's win by forfeit at 112, Seth White's pin of Ivan Acevedo at 119 and Thomas Lundsford's major decision over Ben Reinhardt at 125, pulling within 32-31 and setting up a wild finish.
Parker Anthony put Bandys up front in dramatic fashion, scoring a takedown in the final 10 seconds for a 5-3 win over Tyler Knopp for a 34-32 Trojans lead.
The drama carried over to the final bout at 135 with Setzer and Wesson tied 4-4 after two periods.
Wesson opened the final two minutes with an escape to briefly lead 5-4, but Setzer's takedown for two points and near fall (three points) gave him the lead for good at 9-5.
"My adrenaline was kicking in, and I wanted to fight, not flight," said Setzer. "I knew my teammates, my coaches, the fans and my family were counting on me, and I need to get that win."
One that gave Newton-Conover a conference crown that Tremain said he wasn't sure his team would be wearing at season's start, given the attrition from last year's squad.
"This was probably our hardest year because we lost nine starters from last year's team," Tremain said. "It means a lot to everybody because of the teamwork and the hard work we've put in all year."
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