MatDawgs Have Strong Showing at Battle at the Bay
Courtesy of TCHS
The Toombs County High School wrestling team stormed into the Battle at the Bay tournament, crowning 4 individual champions and piling up runner-up finishes throughout the lineup. Hosted at Brantley County High School and featuring a loaded field of 12 teams from Southeast Georgia, the MatDawgs showcased depth, heart, and championship pedigree.
Sophomore Walker Bunch (132lbs) and junior Wyatt Bunch (138lbs) both went undefeated en route to gold, turning the middle weights into a family affair. Walker steamrolled through the bracket with 2 pins, 1 technical pins, and a forfeit before capping his day with an 8-0 major decision over Camden County’s Jayden Buehler in the final. Wyatt was equally merciless, racking up 3 technical falls and a pin, then closing with a 17-7 major decision over Camden County 2’s Manuel Moreno. The brothers combined for 58 team points—more than some entire squads.
Lucas Coley (175lbs) made light work of the 175-pound division, earning 4 technical falls including a 20-3 clinic in the championship against Camden’s Christian Ward. Meanwhile, Leeson Allen (215lbs) was a human wrecking ball, recording 3 pins and outlasting Brantley County’s Ty Hughes and Camden’s Anthony Wright in decision wins to claim gold.
The MatDawgs weren’t done at the top of the podium. Samson Dobbs (144lbs), Sebastian Crow (157lbs), and Tyson Brantley (165lbs) all battled to the finals, each dropping hardfought battles but proving Toombs belongs in every championship conversation.
Dobbs dominated with 2 pins and a major decision over state qualifier Joel Fuel of Brunswick before a medical forfeit in the final. Crow pinned his way through his first 2 opponents and majored Camden’s Justin Goodwin 10-0 before a narrow 7-2 loss to Brunswick’s State Qualifier, Semaj Dobbins. Brantley, wrestling with fire, needed just 3:49 total mat time for 3 pins and a semifinal thriller (9-7 over Vidalia’s Cayleb Sanford) before falling 9-0 to Bacon County’s Ashton Anderson.
Even in tougher draws, Toombs wrestlers showed resilience. Jessie McCoy (120lbs) bounced back from early losses with a 20-4 tech fall over Vidalia on the day take 6th place. Lukas Young (126lbs) opened with a pin and ended up injury defaulting from the tournament to 8th place. Brilyn Williams (190lbs) fought through a brutal bracket to finish 8th.
“This group wrestles like Dawgs—hungry, relentless, and together,” said Toombs County Head Coach Todd Allen. “4 champs, 3 others to make the finals. That’s program effort and we’re just getting started.”
The MatDawgs return to action in 2 weeks before Thanksgiving on November 26 in Jones County at the Gauntlet in Gray Invitational.
