GREEN COVE SPRINGS - In a back and forth region quarterfinal match that ended with Clay High's wrestling team eventually winning a 38-36 win over 14th ranked New Smyrna Beach, the Blue Devils regrouped and handled unranked Beachside in their semifinal, 54-22, to advance to the FHSAA Duals Region Finals on Friday, Jan. 23 at Osceola High in Kissimmee.

"We've been in a gym for about seven straight weekends and came out a little flat against a New Smyrna Beach team that came ready to wrestle," said Clay coach Jim Reape. "They got a bunch of wins got a lead, but we got great matches in the upper weights with Landon Martin and Jayshawn McLeod back in the lineup."

Reape fell behind up to a 30-8 score before the Blue Devils saw the light starting with a pin from 152 from Asher Reaves then pins from Drew Holmquist and Drew Loveland to set up a dramatic match featuring the return of Martin at 192.

"The kid is a warrior in anything he does and he hadn't been on the mat all season because of a broken hand," Reape said. "He wrestled the No. 2 kid in the state and survived a 9-4 loss that, in the end, was the difference. We put in someone less experienced against that guy and they get a six-point pin. Those three points wins the match."

From there, Logan Terry at 217 and McLeod pinned for the final score with McLeod also returning from a football injury.

"Our upper weight guys are going to be tough for the rest of the year once they get into wrestling shape," Reape said. "Jayshawn and Landon both stepped up big for us."

At Osceola, teams will wrestle in region finals on Friday, then winners will advance to the FHSAA State Duals Final Four with a state semifinal match on Saturday, Jan. 24 in the morning with finals later in the afternoon. Clay, 10th ranked in 2A, advances to face sixth-ranked Pace High, a winner over Middleburg in the opposite region semifinal.

"I know Pace coach Reggie Allen and we saw them last year, but his team is hungry," Reape said. "I think Middleburg, like us, was a little beat up and got a hungry Pace team. Pace has improved tremendously from last year to this year."

In the opposite end of the Region 1-2A bracket, Middleburg High, fourth ranked, will not get a rematch with Clay in the region final as the Broncos were upended by Pace High to put Pace in the region final with Clay. Middleburg, ranked 11th, defeated fifth-ranked Gulf Breeze, 45-29, in their region quarterfinal but lost 48-22 to Pace. Pace defeated 19th-ranked Lincoln, 71-0, to advance.

In Class 3A, Oakleaf lost to Flagler Palm Coast in their region 1-3A quarter final.

Last season, Clay defeated Middleburg to advance to the state semifinal that ended with Clay losing to Charlotte in the state semifinal. Charlotte eventually lost to Duals state champion Tampa Jesuit. Jesuit beat Lake Gibson in the region final before beating Somerset in the state semifinal.

Clay's win over New Smyrna Beach, ranked 14th in 2A, came with just three pins; Holmquist at 165, Loveland at 177 and McLeod at 287 as New Smyrna Beach opened with two pins to make Clay fight back from an early 12-0 deficit and a 30-8 score at the halfway point. Pins in the final two matches—from Terry at 215 and McLeod at 287—secured the win. McLeod had his pin in just 24 seconds.

Against Beachside, Clay got five pins—Liam Soto at 108, Brennan McCook at 134, Landon Willard at 140, Asher Reaves at 152 and a final match pin from Ryan Collins at 287—to push the score to as much as 39-12 en route to the 54-22 win.

Beachside beat Winter Springs 84-0 to advance to the Clay semifinals.

In the region finals set to face the winner of the Clay vs. Pace final are No. 9 Jensen Beach and No. 2 Somerset.

In south Florida, region finals include No. 3 Tampa Jesuit vs. No. 1 Lake Gibson and No. 11 Braden River vs. No. 5 Charlotte.