By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
AVON PARK - The term cross-county battle doesn't get any more literal than it did Thursday night as the Avon Park and Sebring wrestling teams opened up their respective seasons by squaring off on the mat.
Lake Wales and Frostproof were on hand as well, in the four-team Pre-Season Classic, and would be matched up with as well.
But the evening got started mano a mano, Red Devil versus Blue Streak, as former teammates Blake Germaine and Josh Miller now opposed each other from across the squared circle - Germaine is in his first year at the helm with program founders Ed Brown and Lee Elder leaving it in his charge.
And though Sebring came with a teeming line-up of wrestlers, it was the experienced Avon Park squad that got the win.
"This is the largest group of wrestlers I've ever had," Miller said. "But we still have a lot of inexperienced wrestlers who need to get matches."
But the advantage of the high numbers saw its' impact as Corey Barnes got a win by forfeit in the 106-pound weight class, as did Juardo Bautista at 132.
The Streaks then earned three other wins the hard way, on the mat.
Chris DeJesus had a battle on his hands with Red Devil Delroy Blake, in the most evenly contested and riveting match of the night.
The two went back and forth into the final period before a couple of late scoring moves had DeJesus winning on points in the 220-pound weight class.
Ty Johnson saw his effort a bit easier and a tad more dominating as he got a pin in the second period of the 182-pound match, and Matt Juve also won by a pin in the second period of the 170 class.
But from there, Avon Park returned the favor as two state qualifiers from a year ago showed off their strength and experience.
Johnny Baldridge pinned Nathan Franklin in the second period, and Jose Torres got a first-round pin of Cooper Edmunson to get their seasons off to impressive starts.
The Devils won the rest of their Sebring match-ups and would also get a match win over Lake Wales in the second pairing of the night.
And Avon Park looks to get stronger as the roster fills out with soon-to-be returning football players, including Dylan Brown, a fifth-place finisher at the State Finals last year.
For the Streaks, the early going is all about shaking the rust off for the returning wrestlers and seeing what there is to work on with the newcomers.
"Our goal for the preseason, since it doesn't count, is to get every kid a match," Miller said. "Whether they're seniors or freshman, whether they've wrestled one or four years.
"They all wrestled pretty well, there's definitely a lot to go back and work on."
Sebring will have the week to get that work in before taking to the mats again Thursday, Nov. 15, at home against Okeechobee.
News-Sun correspondent Rachel Smit contributed to this article.
Sunday, November 11, 2012 - www.newssun.com/SUN-11-11-12-APSebWrestling