If the Tallassee wrestling team is going to win the AHSAA Class 5A duals championship, it will have to go through Murderers’ Row to do so.
Tallassee has punched its ticket to the 5A duals Final Four, along with Jasper, Scottsboro and Gulf Shores. The four teams will hit the mats at 8:45 a.m. Friday at the Birmingham Crossplex.
All four teams are currently ranked in the Top 4 in Class 5A by the Alabama Wrestling Coaches Association.
Gulf Shores is the No. 1-ranked team, while Tallassee (30-0) and Scottsboro are tied for No. 2. Jasper is the No. 4 team in the rankings.
On Friday, Gulf Shores and Tallassee will face off while Scottsboro and Jasper, the defending duals state champs, will wrestle for a spot in the finals.
“We’re excited,” Tallassee coach John Mask said. “The kid’s goal all along was to get back. Most of the wrestling experts have been saying all along that it’s going to be us four in the championship. I think all four teams are equal teams.”
There’s some history in duals for the Tallassee and Gulf Shores programs. The two teams have met in the playoffs the last two seasons and have split. In 2022, Gulf Shores beat Tallassee handily, 60-9, and ended the Tigers’ duals season. Last season, in the 5A semifinals, Tallassee beat Gulf Shores by a score of 32-29 and ended the Dolphins’ season.
“When we beat them last year, we had some guys step up in big positions for us,” Mask said. “We’re going to need that again on Friday. Gulf Shores is very loaded and very good, but we are too. It’s going to be two equal teams and it will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.”
As far as individual rankings go, all four teams are littered in talent.
That’s especially the case for Tallassee and Gulf Shores.
Out of the 14 possible weight classes, both teams have at least 10 wrestlers ranked in the Top 6 in their class. Gulf Shores has 10 while Tallassee has 11 wrestlers ranked.
In those 11 Tallassee has ranked, eight are ranked in the Top 3 in their class while three are ranked No. 1 in Class 5A.
The three ranked No. 1 are Thomas Patterson (106), Ramon Lozada (120) and Land Bell (144).
For Gulf Shores, four of the Dolphins’ 10 wrestlers are ranked in the Top 3.
Those three wrestlers are No. 2 Abel Brantley (106), No. 2 Noah Guthrie (138) and No. 3 Taylor Cheek (144).
Based on rankings, Tallassee would be favored in 10 of the 13 weight classes that one of the teams have a wrestler ranked in. The only class without a wrestler from either team is 126.
Despite what the rankings say, the matches aren’t decided on paper. And neither are matchups. Either team can move wrestlers up and down the roster depending on what the wrestler weigh on that day and what gives them a better chance at winning.
“Gulf Shores is very talented and very good,” Mask said. “We’ve got to lock in this week and get better. We have to want it more. All year, our kids have been wanting to make it back up there and try to win.”
On the other side of the bracket, Scottsboro and Jasper also have plenty of talent in their lineups.
Seven of Jasper’s 14 wrestlers are ranked in the Top 6 of their class with five of them in the Top 3, while Scottsboro has 10 wrestlers ranked. Out of those 10, four are No. 1 in their class and six are in the Top 3.
-- Dalton Middleton, Tallassee Tribune