Cv, U-Hi Pack ‘Em In For Battle Of Bone

It was right there in black and white. The steamy audience of black-clad University High School supporters sitting side-by-side with the white-clad Central Valley fans. Together, they stretched the limits of the Titan gymnasium’s attendance capacity.

Thursday night was the annual “Battle of the Bone,” where wrestling is enough to attract an impassioned, overflow audience.

“I’m just glad the fire marshal wasn’t there,” said University principal Eric Ohlund. “But it’s worth it, just to be part of the spectacle.”

U-Hi’s black shirts bore a glow-in-the-dark motorcyclist logo that intoned “Bone to be Wild.” CV borrowed from a popular television show with C*V*H*S on the front of the white T-shirts and “Mash the Titans” on the back.

There were no shades of gray during competition, either. Central Valley made sure that its victory was a black-and-white issue by winning 11 of 14 contests during a 47-13 romp.

“They steamrollered us,” said Titan coach Don Owen. “We had to win the close matches and didn’t even do that. It was over after the 129-pound match. That was a must-win.”

Matt Applegate outscored Curtis Bash, who had strategically moved up a weight.

By midway through the contest, the standing-room only audience became strangely docile. Central Valley’s emphatic victory had silenced everyone.

“You don’t pull any punches for a rivalry,” said CV coach Dale Ethridge, who moved his best wrestlers whenever possible into weights where he could take the starch out of his foe. “All week long we stressed one thing: To be undisputed, undefeated GSL champions. We knew we had the team to take it.”

After winning their first Battle of the Bone, the Bears are at that threshhold, needing only to beat Mt. Spokane next Thursday.

“The thing that helped us were the close matches,” said CV wrestler Shane Cunanan. “They made us rise to the occasion.”

The first and most important was Brandon Brown’s 4-2 win over Conor Jordan at 148 pounds. Courtney Brown got a third-period escape and takedown and held on for a 4-3 win over Reggie Lee at 168. The two were honored afterward for sportsmanship.

At 190, sophomore Jesse Gehrett beat sophomore Heath Pulver 5-4.

“That allowed us to put our guns in at 215 and 275 pounds,” said Ethridge. “We wanted to finish in style.”

Brandon Bouge, moved up to the 275-pound class, won 2-0 over T.J. Dowling with a thirdperiod reversal.

They were all part of an effort that saw CV start at 20-0 after five matches and build a 41-5 lead after 11.

Neither team was old enough to understand that this wrestling rivalry has developed such fan frenzy because both teams have been perennial Greater Spokane League title contenders and the outcome of the CV-U-Hi match often has been determined by the thinnest of margins.

In this case, interest in the match itself created the need for a spirit trophy, rather than the spirit trophy manufacturing the interest.

All these CV wrestlers knew is that they had never won against University. The Titans had snatched victory away for eight straight years.

So, what is more important, the fact that the Bears finally won the Bone, or that they can complete a perfect GSL season next week?

“Going undefeated is more important,” said Ethridge. “The rivalry’s great. The Bone is fantastic. But it’s only one night. We’ve done it for eight nights, so far.”

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