Back Bay body slam

NEWPORT BEACH — Advice came from all circles, teammates, coaches, fans.

But the only circle Max Jolliffe wanted to be a part of was the one on the Newport Harbor High wrestling mat.

In front of a raucous crowd at Newport Harbor, the Battle of the Bay against Corona del Mar came down to the smallest wrestlers.

In the past, the 103-pounders start dual meets with the heavyweight finishing off festivities banging around. With the random draw at weigh-ins leaving Jolliffe to wrestle at the end, the 103-pounder showed he was no lightweight in a situation demanding a win with Newport Harbor trailing by two points.

Jolliffe didn’t disappoint by pounding out a victory 33 seconds before the first period expired, as he pinned CdM’s Ryan Grainger to lift Newport Harbor to a 38-34 victory Wednesday night.

At the end, it was Jolliffe standing tall. With the help of teammates of course, as the Sailors lifted the sophomore on their shoulders like a prized fighter winning the big purse — city bragging rights.

Surrounded by his team and fans, Jolliffe never wanted to come down. Sure he was elated for his home school, but also another thing.

“If we lost, we would’ve had to run to CdM and I didn’t really want to do that at all,” said Jolliffe of the eight-mile round-trip run. “I just went out there wanting to win.”

Jolliffe entered the circle determined after seeing the big boys for Newport Harbor (9-2) pull through to close the deficit to 34-32.

By the time 215-pounder Aaron Labrano pulled out a 10-4 decision over Kevin Lineback and Cameron Rausch pinned Justin Headle, it was time for Jolliffe to max out his potential.

On a night when Newport Harbor senior Josh George didn’t miss a beat, whether it was singing the national anthem before things got underway, or when he improved to 20-0, it seemed fitting Jolliffe attacked his opponent with the same kind of tenacity George did in his 145-pound match.

It took George 24 seconds longer to pin his opponent, but when Corona del Mar Coach Gary Almquist saw George unleash his strength and put his wrestler on his heels he knew what was in store for his Sea Kings (6-8).

“That dual meet was won or lost at that weight because he came out like a senior is supposed to come out. George came out smoking,” said Almquist, whose team allowed the Sailors to jump ahead, 23-18, with George’s win worth six points. “Right when that happened, I had already figured out every match, just like [Newport Harbor Coach Dominic] Bulone had, and that was the difference right there. We knew how it would go.”

The second go-around between the rivals proved to be as competitive, with Newport Harbor winning, 36-33, during the Battle by the Bay Tournament earlier this month.

But this time CdM had its 103-, 112- and 119-pounders. It didn’t matter, as 112-pounder James Caughill pinned Hunter Thomas in the second period and 119-pounder Grant McKee followed that up by pinning Cody Longwith in the first, showing immediately that the Sailors’ little guys were tough.

Jolliffe made sure the lightest of the group would deliver at the end, even with CdM gaining momentum with Cole Shepard (130), Scott Feely (135), Taylor Fanning (140) and Andrew Halladay (160) recording pins to give CdM a comfortable lead with Kendall Pick (171) and Scott Lineback (189) on deck and ready to pick up wins.

“I was very scared that we were going to get destroyed by our rivals,” George said. “I was scared until [Jolliffe] took [Grainger] down. Then I was like, ‘Oh! What am I doing? He works out with us.’”

Nonleague

Newport Harbor 38, Corona del Mar 34

103 – Grainger (CdM) pinned by Jolliffe, 1:27; 112 – Thomas (CdM) pinned by Caughill, 3:20; 119 – Longwith (CdM) pinned by McKee, :33; 125 – E. Garcia (NH) def. Kaye, tech. fall, 14-1; 130 – Alonso (NH) pinned by Shepard, 2:59; 135 – D. Garcia (NH) pinned by Feely, 1:12; 140 – Millan (NH) pinned by Fanning, 4:17; 145 – Eskew (CdM) pinned by George, 1:51. 152 – Nity (CdM) def. Lithgow, maj. dec, 11-1; 160 – Guadarrama (NH) pinned by Halladay, 3:28; 171 – Pick (CdM) def. Dickey, 6-3; 189 – S. Lineback (CdM) def. Perez, 7-1 ; 215 – Labrano (NH) def. K. Lineback, 10-4; Hwt. – Headle (CdM) pinned by Rausch, :50.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].