By John Rizzuti

Today at UIL State was a riveting roller coaster ride especially for one family — The Sandovals of Colleyville (Heritage). And no one was more on edge than momma Lisa Sandoval whose sons Jeremy and Josh would find themselves not in easy, soft quarterfinal round advances, but in matches of their lives against the best the state of Texas has to offer. The pressure on the Sandoval boyz is huge. They are legendary youth state and national champions with a pedigree of greatness. The tension was elevated by Josh’s shocking loss in last year’s state final to Klein Oak’s Shane Doughman. That loss was to be avenged earlier this year at the Oklahoma Open but no one cares about that meet.

It’s the state title these kids (and parents) want.

But the path to the final is not easy. Fact is, the quarter’s matches for both Sandovals were two of the most exciting fights seen in years. While those battle royals were going on right in front of press row, mother Lisa was as close to the action as she could get while her young daughter took her slot as the TXUSA poster.

Biting her nails and at times manic-frantic, Lisa went from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory in overtime not once, but twice. Tears and cheers are oft too close for many but for Lisa they were interchangeable as Jeremy and Josh used their superior skills and conditioning to win in the end — literally at the end – in both matches.

At 112, the opponent for Jeremy was none other than The Wood’s heralded super frosh Erik Spjut who walked on the mat with a 51-1 record and a reputation for lightning-fast moves and super-refined technique. Josh came into the match with a 40-1 record. These two were considered by many to be the top-two 112-pounders in the state.

The match didn’t disappoint as the two warriors battled through six minutes of hell with neither side giving an inch nor a point. Both wrestlers are great defensive artists on their feet. Spjut was more aggressive on TD’s but he was unable to close the deal. Sandoval used a combination Turk ride and guillotine move to be super tough on top and came close on two occasions of turning Spjut. But Erik’s finesse denied Sandoval the match-winning tilt.

Then came overtime. Both wrestlers attacked, with the edge seemingly headed to Spjut but with just seconds to go Jeremy shot across the mat and caught Erik off guard and secured a takedown at the buzzer to win 2-0. Frankly the takedown was close, but referees are going to give that two every time in overtime when it’s that situation. Great match with two great champions who should have met in the final.

At 125 the fireworks started early and stayed late as Josh Sandoval, generally considered one of the most electrifying wrestlers in the state, battling super-strong El Paso badboy Danny Caraveo. (Attention Div. I college coaches. Danny C can go and he can be an outstanding college wrestler. His low single and his power on defense is very, very good.) Caraveo and Sandoval went after each other like two alley cats after a goldfish and with a vengeance from the first second through the entire 7 minutes of the match. This bout also went to OT.

Sandoval came in at 41-1 and Caraveo came in at 28-2.

There was so much action in the entire match both wrestlers expended every ounce of energy they had. As the wrestlers got more and more winded, Josh seemed to get a slight edge. Perhaps it paid off for him to rise and shine at 5:45am even on the coldest of days, to run 3-5 miles. Perhaps he knew then what he knows now that that extra edge – however so slight – made the difference between contender and pretender.

Sandoval who was quicker faced off against Caraveo who was stronger. In the first period Danny scored the first takedown — then Sandoval used a modified stand-up switch to score a reversal. Caraveo got an escape to make the score 3-2 after one. Let’s go to the second stanza.

Sandoval took down. With lightning fast moves right from the buzzer, Josh scored another quick reversal making the score 4-3. Turning the tables, Caraveo used a similar standup switch to get his 2 points making the score 5-4, Danny.

Sandman then scored another reversal and Caraveo an escape to end the second period all knotted (like Lisa’s stomach) 6-6. Josh’s dad Sam by this time was AWOL from the Delco. You could cut the tension with a chain saw. Nerves were stretched taunt like a G-string on a slide guitar.

Enter the third and enter the Sandman. Caraveo scored an escape to take a 7-6 lead. Instead of running and hiding like a dog, Danny used frequent low-single shots to keep Josh off guard and prevent him from scoring the winning TD. Right at the end of the match a furious scramble on the edge of the mat resulted in a one-point penalty for Sandoval either fleeing the mat or stalling — the referee failed to give the proper signal.

Chaos reigned. Hearts were pounding. Pulses raced like Whirlaway. The crowd was going wild. Press row was anything but calm.

To overtime went the gladiators at 125. On the offensive went Caraveo. Deep he went time after time after time on the low single but he could not close the deal. Where was John Smith when he was needed by the El Paso badboy. The last time Josh brought him up top with sure power and technique and used a Greco-Roman throw and put Danny flat on his back. The match and Caraveo’s dream of the upset of the decade was over.

Perhaps the greatest match in Texas since Hobar-Blakley in 2004.

And Lisa Sandoval with tears in her eyes gradually smiled and realized it’s OK. They won. Both boys. They made her proud.

And it’s on to the next round. Later on we found Sam. He too was OK!