When the Newton-Conover wrestling team made its first trip to the state 2A dual-team finals a year ago, no one was surprised. This season, it caught everyone off guard.

Although the result was the same — Newton-Conover finished as the state 2A runner-up for the second straight year — this year’s trip seemed a little more sweeter to the team, as well as head coach Ed Clark.

When Hillsborough Orange, from just outside the Durham-Chapel Hill area, earned a 10-6 decision  at the 135-pound weight class to clinch the title 29-25 on Saturday at Newton-Conover, members of the Red Devils didn’t slouch. They didn’t cry, they didn’t throw chairs, and they didn’t storm off the mat. Instead, the Red Devils held their heads high, proud of what they had accomplished, despite their goal of a state championship fell just short of their grasp.

“It’s a tough end to be on,” Clark said. “(The Panthers are) well coached. (They’re) a top-notch program, has been for 20 years, and we knew that. We knew coming in what we were looking at.

“I’m just as proud of these kids right now as I was Thursday night (when the Red Devils advanced to the state finals),” he said. “We laid it all on the line, which is what these kids have done all year.”

Clark said he’s told his wrestlers all season long that if they go out there and lay it all on the line, “win, lose or draw,” he said, the Red Devils will accept what happens at the end.

On Saturday at Newton-Conover, the Red Devils (41-4) found themselves in an early 13-0 hole to a team who won the state title in 2005 in the 3A class. In the 160-pound match, Newton-Conover’s Ethan Carter somehow avoided a sure-pin from Jamar Jackson with 40 seconds left in the second period, and instead Jackson won in a 10-4 decision. Carter’s escape saved his team three points, and gave the Red Devils life as they won the next four matches to take the lead at 16-13.

“We’ve been good at the top all year, and Ethan had a tough kid,” Clark said. “Ethan’s a fighter, Ethan’s not going to quit. When he’s on his back, he’s just like these other 40 (wrestlers) behind me — he ain’t gonna quit.”

After the Red Devils took the lead at 16-13, the Panthers (30-1) answered with a four-match run of their own to take a 26-16 lead, with the closest being a 5-2 decision by Dustin Champion over Austin Setzer at 112 pounds. With Newton-Conover in a must-win situation to continue the match with three matches left, Charlie Avis came through, earning a 6-0 decision over Taylor Cash to bring life back to the Red Devils, and cut the score to 26-19 with two matches left.

Avis, a junior, is considered one of many “unsung heros” by Clark. He said his team is made up of “unsung heros,” and that the Red Devils “are not a team of superstars.” After Avis’ win, the Red Devils had to win out to take the title. Alex Kubacki of the Panthers made sure that didn’t happen, and he clinched this season’s state 2A dual-team title with a 10-6 decision over Randy Ortega. “I felt like coming back (to the state championship) was validation to our kids, to keep believing what we’re doing is right” Clark said.

“You hate to say you’re going to get it one of these days, because you don’t get here every day — you don’t get too many chances. To go 0-2... we’re gonna keep working. We’re loaded with young talent. We’re gonna keep on doing what these kids have done for several years of their life now.”

Avis talked about the desire his team had all season to be the best team in Newton-Conover history. Avis, along with Gilbert Rodriguez, spoke about the “chip on their shoulder” the team had because no one gave it a second chance at a state championship.

“Coach told us before the match if we wanna win this, we have to go out with all our heart, give 110 percent, and leave it all out on the mat,” Avis said. “That’s what we did tonight. Unfortunately, they beat us by a couple and we came up short.

“We lost five seniors last year, and no one thought we’d get this far,” Avis said. “People thought we wouldn’t make it out of the second round of the playoffs, but we made it to the finals. We’ve broken barriers — I think it was a very successful season.”

Rodriguez agreed, but added the team had to work their “tails off” in order to disprove the nay-sayers. And, they say, the team hasn’t proved anything until “they win it.”

Next season, the team will return most of its wrestlers, and Avis and Rodriguez each predict another run at a title “We’ll be back next year, at full force, and ready to win,” Avis said. “Next year we’ll give 110 percent again,” added Rodriguez.

But although there’s always next year, and the future looks bright for the Red Devils, there’s still a loss on Saturday that will haunt each wrestler’s mind. “It’s tough to accept (the loss),” Clark said. “But I can certainly appreciate our kids’ efforts all year long.”