RallyNorth.net

The wrestling carryover

Thursday, November, 29 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

Senior fullback Victor Sosa remembers back in the spring of 2005 when Greater Lawrence Tech wrestling coach Tony Sarkis approached him with a question after his freshman season on the mat.

"He asked me if he should take the (head football) job," said Sosa. "I told him, yeah, and told him it'd be a pleasure to play for him. He was our freshman coach when we were 7-0 and I felt confident we could do the same thing when we were seniors."

Sarkis, who has been head wrestling coach for 16 years, accepted the job, and Sosa's confidence in him has been more than justified. The Commonwealth Conference Large-champion Reggies (11-1), after all, are battling East Boston Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Gillette Stadium in the Division 3A Super Bowl.

Since that time, the football program has steadily been upgraded, from a time when Greater Lawrence won only seven games in a four-year stretch from 2002-05 to five wins last year and finally to this year's banner season, which is approaching the success enjoyed by the Reggies in wrestling over the last decade.

In wrestling, Greater Lawrence has captured seven straight CAC crowns and has posted an eye-popping 127-10-2 record in that span, culminating with last year's 25-0 Division 2 state championship.

With as many as nine starters in football this fall also having been starters for the wrestling team last winter, Sarkis and his brother and assistant in both sports, Dib Sarkis, believe there is a link in the success on the mat with that on the gridiron.

"I think that definitely the two are related," said Sarkis. "The wrestling mentality has carried over to football. It shows that hard work pays off and you get rewarded for it." Sosa, who was a remarkable 29-0 in wrestling last year with 26 pins, agrees: "I think there is a relationship because so many of the kids on the football team have wrestled. You need the same mentality of being tough to do it."

Moreover, the same unity that was so evident in wrestling seems to have carried over to football.

"We're all family here," said senior linebacker John Cote, who was a backup on the mat last year but could start this winter. "There's a bond like in wrestling, and it makes us work harder."

Feeling the same familiarity with, and confidence in, the coaching staff has also helped. Basically, the wrestlers know what to expect.

"He (Sarkis) is just as intense in football as wrestling," said Sosa. "He makes us work hard."

Junior lineman Juan Olivo feels the same way, although he believes that Sarkis "is harder on us in wrestling."

Regardless of what happens Saturday, neither Sarkis nor the wrestlers will have much time to rest between seasons. With a quad-meet scheduled for Dec. 8, they'll only have one day off before hitting the mat.

"It'll be a little tough, but it's because of a good thing," said Sarkis. "We can't afford to take any time off."

And, if the final result Saturday is similar to the conclusion of last year's wrestling season, which ended with a thrilling 34-33 win over Franklin in the Division 2 state final, no one will care.