The River Bluff Gators came into the day seeking their 2nd Class 5A title in three years.

After the dust settled, head coach Eric Moxie was discussing a phenomenal season that came up short in a 41-30 loss.

The Gators started out hot, up 12-10 through the first five matches. Issac Ortega, Ian Obeso, and Michael Kesler’s wins helped River Bluff gain the early advantage.

Consecutive pinfallss by the Rams helped fortify a run that put the Gators in serious trouble down 35-12.

As they did on Wednesday against Summerville, the Gators battled back. The final 4 matches would have to be won by pinfall for River Bluff to hoist a state championship.

Armondo Maestre and Patrick Palmer scored 2 pins and put the Gators right back in contention. Trailing 35-24, the River Bluff rally ended with a pin by Hillcrest’s Grant Hopkins of John Brown at 152 pounds.

“I told them if we pin out, we win by one. I don’t care if you win, you guys got to pin,” Moxie told the media. “Got those first two and we are thinking, oh boy. We knew the last match we had a real good chance to get a pin.

“I think we could have won the match (152 pounds) if we were going out just to win. When you’ve got to go out and look for a pin, sometimes that happens. I couldn’t be more proud of this team. They battled and did an amazing job all year long.”

The Gators closed the match with a pinfall, but the Rams had clinched their 3rd state title and first since 2012.