The Rams battled the Falcons tough on the road but Forbush earned the clinching points in the final seconds of the final match.
The 37-33 defeat kept Starmount out of the state playoff picture and, of course, gave the grapplers from East Bend a year's worth of county bragging rights.
On Friday, Starmount vented a year's worth of frustrations when the Falcons came to Boonville. The Rams won all but three bouts in the only regular season meeting between the schools -- including five by pin -- en route to a 53-12 triumph.
"We've been waiting 364 days for this one," Starmount coach Ryan Crater said afterward. "We had a bad taste in our mouth (from last year). Our boys were fired up. All they talked about all year long was Jan. 25th, Jan. 25th."
The Rams never trailed, taking an early 12-0 lead after a forfeit win from Bryan Gray at 152 pounds and a pin by Ryan Johnson at 160.
The Falcons got as close as 12-9 after Mike Lawson earned a forfeit at 171 and Christian Harris outlasted Matthew Walker 2-1 in overtime at 189.
But Starmount went on to take the next eight matches to win going away. Caleb Swaim (215 pounds), Logan Nixon (103), Austin Cook (112) and Shannon Humphries (130) also pinned their Forbush foes. Roger Hurd worked a major decision (15-1) at 135 over David Craig. Austin Sloan enjoyed a 10-2 major decision over Brett Baity in the final bout of the night at 145.
Heavyweight Wayne McCracken beat Josh Howard 8-2. Ben O'Donnell picked up an 8-5 win over Cody Tranter at 119. Nathan King edged Chris Daniels 5-4 at 125.
"Our guys did what I expected them to do, come in here and jump on them early," Crater said.
King trailed Daniels most of his match. He was down 2-0 after the first period, tied things up in the second but got behind 4-3 with a minute to go in the third. A takedown with 10 seconds left provided the winning points.
"It was a great, great match," Crater said. "He did an excellent job of sticking in there and not giving up."
Swaim, Johnson, Nixon and Cook pinned their foes in the first period, with Cook's stick coming with only three seconds left. Humphries got his pin with 25 seconds left in the second period.
The Rams built a 49-9 lead after Hurd's triumph. Austin Groce ended Starmount's win streak with an 11-2 win over Russell O'Donnell at 140. But Sloan put an exclamation point on the match with his eight-point victory in the finale.
This was only Starmount's second win over Forbush in a dual-match setting since Jamie Kota took over the Falcons' program in 1998. The Rams also beat Forbush in last year's Surry Central Duals, but that one didn't count in the conference standings.
"Last Friday was tough for me to swallow because we hadn't lost to them in conference on my watch.," Kota said. "Even though we lost, I thought we wrestled pretty well as seven of the 14 bouts were decided my some sort of decision and two other matches were forfeits.
"I won't take away anything from Starmount because coach Crater has done an excellent job of turning that program around. They were the better team Friday."
Walker nearly became only the second wrestler of the season to hand Forbush's Harris a defeat. The two normally grapple at 171 pounds but both were bumped up a weight class for Friday's match.
Walker tied Harris 1-1 late in the third period before Harris earned the winning point in OT. Crater said his grappler was close to getting two points in regulation with his move, but officials gave him only one point.
Harris is ranked No. 2 in the state at 171 pounds for Class 1A/2A by NCMat.com. Walker is ranked No. 6. Surry Central's Jed Martin, the only wrestler to beat Harris in conference, entered this week ranked No. 1. Walker will face Martin today (Thursday) when the Rams and Eagles tangle in Boonville.
"I moved Christian to 189 because he is trying to seek out the best competition to be ready for the regionals and the states," Kota said. "It wasn't his best performance but it is another win and a hard fought one at that. He has to be able to win those close, tight matches if he is going to succeed in his goal of being a state champion. "
Starmount improved to 3-1 in the Mountain Valley 2A standings, 26-9 overall heading into this week's action. Gray moved his record to 38-0 for the season.
Crater, who was a three-time state qualifier for Starmount during his wrestling days in the mid-1990s, has big dreams for his alma mater. Beating Forbush only scratches the surface.
"I'm trying to bring a new tradition to this high school," Crater said. "I'm putting a lot of time into the program. Hopefully in the next few years I want them to wrestle for a state team title or something significant like that."
A youth program organized by David Oliver, Starmount's first individual state champion in wrestling, has supplied the high school team with experienced wrestlers, Crater said. Starmount assistant coaches Rodney Bates and Dexter Crater have enjoyed wrestling success wearing Rams colors. Bates won a state title in 1997.
"I have one of the best coaching staffs in this region," Ryan Crater said. "They have been dedicated to this team.
"Those freshmen that you see out there, they are good because they've been wrestling since third and fourth grade. We've got a heck of a youth program, and we've got more coming."
Forbush, which has been used to much success under Kota, will have to hope for individual honors now that the post-season is almost here. The Falcons are out of the running for a dual-team state playoff berth.
Kota's team will have home-mat advantage for Saturday's conference tournament. The wrestling will begin at 9 a.m., capped off by the championship and consolation finals around 3 p.m.
Starmount 53, Forbush 12
Friday * at Boonville
Match began at 152 pounds
103 - Logan Nixon (Starmount) p. Kenny Chavers; 112 - Austin Cook (Starmount) p. Gray Watts; 119 - Ben O'Donnell (Starmount) def. Cody Tranter 8-5; 125 Nathan King (Starmount) def. Chris Daniels 5-4; 130 - Shannon Humphries (Starmount) p. Dillon Dunn
135 Roger Hurd (Starmount) def. David Craig 15-1; 140 - Austin Groce (Forbush) def. Russell O'Donnell; 145 - Austin Sloan (Starmount) def. Brett Baity 10-2; 152 - Bryan Gray (Starmount) won by forfeit
160 - Ryan Johnson (Starmount) p. Bentley; 171 - Mike Lawson (Forbush) won by forfeit; 189 - Christian Harris (Forbush) def. Matthew Walker 2-1 in OT; 215 - Caleb Swaim (Starmount) pin Jay Daly; 285 - Wayne McCracken (Starmount) def. Josh Howard 8-2.
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