• BLAINE KELLAR bkellar@mainstreetmediatn.com
• 13 hrs ago

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Springfield High School’s wrestling team celebrates with the Robertson County Cup.

• BLAINE KELLAR

Springfield High School poses with the Robertson County Cup.

• BLAINE KELLAR

The Bruise Brothers are back.

At least that’s what Springfield wrestling coach Christopher Holzer hopes.

The Yellow Jackets – also known as The Bruise Brothers on the wrestling mats – picked up three wins against county foes on Friday, Dec. 17. It helped them win the second annual Robertson County Cup at White House Heritage.

“Our goal up to this point so far is to show the county that Springfield is back,” Holzer said. “That’s what we did tonight. We showed the county that Springfield’s back, and we plan on continuing to show the county that we’re here.”

The Jackets won all three of Friday’s matches against East Robertson, Greenbrier and Heritage by an average of 43 points. In the championship match, Springfield had eight pins in a 54-24 win against the Patriots.“The score showed,” said sophomore Joseph Gregory. “I think that’s just how we work in practice. We are a very physical group, (and) we’re very competitive. We’re willing to work hard to get what we want, and that’s what we want.”

Their skull and crossbone singlets serve as reminders of what the Bruise Brothers once were.

It’s far more than a simple slogan or team logo; it’s a way of competing that’s lasted in the city for almost 50 years.

It originated with coach Randy Thomas in 1976. Thomas worked as the head football and wrestling coach at the time and led the Jackets to their only state football championship in 1993. He was also inducted into the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in October.

Thomas embraced a physical style of play in both sports. For wrestling, that meant emphasizing pins and takedowns over three-point wins. His teams’ toughness on the mats helped them finish as the state runner-up for three consecutive seasons (1992-1994).“It’s something that they’re embodying,” Holzer said. “We’re telling them they have to wear that with pride. They have to wrestle with pride.

“They have to wrestle like a Bruise Brother to be able to wear that.”

The program had recently fallen on hard times, but Holzer is helping the Jackets turn things around. They went winless as a team in 2020 but have won 11 of their first 16 matches this winter.

Gregory, one of 13 sophomores on roster, is helping with their growth on and off the mats. He handled all three of Friday’s individual matches with ease and leads the team with a 15-4 record in the 220-pound weight class.

“It’s just desire and motivation to be where you want to be,” Gregory said. “It’s not an easy sport at all; you have to come to practice, you have to work hard, you have to do what you want to do and that’s how it is.”Cooper Richards was the last Springfield wrestler to reach the state tournament as an individual, but the Jackets haven’t made a team appearance since 2005.

Holzer thinks a trip to the Williamson County Expo Center in February could bring back the Bruise Brothers for good.

“We’ve been telling our guys all year long, our goal is to get the team back to the state tournament,” he said. “We want to get back to what Coach Thomas did in the past.

“It’s an individual sport but also a huge team thing. With us being the Bruise Brothers, we want to get the Bruise Brothers back to state.”

RESULTS:

White House Heritage 54, East Robertson 24

Springfield 48, Greenbrier 10

Springfield 66, East Robertson 6

White House Heritage 48, Greenbrier 27

Greenbrier 45, East Robertson 24

Springfield 54, White House Heritage 24