AUGUSTA – Sam Webber knew he had to get back up.

After the Mt. Blue senior staggered backwards and landed face up on the mat after an accidental headbutt, the defending state champion knew he had to get his coherency back in a hurry.

“At the beginning of the year, I got knocked out and couldn’t wrestle the match,” said Webber. “Here, I knew if I didn’t wake up, I was going to be done. I got back up.”

Webber quickly got to his feet. If he wasn’t motivated enough before his championship match in the 130-pound weight class, he was now. Webber became more aggressive and dominated Deering’s Ryan Toussaint to claim his second straight Class A state championship. Webber won the match by a 7-1 decision at Cony High School.

Webber now gets a chance to wrestle in the New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships in Lowell, Mass., on Feb. 29 and March 1. It’s an opportunity he’s coveted since last year’s disappointing finish.

“I wanted another chance down at New England since I got ripped off last time,” said Webber, who lost his semifinals match and his focus, then lost in the consolation round. “I was supposed to go to the finals. The refs down there, in Connecticut, I was in control and they gave a kid two for reversal. I should have gone to the finals.”

Saturday, Webber made sure there was no doubt. After getting up off the mat from the headbutt that came from a collision early in the match, he went after Toussaint and quickly took the lead with a takedown.

“I was mad. I was irratated,” said Webber. “I had to get it. When you’re wrestling, you have to have at least two points in the first – always.”

With a 2-0 lead, Webber knew he was in control. He got Toussaint down and worked his arms and shoulder. He came close to having him pinned in the second round. Toussaint managed to avoid that, but had the match paused in the final seconds when Webber’s hold on his arm tweaked his right shoulder.

“I knew what I had to do,” said Webber. “I had to control his arms. I was going to run arms and work his arms and I did that.”

Toussaint had the advantage to start the final round, but Webber increased the lead to 3-0 with an escape at 1:33 left. He followed that with a takedown midway through and had a commanding 5-0 lead. Toussaint’s only point came when Webber released him from his grasp. Webber added two more with a take down in the final seconds.

“Once there was 50 seconds left, I knew I had it,” said Webber. “The only points he got was the one I gave him.”

Massabesic claimed its second straight team title with 151.5 points. Noble was second with 147.5 while Sanford took third with 78. Morse and Deering rounded out the top five with 71 and 59.5 points respectively.

Deering’s Chris Smith and Marshwood’s Jon Hussey each claimed their fourth straight state titles. Smith won at 119 beaing Noble’s Ken Hagen. Hussey claimed the 160-pound prize by beating Tyler Russell.

Mt. Blue finished 15th overall with 23 points. The Cougars also had also had Sean Kelly and Gary Theriault attempting to advance. Kelly lost to Steve Desrochers of Noble in the 140-pound class. In the consolation round, he beat Joe Buzzell of Skowhegan 6-4 but lost in the semifinals to Bijan Nekoie of Deering, 2-1.

Theriault was pinned by Sanford’s Zach Clarke at 125. He advanced to the consolation semfinals with a victory over Aaron Taylor of Erskine. His hopes of reaching the final was dashed by Skowhegan’s Brian Parlin with a pin in the consolation semifinal.

Oxford Hills finished with seven points. All four Viking wrestlers failed to reach the consolation finals.

“All four guys wrestled very well today,” said Oxford Hills coach Tony Stevens. “The three captains, Ben Stoodley, Matt Stoodley and Caleb Flanders all wrestled well, all in tough weight classes.”

Flanders and Ben Stoodley both won their first matches but lost in the consolation rounds. Flanders, in the 160 class, beat Jason Barriault of Deering but was pinned in the semifinals by Hussey.

In the consolation quarterfinals, Flanders lost to Russell Gray of Sanford, 8-5.

Ben Stoodley won his first match at 145. He beat Zach Sheehan of Thornton Academy, 11-4. He lost in the semifinals, 23-7 to Noble’s Peter Bronder. In the consolation semifinal, Stoodley was decisioned by Ben Schutt of Morse, 7-5.

At 215, Matt Stoodley lost in the quarterfinals, 8-0, to Josh Lund of Bonny Eagle. He beat Skowhegan’s Bryant Lorette, 5-2, in the consolation quarterfinals. He lost in the semifinal match to Sanford’s Tony Labbe, 3-1.

Nick Paine lost both matches at 119. He was pinned by Hagen in the quarterfinals. In the first consolation match, he was pinned by Brewer’s Stephen Desjardins.

“I thought we’d have some places,” said Stevens. “It’s definitely a bit of a let down. It’s a little bit of a disappointment, but I’m still proud of them.”

With just a handful of seniors, the Vikings expect to return in force next year.

“We had five seniors on the team this year,” said Stevens. “The rest will be back next year.”