Jacob Null was surprised.

It was halfway through his 220-pound championship match with Platte County’s Casey Jumps, and Null was called for stalling the match.

Jumps earned his second point to give him a 2-1 lead, and neither wrestler would score in the final three minutes.

“I just made the mistake of not returning as quick as I should have, and it cost me the match,” Null said. “It’s tough to take because nobody is looking to stall there. The match is tied and heading to overtime if anything.”

Null and Jumps were familiar with each other heading into Saturday night’s showdown.

Jumps beat Null, 5-2, in the Blue Spring South championship last month.

Null, however, took a 1-0 lead in the second period Saturday.

“I was feeling good,” Null said. “It was the first time I was able to get a lead on Casey.”

Two minutes later, the match had turned.

Null found himself down a point heading into the final period.

“He wrestled the game plan  plan that we wanted him to wrestle perfectly,” Warrenton Head Coach Kevin Fowler said. “The stall calls were the only thing that hurt us. If he doesn’t give up the stall calls, then that was the perfect match for us. I’m not surprised that he hit us twice for stalling, but I’m surprised when he did it. I thought they could have hit him with a stall late when he was back-pedaling away from us.”

Fowler didn’t agree with the second-period calls, but said the ref’s decision didn’t determine the match.

“You’ve got to take the official out of it. You have to go into every match like you’re down 2-0 and can’t let an official decide a match,” he said. “It’s hard to lose a state title on a stall call. And after all that, we still had time to get a take down, and we needed to get one.”

Null thought he had a good chance to tie the match in the third.

“At that point, you’re just trying to push the pace,” he said. “I knew he was more tired than I was, but I just couldn’t get him.” 

Null finished his season 41-3.

“He wrestled a tough kid, and every state title match is going to be a tough match,” Fowler said. “I’m not disappointed, but I’m disappointed for him that he didn’t win.  In the end, we’ve got to score a take down. We had plenty of time to score a take down, and you’re going to have to do that to win a finals match.”

Null, who was visibly upset after the match, was still able to reflect on his season.

“It’s nice to get second. First is always better, but I’ve come a long way from where I started,” he said. “From going two-and-out last year to taking second is a huge stride.”

His coach agreed.

“People knew he was good, but people wouldn’t have just thrown him into the state finals,” Fowler said. “And then here he is, a point away from being a state champ. He definitely deserved to be there.”