When Albert Lea’s wrestling team fell behind 17-7 on Thursday night at Owatonna, I would have bet my next paycheck it was over.

But I forgot about the team’s mantra.

Never give up.

Never give up.

Never give up.

The Tigers didn’t and proceeded to stage one of the greatest comebacks I’ve seen in high school sports.

To be sure, I’m no wrestling scholar and know a 10-point deficit can be erased in two matches. But it wasn’t the size of Owatonna’s lead that discouraged me but the strength of its matchups. The Huskies were clear favorites in two of the next three matches and a small swing away from putting the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin.

Then Larry Goodnature whispered:

Never give up.

Never give up.

Never give up.

Brody Sunblad, who I didn’t even know wrestled, beat seventh-ranked Bowen Schultz, and Triston Westerlund, a ninth-grader, followed with an upset of Jordan Zeman two matches later.

Still, trailing 20-13 with only one sure-win looming, the Tigers had a sizable mountain to scale. The team’s seniors carried them to the top in a hurry.

Albert Lea’s Trey Hable pinned Kylie Kath in 40 seconds at 170 pounds, and Dustin Samudio wrestled in a back-and-forth match with Chad Wilker before pinning him in the first period.

Three straight wins gave the Tigers its first lead — 25-20 — and set up a showdown between each team’s best wrestler: Owatonna’s Coyte Kuefner and Albert Lea’s Dalton Westerlund, a matchup that would eventually decide the dual. Kuefner had more strength but Westerlund more heart and a pin of the the Huskies’ most aggressive wrestler gave the Tigers an 11-point lead, just enough to hold on for a 31-30 win.

Albert Lea’s unlikely comeback shocked me but it shouldn’t have surprised everyone. After the match Goodnature was calm, collected, as if it the thrilling finish was all part of the plan. After all, he’s spent 23 years preaching the program’s three most important words: Never give up.