COLUMBUS — Those watching the 190-pound state tournament wrestling match between Mount Vernon’s Luke Mullins and Massillon Washington’s Francesco Salvino might have expected to hear the theme Rocky over the public address system.

In the third period Salvino threw one too many punches and was disqualified moving Mullins on to the next round. In more traditional matches, the Yellow Jackets moved the other wrestlers, Maverick Gregory at 157 and Ash Brokaw, defending state champion at 110 pounds into Saturday’s next round.

All three remained in the winners bracket after the first day of action at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

“He just kept backing away, making it tough for me to score,”  Mullins said of his foe.

Salvinio caught Mullins in the ear with a hook and  as it turned out, the Tigers’ grappler was his own worst enemy. After a combination of punches and an unsportsmanlike  conduct ruling, the points piled up in favor of the eventual winner, Mullins.

“What was that?” Mount Vernon wrestling coach Corey Firebaugh asked rhetorically. “He (Salvino) was throwing punches.”

In the 157-pound bout, Gregory made his matchup a little more comfortable for the coach.

“I would have liked to see him get a couple more takedowns in the second period,” Firebaugh said. Going into the third period, Gregory had a 6-1 lead, but after an escape and a takedown the gap narrowed to 6-5.

But Gregory regained control for for an 8-5 victory.

“(Both Mount Vernon wrestlers) block out everything but their opponent and it is the coach’s job to help keep them focused,” Firebaugh said.

Wrestling like the champion she is, Brokaw, took little time in the second period to pin her adversary. The defending state champion said the goal is an uninterrupted trip back to the winner’s podium.

“Now that the first match is out the way, there is nothing standing between me and the championship,” Brokaw said

Lady Yellow Jackets’ coach Jay DePolo said he was pleased with her performance.

“We aren’t going to do anything fancy, we want to just go out and get it done,” DePolo said.