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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 13, 2003
Pinned down and unable to breathe, Countryside wrestler Garry Dodds did the only thing he could to get some air.
He sunk his teeth into his opponent.
The incident, which happened three weeks ago in a tournament at Land O'Lakes, forced Dodds to sit out and put the rest of his senior season in jeopardy.
But the Florida High School Activities Association decided not to bite back too hard with its penalty.
After two appeals, Dodds had his initial six-week suspension reduced to three and the school was fined $250. Dodds, who was a state qualifier as a junior and is 17-1 this season, has served his suspension and is eligible to participate in the Class 2A, District 9 tournament Saturday at East Lake.
"I'm just glad it's over and the FHSAA understood the circumstances surrounding this and sided with us," Countryside coach Dave Frayer said.