One move cost Joe Fallis his season last year.

In his first match at the state Class 2B/B Mat Classic in Tacoma, Fallis was matched up against the bottom seed in his 130-pound weight class, freshman Chris Pence from Reardan. Fallis manhandled his opponent, racking up a 9-2 advantage until he did something he shouldn’t have.

He went for the pin.

Pence absorbed Fallis’ pinfall attempt and put his weight onto the Concrete junior. The result was a pinfall — but not by Fallis.

“These kids always used to be told, ‘you have to pin to win,’” Lions wrestling coach David Dellinger said. “Joe underestimated his opponent and got stuck.”

After placing third in his weight class at the tournament, Fallis said he’s looking for a different result this season. The now-senior is doing everything he can to avoid that mistake again, and is following in the footsteps of his older brother, Nick, on the mat. He’s also setting an example for his young Lions’ teammates in the process, Dellinger said.

“He’s grown into a great leader,” the coach said. “Last year, he was the younger brother. This year, he’s really come on.”

Fallis’ tough luck started his sophomore year when he partially dislocated his elbow and pulled a number of muscles in his arm during regionals. The injuries kept him out of the state tournament, where he was a favorite to claim the 125-pound weight class.

“I’d done the move a thousand times before,” Fallis said.

Last year, Fallis was back on the mat and helped lead the Lions to a team victory at regionals and was one of four Concrete wrestlers to earn individual titles. Monte Benjamin (103), Jesse Dellinger (171) and Nick Fallis (140), all earned first-place finishes in their weight classes.

The four grapplers continued their success at state, with Benjamin and Dellinger winning state titles. Nick Fallis placed second in his weight class, while Joe won three straight matches after his first-round defeat.

Joe Fallis said he learned a lot about himself after seeing opponents he had beaten before place higher than him at state.

“Last year I was more of a brawler,” Joe Fallis said. “This year I’ve been working to wrestle smarter.”

Dellinger has tried to reinforce the lessons learned at the state tournament.

“We told him that he doesn’t have to pin everybody,” the coach said. “I tell him to get a lead and just protect it.”

So far Fallis has done just that. He’s not only avoided his tendency to go for the head (called “head hunting” in wrestling), he’s been wrestling more defensively and winning by decision.

His technique has only backfired once so far this year during the Nohi Tournament in Oroville, where Fallis lost to a Republic wrestler who was ranked No. 1 in the state, Dellinger said.

Fallis not only shook his hand after the match, but went over and shook his competitor’s hand again after the wrestlers went their separate ways.

“Their coach told me that my 130-pound wrestler sure is a gentleman,” Dellinger said.

Fallis’ strength also lies in his hard work.

Before the season, Dellinger said he was driving home from work and saw Fallis running down the street with a backpack full of weights.

“If you want to have results, you have to put in the hours,” Fallis said.

This comes from an athlete that only started getting into wrestling before his freshman year. He said he’d participated in youth wrestling before his high school career, but didn’t really get into it until he came and watched Nick practice.

“We used to wrestle in the backyard occasionally,” Joe Fallis recalled. “He always used to beat me because he had better technique.”

That exuberance spilled onto the high school mats, Dellinger said, where Nick and Joe would be the hardest working wrestlers during practice. Both brothers hated to lose.

“I would have to tell the Fallis (brothers) to tone it down,” he said.

That work ethic will have to continue if Joe Fallis hopes to reach his goal of becoming state champion.

The Lions wind down their regular season tomorrow versus La Conner. The match begins at 6 p.m., and is the team’s last match before the sub-district tournament Feb. 2.

As long as Fallis continues to work hard, Dellinger said the senior will be successful.

“If all my kids were like him, we’d sure be in great shape,” he said.