Caudill's legacy lives on through Homer grapplers
by Pete Cunningham
*As printed January 23, 2008 in The Homer Index 

In some circles it’s known as the pancake. Down south they call it the cement job and north of the border it’s just a chin toss. In Homer it’s called something different. Something unique. Somet hing special. The J.C.

All these names refer to the same thing. It’s a wrestling move in which the aggressor attempts to toss an opponent on his back by snapping the opponent’s head down, grabbing the chin with one arm and throwing him with the other. By no means is it a complex move, but to hear fans scream for it at a match in Homer carries a little more weight. A heavyweight to be exact.

J.C. is short for Jason Caudill, a former all-state Trojan wrestler who died in a car accident November 12, 1993, prior to his senior season. More than 14 years have passed since his tragic death, yet Jason, and his memory live on.

He lived on with every shout of “J.C” that echoed through the bleachers at the Caudill Invitational Saturday. The brother, son, father and teammate who was taken too soon, lived on, but the sting of his loss still remained.

“It was one of his best moves,” said Lori Caudill, Jason’s sister, a munchkin hidden in Jason’s medal-covered varsity jacket. “To know he made an impact on the program he loved so much … to know he’s remembered … it’s just awesome.”

At 6’4” 240 pounds with no body fat to speak of, football coaches drooled over the sight of Jason. The feeling wasn’t mutual.

“I used to tell them ‘What is it you don’t understand? He doesn’t care about that stuff,’ ” recalled Carol Caudill, Jason’s mother. “He just wanted to wrestle. He lived it, he breathed it. He didn’t want to do nothing else.”

As much as Jason loved the sport, it’s clear from the former teammates, coaches and friends in the stands, that it was far from a one-sided affair. Through their memories, he lives on.

“We wouldn’t just wrestle at practice, we’d wrestle outside in the yard,” remembered former teammate Chris Purucker, just 130 pounds at the time of their backyard brawls. “He’s probably the reason I was ever any good.”

All of Jason’s teammates have long since graduated but he’s still part of the fabric of the current team. Billy Tackett - Homer’s second winningest wrestler this season in just his first year on the team - is a distant cousin of Jason’s.

At 103 pounds, not much about Billy would remind someone of the former heavyweight. He’s small, Jason was big. He’s inexperienced, Jason was polished. He’s quick, Jason was overpowering. There is, however, one little thing about the lightweight’s game identical to that of Caudill.

What is it you ask? What do fans, teammates and coaches alike yell whenever he takes the mat? What is it that Billy uses most often on the way to victory, including three last week? What could a 103 pound wrestler have in common with a 6’4” giant? The move. The one that Jason loved, and that Billy’s coaches, teammates and fans scream when he hits the mat. What else? The J.C.