Winning each of the three previous bouts just to put them in this position, Ortonville-Brandon sent 119-pounder Jack Olson to the mat against Hunter Heckler, down 34-33, with the Division 2 district championship at stake.

After narrowly avoiding being pinned in the first period, Olson needed just 40 seconds of the second period to pin Heckler to give his team a 39-33 victory, clinching the district title at Armada Wednesday night.

“I got out of that somehow,” Olson said of his near defeat. “Once I got the two (on the reversal) and got on top, I knew I could turn him.

“I can’t say it was just me — it was everybody.”

Brandon advances to a regional semifinal at Goodrich, where it will face Marysville.

Olson may have been the one who secured the title, but he is correct. The Blackhawks trailed the Tigers 34-15 after Armada’s Nathan Nowik pinned Joey Lovasz at 215 pounds. With four bouts remaining, Brandon needed to win out — and get at least three by way of pinfall or void.

After picking up void victories at 285 and 103, cutting the deficit to 34-27, Corbin Hallberg picked up a first-period pin (1:20) over Justin Madill to set the stage for Olson and Heckler’s championship-deciding matchup.

“Once we got to 215 — I wasn’t expecting to lose there — I started doing the math,” Brandon head coach Erik Donders said. “All we had to do was pin out…I wasn’t expecting Olson to get put on his back at 119, but it happened.

“It takes a real fighter to get off his back and come back.”

Curtis Venturino (125) got the match started with a second-period pin (3:59) over James Laperriere to give the Blackhawks an early 6-0 lead. The Tigers answered with a pin of their own at 130 pounds; Connor Collins stuck Jacob McClain in 12 seconds to tie the score at six.

Amarae Kittles earned a decision over Robert Nowik at 135 pounds to briefly give the Blackhawks a 9-6 lead before Jon pinned Xavier Ortiz pinned (5:07) Jonathan Johnson in the 140-poud match to put the Tigers back out front 12-9.

Brennen Steinbauer won a decision over Brady Hendershott (145) and Dominic Iafrate pinned Hunter Harrington at 152 pounds (3:44) to extend the Armada lead to 21-9.

Mike Nicaj earned a pinfall victory over Marcello Annoni (2:55) at 160 pounds to pull the Blackhawks within six points at 21-15.

Zack D’Angelo earned a majority decision over Blake Whaley (10-2) at 171 pounds, setting off a string of three straight Armada match victories. Though, Donders said he felt Whaley fending off a pin was the turning point in the meet.

“That’s the first match he’s gone the full distance in his life,” he said. “For him to stay off his back pumped up his team a lot. He had to go out there and stay off his back and fight. That showed his composure.”

Trent Grabowski earned an 8-3 decision over Anthony Nicaj (189) before Nowik stuck Lovasz to extend the lead to 34-15, setting the stage for the Brandon comeback.

“We gave them too many bonus points and we didn’t get enough,” Armada head coach Dan Coenen said. “We obviously fought hard. Armada’s never had a district title as a team, and to be within one match of it, I’m not disappointed in anybody.

“They just have to make sure they keep their heads up, and to keep that same fire in them when Saturday comes around.”