Jamario, Jaquan, Jailen, and Teague are teammates on the J.O. Johnson High School wrestling team in Huntsville, Alabama. Led by their passionate coach, they are trying to qualify for the State Championships but the pressures outside of the ring – emotional breakdowns, racial profiling by the police, teenage pregnancy – are mounting for each of the young men.
Direction
Herbert's patient observation lets life unfold unscripted.
Editing
Tournament structure builds genuine suspense.
Director
Suzannah Herbert
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
J.O. Johnson High was renamed in 2016; the film captures its final years as a symbol of segregated Southern education.
Herbert spent three years embedded with the team; the boys' graduation outcomes are revealed only in closing text.
US
