CIF STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Far away from home, Newport Harbor High’s Josh George was scared to wrestle last weekend.

This is the same George who had defied odds.

The one who days earlier spoke to two dozen adults during a local YMCA fundraiser of his story, his journey back to the wrestling mat three years ago.

The YMCA helped in his recovery from a deadly bone infection in his right femur. George credited those laps in the pool for allowing him to turn into a 140-pound champion this season as a senior.

He talked about how he was finally going to break through and qualify for the CIF State wrestling championships, which start today and end Saturday in Bakersfield.

George even performed a back flip at the end.

But back then the kid couldn’t walk. George demanded doctors to cut off his right leg after they had no answer why he couldn’t lift himself up. The pain was so severe that George, 15 at the time, said, “I’m going to wrestle at 103 pounds. I don’t need my leg.”

George kept his leg. A long road back. Surgery called for drilling two inches into the femur to hollow out the bone. For 24 hours a day for the next six weeks, a two-foot long peripherally inserted central catheter pumped antibiotics into George through a vein in his arm, going up his shoulder and toward the heart.

“I had to carry around a little machine,” said George, dropping 20 pounds, leaving him at 111, close enough to wrestle at 103.

But remember, George feared that mat last weekend.

This was the stage, the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Carter High in Rialto, where the former gymnast would finally propel himself to the state championships.

George wanted no part.

He had just lost to junior Cody Bollinger of Sultana, 14-6, in the quarterfinals, George’s first loss Saturday after going 2-0 on Friday. Newport Harbor Coach Dominic Bulone couldn’t believe it. He had never seen this before from George, not the wrestler starting the season 28-0.

“It really affected him, and that was the first time I’ve seen a loss affect him so much,” Bulone said. “He gave him a good, tough match until the third period. We couldn’t convince him that, ‘Hey, you got to let it go. That’s why he’s [ranked in the top two in the state]. Let’s get the next one back.’ ”

Forget about another one. George continued hammering himself about the previous one. All he needed to do was beat Bollinger to advance to the semifinals, easily securing one of the ninth berths to Bakersfield.

But George wanted to go home to Newport Beach, not fight his way through the consolation rounds.

“He’s like, ‘I’m scared to wrestle. I might lose a match,’ ” Bulone said. “I was like, ‘You already lost a match, just get out there and win one more. A win puts you in the top eight, a loss, and then you have to go into a pool of four battling for ninth.’ ”

George lost again.

This time to San Clemente senior Paul Bihari, 3-1. And this time George’s mother, Carla, in attendance believed George was done. In the past, the tournament was a double-elimination one. But with this year the section receiving nine entries instead of the usual eight to state that wasn’t the case.

Bulone calmed Carla down. George still had an opportunity to be his second wrestler during his nine years at Newport Harbor to reach the state championships.

Now he had to encourage George. The hotel room was already booked. Bulone saw the wheels of his trip to Bakersfield for the second straight year falling off.

“After his second loss, I’m like, ‘Man!’ I was trying to think of the right words to tell him,” said Bulone, who uttered the truth.

Bulone had been there before at Masters, losing his last chance while wrestling at Irvine High in his senior year in 1991. One match away from placing and getting to state. It never happened.

So Bulone told George to go after it because he’d regret it later.

“You’ve lost to quality opponents and get your head straight.

“The first day you wrestled lights out and now you’re freaking out.

“OK, who wants it?”

George was on his feet, probably not the best position he competes from, but who cared.

Bulone was just glad the match was tight. One minute left against Ventura senior Trevor Mick and all even at 5-5. Mick shot at George and George fought it off before springing behind him for a takedown.

Just like that it was over, George scoring eight straight points to win.

“That one takedown broke him,” Bulone said. “The Ventura kid just gave up.”

George found that killer instinct. And if he ever needed some extra motivation to punch his ticket to state, he got it.

His next opponent in the ninth-place match, Daniel Diaz of John Glenn. The same senior who stopped George from getting a chance to win an individual section title for the first time at the Coastal Divisional at Marina High the week before was in the way.

There was no better scenario. George was hungry again. He remembered Diaz beating him, 5-4, in the semifinals.

“We get to avenge a loss,” Bulone told George. “Really, the pressure is on the other kid to win again.”

George jumped ahead, 5-0, after two periods. In the last period George played it safe before taking an 8-4 victory and earning his first trip to state.

“I couldn’t see it end,” George said. “I’ve been working hard the whole year to make it to state.”

Afterward Bulone hugged George, reminding him of one more challenge: the state championships.

The road at times has looked easy for George, winning the John Glenn Tournament in Norwalk, the Andrew Pena Tournament in Irvine, and the Estancia New Year’s Classic in Costa Mesa.

But along the way during an impressive 44-6 season with 18 pins, the best record a wrestler has delivered under Bulone, there have been tough losses. It’s during those times when George looks back at his trying times three years ago.

Getting around in crutches and having to crawl into the pool to exercise.

Or the days when he couldn’t move on the couch, just him and the TV.

“I watched ‘The Incredibles’ a lot,” he said, never feeling incredible.

Now George does.

It was around this time three years ago, when George really couldn’t do much. Now that he has the chance to on the biggest stage at state before he graduates, he plans to return to Newport Beach as a state placer like Rigo Pinon and Jason Deere did in the 1990s at Newport Harbor.

“I was scared. But I wasn’t going to let this bone infection stop me,” George said. “It was quite awesome to share [my story] and give thanks for the YMCA being there at the right time and being there when I needed them, and having a affordable place [to go].

“This guy ended up donating $20,000 [to the YMCA]. I did a back flip, too. I’ll do like 1,000 at Bakersfield if I can.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.