Saturday, January 24, 2009
By MICHAEL BLOUSE
The Express-Times
Most
of the 1,300 wrestling fans that are expected to pack "The Pit" at
Phillipsburg High School tonight will be wearing Garnet and Grey in support of
their Stateliners.
They will also expect to see
something they have not witnessed this century: a satisfying victory over the
rival Easton Red Rovers.
Easton Area High School has
won 10 straight matches against Phillipsburg and owns a 58-13 advantage overall
in the series that started in 1947.
The Red Rovers defeated the
Stateliners 32-24 last year at Easton Middle School.
"The Easton match is
always one of our top priorities and never more so than this year,"
Phillipsburg senior Nick Pare said. "Yes, we talk about the streak all the
time but not just this year. We've talked about it the entire time I've been
wrestling in high school. We think if we win (tonight), it'll be worth the
wait."
Coach Jason Magditch's
Phillipsburg team is 13-0 this season and ranked No. 2 in The Express-Times
region. Easton, coached by Steve Powell, is 10-4 and ranked No. 3.
The only common opponent for
Easton and Phillipsburg is Long Branch (N.J.). The Rovers lost to Long Branch
35-24 last Saturday while the 'Liners defeated the Green Wave 28-21 a week ago.
Another comparison could be
made based on the results at last month's Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions.
Phillipsburg won the 81-team tourney while Easton placed eighth.
The Stateliners prevailed in
the three head-to-head bouts against the Red Rovers in Reno. Oliver Brukardt
beat Mark Hartenstine 2-1 at 140 pounds; Nick Pare prevailed 11-5 over Anthony
Minotti at 145; and Eric Bohem decisioned Jeff Griffith 3-1 at 171.
"I think we've got to
feel like the underdog," said Powell, whose counterpart at Phillipsburg is
a former Red Rover assistant coach. "It's in The Pit, it'll be a Jersey
ref and we'll have 200 fans to their 1,000-and-some. But our kids still need to
believe in themselves. We'll wait and see how we make out."
There will be a number of
interesting matchups tonight, but barring a possible Brukardt-Hartenstine
rematch, the 215-pound battle between seniors Matt Santini of P'burg and Chris
Wilson of Easton could be the evening's featured bout.
"Some really, really
outstanding and close matchups," Powell said. "From 103 to 112, right
on through. Certainly they'll be favored in some bouts and we'll be in a
couple, but there are a lot of toss-ups. There could be a great
Hartenstine-Brukardt rematch, but I doubt Jason will gamble with that
one."
Tonight's match will include
many accomplished wrestlers. None has enjoyed more success in this series than
P'burg's Pare.
Pare won a 3-0 decision his
freshman year, then scored a 12-3 major decision over Eric Burgey as a
sophomore and pinned Burgey in 1:37 last year.
"It's always good to
beat a guy from Easton," Pare said, "but it'd mean even more to me if
we can beat them as a team."
Yet another subplot is the
matchup of teacher vs. pupil.
Powell stopped short of
saying he pulls for his protégé Magditch and the Stateliners, but he did praise
his former assistant's work at Phillipsburg.
"I could get into
trouble for saying what I really think because it's unnatural to root for
Phillipsburg at anything but (our coaching staff) gets along well with
Jason," said Powell, in his 25th season as Easton's head coach.
"He's done a really
great job. He wrestled for (former Nazareth coach Ray) Nunamaker, and I'm sure
he learned a lot there. He coached at Easton and I'm sure he picked up a few
things here, too. I'm not surprised he's done as well as he has."
With Phillipsburg rolling
toward a possible New Jersey state title and with its rival in town, expect a
chaotic scene at "The Pit."
"We expect it will be
loud, real intense and high energy," Pare said. "We seem to perform
better the more (people) watching and the higher the stakes. It should be
fun."
Michael Blouse can be
reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com.