Saturday,
February 07, 2009
By NICK FIERRO
The Express-Times
Expect
nothing less than season-high levels of emotion and intensity today at The Pit,
where the host Phillipsburg High School Stateliners will have one last chance
to create some momentum for themselves heading into next week's sectional
wrestling tournament.
Group 1
powerhouse Paulsboro (18-1) will be across the mat, looking to deal them their
third loss in four matches.
The latest setback
for Phillipsburg (16-2) came against David Brearley, 45-22, on Thursday night,
leaving coach Jason Magditch biting his tongue when asked to break down how
that could happen.
"I
could go on and on about things that would have happened or could have
happened," Magditch said. "We just didn't show up. That's the thing
about high school wrestling. You're only as good as your next match and we just
didn't do the job."
It is worth
noting, however, that John Horak, the region's No. 3 ranked wrestler at 130
pounds, was out sick and that Oliver Brukardt was pinned in overtime at 140.
"The
kid just stepped over him and kind of caught him," Magditch said. "At
that point in the match, we had to be going for pins there and it was a case of
(Brukardt) looking out for the team instead of himself."
According
to Magditch, Thursday's loss, which came five days after a 30-22 defeat at the
hands of High Point, wasn't even discussed in Friday's practice.
"It's
over and done with," he said. "We didn't perform well and we'll just
keep plugging away. Every once in a while, you have a temporary setback. That's
what we have now and we'll go forward. If that had been our last match, it
would be gut-wrenching, but it wasn't.
Paulsboro
boasts a power-packed lineup that includes undefeated Joseph Duca (27-0) at 119
pounds.
It's
possible the Red Raiders might bump Duca up to go after Horak (21-6) at 125.
Another possible intriguing matchup could be Phillipsburg's Matt Santini (22-5,
No. 3 at 215) meeting Zachary Greenwald (24-2).
To be sure,
each team will give itself plenty of moves at weigh-ins.
After that,
Magditch likes his team's chances.
"We
had a really good workout today and the morale is good," he said on
Friday. "It was very refreshing.
"Everybody
is judging wins and losses, but the measure of a true team is how you bounce
back and how you finish. I think only way to measure us team-wise is by what
happens at the (New Jersey state) group finals next Sunday (Feb. 15) at Toms
River. We're still focused on getting to the state finals and we're working to
win a state title."
The coach
also is encouraged by his team's improving health after sickness made its way
through the wrestling room.
"We
had a bad run there for a while with some flu," Magditch said. "It
looks like it's over now and we're ready to get back on track and take care of
what we can."
Nick Fierro
can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at nfierro@express-times.com