Wrestling: Newton at Phillipsburg preview

What: Newton Braves at Phillipsburg Stateliners.

Where: Phillipsburg High School, Lopatcong Twp.

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Live feed: Stateliner Sports Network

Conference: Independent.

Records: Newton 2-0; Phillipsburg 1-0.

Rankings: Newton No. 7; Phillipsburg No. 1 (Open Mike).

Coaches: Eric Bollette (210-174-1, 17th season); Dave Post (113-18, eighth season).

Series history: Newton leads 8-6-1 dating to 1947 -- including a 37-21 victory in the last meeting on Dec. 30, 2009 -- and is among just a few NJSIAA schools with a series advantage over Phillipsburg, which won the last single dual in the series -- 67-3 in 2004 at Newton. The Stateliners' other most recent victories came as part of a tri-meet that included Roxbury -- 38-23 in 2007 and 41-18 in '08. Teams wrestled nine times from 1947-56 (Braves went 7-1-1 in that span) before the series briefly resumed in 1986 and '87.

Probable lineups: Newton wrestlers listed first with season records in parentheses.

106 -- Fr. Nathan Fitt (1-4) vs. Fr. Logan Maczko (4-2).

113 -- Fr. Danny Cleary (2-2) vs. Sr. Cullen Day (5-1).

120 -- Fr. JoJo Lotruglio (3-1) vs. Jr. Travis Jones (4-3).

126 -- Jr. Matthew Rosa (4-1) vs. Fr. Tyler Marason (4-2).

132 -- Jr. Michael Freda (3-2) vs. Jr. Brenden Fox (0-2) or Jr. Luke Hardin (0-1).

138 -- Sr. Tim Houlihan (1-3) vs. Jr. Kyle Tino (1-0).

145 -- So. Trevor Aughenbaugh (0-1) vs. Jr. Cody Harrison (5-1).

152 -- Jr. Wyatt McCarthy (5-0) vs. Jr. Jayson Zinsmeister (4-2).

160 -- Sr. Jonathon Borgognoni (5-0) vs. Sr. Brian Meyer (5-1) or Sr. Josh Ramos (4-2).

170 -- Jr. Nick Brigante (3-2) vs. Sr. Lance Wissing (8-1).

182 -- Sr. Joseph DeLuca (4-1) vs. Sr. Shamyr Brodders (3-2).

195 -- Jr. Ryan Kaiser (0-1) vs. Jr. Austin Roth (0-1).

220 -- Jr. Luke Fischer (5-0) vs. So. Cody Cruts (2-2).

285 -- Jr. Jimmy Harding (3-1) vs. Sr. Patrick Sharpe (6-2).

Breakdown: Great to see this renewal between two of the state's oldest and most storied programs. Newton leads New Jersey with 82 individual state champions, the last being current assistant coach Andy Iliff (1986-87), and was founded under legendary coach Henry Boresch. Assistant coach Ted Sibblies is the school's last state finalist (130 pounds in 1989). Phillipsburg, which opened its dual season against Delaware Valley in a return to The Pit on Friday night, is seeking its 22nd state team championship and fifth in a row in Group 4. The 'Liners have a little too much firepower for the young Braves, whose future is bright with some talented wrestlers, including state medal contender McCarthy and a promising rookie in Lotruglio, whose father, Joe, was a district champion for Lenape Valley in 1992. However, there should be several highly contested weight classes in this one. Straight up, Newton gets the nod at 126, 132, 152, 182 and 220. P'burg is favored at 106, 113, 120, 138, 145, 160 (with Meyer), 170, 195 and 285. A McCarthy-Meyer matchup would have been the highlight of the evening, but Post is giving Meyer, a state third-place finisher last season with 96 career wins, a break from weigh-ins at 152 this weekend. That's a bummer and we'll likely have to wait until the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament (Jan. 13) to see that one as they are clearly the odds-on finals favorites at 152. Borgognoni is a solid 160, however, while Newton's upper weights will eventually be even stronger with the return of Devin Mager (195), who is out with a shoulder injury sustained playing football during the school's run to its first sectional championship. Braves could bump up Borgognoni in order to go for a sweep from 170 through 220. That would potentially certainly make this a lot closer (possibly an 11-point margin on the final score). P'burg could also counter by running Ramos to 170, Wissing to 182 and Brodders to 195 -- as it did in a 64--6 win against Del Val on Friday at The Pit -- to try to win two of the three.

Prediction: Phillipsburg, 43-21.