Phillipsburg, which is ranked No. 8, scored an impressive 33-26 victory on the road against No. 7 Hanover Park on Wednesday. But the Stateliners couldn't keep that momentum going -- dropping a tough 28-26 decision to Easton (Pa.) in the 81st meeting of their border rivalry on Saturday night at the Easton Area Middle School Gymnasium.
P'burg (6-2) secured more bonus points, but it managed to win just six of 14 bouts against the Red Rovers (7-1), who improved to 64-17 overall in a series dating to 1947. It's also the closest margin of victory since Easton's 32-29 win in 1990.
Phillipsburg, which had won three of the previous four meetings, had a good chance to make it four of five, grabbing a 23-22 lead with three bouts remaining after senior Lance Wissing's 9-3 win over Dominic Falcone at 170. Wissing (21-3) nearly decked Falcone late in the third period, but Falcone bridged to avoid the fall in the closing seconds.
Junior Austin Roth followed with a key 3-0 win at 182, giving the 'Liners a 26-22 advantage. Needing to win one of the last two bouts, P'burg appeared to be on its way when senior Shamyr Brodders led 4-3 after two periods against Tyler Pellechia at 195. But Brodders gave up a decisive takedown with 37 seconds left in the third in a 5-4 loss.
Jacob Frank sealed Easton's comeback with a 3-1 win over sophomore Cody Cruts in the final bout at 220.
Evan Gleason (113), Brett Scalzo (126) and Blake Daniel (138) won crucial decisions earlier for Easton. Gleason, a tough freshman, used a reversal and a three-point nearfall in the second period to upend P'burg senior Cullen Day, a state qualifier last season. Gleason took home the Brad Weaver Memorial Award as the meet's outstanding wrestler. Another good-looking freshman, Isaiah Reinert, rolled to a 10-0 major of P'burg junior Jayson Zinsmeister to earn the Easton Lions Club Award as the most aggressive wrestler.
Logan Maczko (106), Travis Jones (120), Cody Harrison (145) and Brian Meyer (160) also picked up wins for P'burg. Harrison's 12-3 major of Mason Werkheiser started the comeback as the 'Liners won four of five from 145 through 182 to erase Easton's six-point lead through seven bouts.
EASTON (Pa.) 28, PHILLIPSBURG 26
285 -- Sr. Jonathan Pineda (20-3), E, md. Sr. Patrick Sharpe (13-9), 20-7.
106 -- Fr. Logan Maczko (11-9), P, p. Fr. Alex Cameron (5-7), 2:49.
113 -- Fr. Evan Gleason (18-6), E, d. Sr. Cullen Day (15-7), 7-4.
120 -- Jr. Travis Jones (20-4), P, p. So. Colby Duffy (4-6), 1:47.
126 -- So. Brett Scalzo (8-6), E, d. Jr. Brenden Fox (1-7), 6-5.
132 -- So. Jonathon Miers (20-2), E, tf. Jr. Thomas Abode (2-5), 16-0, 3:50.
138 -- Jr. Blake Daniel (5-4), E, d. Jr. Kyle Tino (11-5), 9-4.
145 -- Jr. Cody Harrison (16-2), P, md. So. Mason Werkheiser (0-1), 12-3.
152 -- Fr. Isaiah Reinert (11-8), E, md. Jr. Jayson Zinsmeister (12-9), 10-0.
160 -- Sr. Brian Meyer (18-2), P, md. Jr. Gaven Krazer (17-7), 11-1.
170 -- Sr. Lance Wissing (21-3), P, d. Fr. Dominic Falcone (9-6), 9-3.
182 -- Jr. Austin Roth (9-7), P, d. Sr. Max Catalano (4-6), 3-0.
195 -- Jr. Tyler Pellechia (13-10), E, d. Sr. Shamyr Brodders (6-11), 5-4.
220 -- Sr. Jacob Frank (17-7), E, d. So. Cody Cruts (5-10), 3-1.
Records -- Phillipsburg 6-2; Easton (Pa.) 7-1.
Officials -- Rick Solofsky and Larry Dieter.
Brad Weaver Award (Most outstanding) -- Evan Gleason, Easton.
Easton Lions Club Award (Most aggressive) -- Isaiah Reinert, Easton.
Quad-rophenia
What's the deal with these ever-changing quads this season? It's bad enough they're on the schedule to begin with, but not knowing which teams are involved or the order of matches is adding insult to injury.
Case in point was on Saturday when No. 10 High Point traveled to Toms River North for a quad that was supposed to involve No. 4 Paulsboro, according to multiple schedules. Well, Paulsboro never made the trip to Pine Belt Arena and the 'Cats made a very long bus ride to score wins over Delsea (41-28) and Toms River North (31-22).
High Point coach John Gardner told Open Mike on Tuesday that he was unsure of the location and exactly which teams were to be in the quad. The 'Cats schedule on the NJAC site listed Asbury Park and Toms River North as their opponents also heading to Paulsboro. Since Delsea and Paulsboro are scheduled for a single dual on Wednesday, it made no sense they'd be together in a quad.
In any case, the real shame is High Point (14-1) not getting a chance to face a very strong Paulsboro squad, which blitzed a good field at Newton's Boresch Duals earlier this month. On a positive note, senior Hunter Flores (195) returned to the lineup for the 'Cats, who are still without junior Devin Flannery (120). They'll need to get Flannery, who is sidelined with an elbow injury, back soon as they look to win the North 1, Group 2 sectional title -- which also includes Newton, Kittatinny and Jefferson -- and perhaps challenge Hanover Park -- the 'Cats look to match up well against coach Tyler Branham's Hornets -- for a Group 2 title next month.
In or out?
Newton, Kittatinny and North Hunterdon -- Nos. 18, 19 and 20 in the NJWWA Top 20 -- all suffered disappointing losses in recent days. As did No. 6 Hunterdon Central, which dropped a 29-28 decision to No. 17 Emerson-Park Ridge on Saturday.
Newton, which finished fifth at the Jack Welch Duals, fell, 36-22, to unranked Kingsway, while Kittatinny came up short in a 31-29 loss to Jefferson on Thursday. North Hunterdon won just three bouts in a 48-16 loss to unbeaten Watchung Hills, which was tied with the Lions for the 20th spot.
Southern posted a 29-26 win over South Plainfield on Saturday in a good independent matchup. That result is notable because the Rams will travel to Phillipsburg next Saturday for a key showdown. It's a big week on tap for coach Dave Post's Stateliners, who will face Warren Hills (Monday), North Hunterdon (Wednesday) and Parkland (Pa.) on Thursday before taking on Southern. And the 'Liners need all three Jersey matches to get the required minimum of 10 in order to qualify for sectionals before next Saturday's cutoff date. As of now, there's no snow in next week's forecast.
Pope John rolled to a 59-12 victory over No. 16 St. John Vianney on Saturday as part of a quad in Sparta. The Lions (10-1) also knocked off Delaware Valley (Pa.) and Don Bosco Prep, while senior Jake Rotunda (22-4) became the school's all-time wins leader. As noted in our team rankings last Sunday, Rotunda, now 112-22 overall, surpassed Brian Unkert (109-8-1 from 1986-90).
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