My colleague Greg Schutta wrote a great blog yesterday outlining the wrestling division races around North Jersey that will be decided on Wednesday. What match stood out to most? Of course it was Bergen Catholic v. Don Bosco, the top two teams in North Jersey, who really are heads and shoulders above everyone else and are wrestling their best right now, setting up a classic showdown between two of the best teams in the state.
But the other match that could be even more meaningful for both teams wrestling in it is Passaic Valley at West Milford (7 p.m.) Why, you might ask? Because neither team has won a league title in a long time, both are as good as they’ve been in years and both know this could be their best shot to win a team title this year.Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco? They’re thinking league title, state title, district title, then win a few individual golds down in AC, and they both have a legit chance at reaching all those goals.
Passaic Valley and West Milford? Sure, they have a chance at making a run at the North 1, Group 3 sectional title. And both believe that could happen. But that takes three wins in a row against the likes of Northern Highlands, Paramus, Wayne Valley or some other stud team. Passaic Valley has already lost to Highlands, West Milford has lost to Wayne Valley, so either way you slice it for either team, winning states is going to be a lot harder than winning leagues.
So the scenario is this for both teams: If Passaic Valley wins on Wednesday, they are Big North Independence champs for the first time since 2005. No sharing, co-champs, all theirs. Â If West Milford wins then beats Fair Lawn in a makeup match, they share the league title for the first time since 2006. Wayne Valley, which lost to PV in its first dual of the season, also gets a share of the title along with Passaic Valley in that scenario.
Of course Passaic Valley, the only unbeaten team in the division, is still in the drivers seat. They control their own destiny, and in a sense, so does West Milford. The Highlanders just edged the Hornets at counties, placing third against PV’s fourth, so they should have some confidence. But that’s tournament scoring and not dual, where there’s sure to be plenty of bumping around in weight classes, fighting to earn and save bonus points, and some drawn out decisions by two good but not great wrestlers who could ultimately decide the outcome.
Who comes out on top Wednesday? I have no idea. But I know both teams are going to fight to win this match like their season depends on it because as far as guaranteeing they win a title this season is concerned, it does.