Playoff Preview: West Deptford vs. Barnegat Wrestling

It's time to put the regular season aside, with the start of the South Jerey, Group 2 wrestling tournament tonight.

West Deptford, the No. 3 seed, takes on No. 6 Barnegat at home, with the victor getting a shot at No. 2 Buena later this week.

While the two schools have clashed of late on the football field, this will be the first-ever head-to-head meeting between Barnegat and West Deptford on the mats.

Here's what to look for at tonight's match, which begins at 7 p.m. at .

Barnegat

Team Record: 11-7

Rankings: 9th in Ocean County (Star-Ledger)

Key Individuals: Nick Fogarty (106/113), Joe Mandara (126/132), Chris Stoma (152), Ryan Kirk (160), Greg Moran (182), Matt Schofield (195)

Three keys to the match:

–Break up West Deptford’s dominance in the lightweights. Barnegat has some strength to match up with West Deptford, especially at 106, 126 and 132 pounds, but the Bengals need to keep the Eagles from piling up bonus points in the lower weight classes.

–Take full advantage of mismatches. If the match is to break Barnegat’s way, it’ll have to be via a handful of wins from 152 up to 195, where the Bengals are, at least on paper, stronger than West Deptford. Decisions aren’t going to be enough, either: Pins and bonus points could decide this match.

–Don’t get overconfident. Early leads have a way of evaporating against West Deptford, as several teams have found out the hard way this season. The only way to keep the Eagles down is to keep fighting through all 14 bouts.

West Deptford

Team Record: 20-3

Rankings: 7th in South Jersey (Gannett), 8th in Group 2 (Star-Ledger), 6th in South Jersey (Star-Ledger)

Key individuals: Rory Bonner (182), Gerald Owens (220), Evan Zuzulock (120), Tyler Kaminsky (113), Griffin Bonner (106), Christian Terinoni (132)

Three keys to the match:

–The Bonner brothers. Rory and Griffin both face potentially tough opponents in Barnegat’s Nick Fogarty and Greg Moran. The Bonners could be a bellwether for the Eagles’ chances in the match: pin or win big, and things get a whole lot easier.

–Weather the mismatches until the lineup turns to the lightweights. While the Eagles have taken some tough losses lately, those matches have never seemed completely out of reach, even when the Eagles have had to rally back from big deficits. It’s something they’ve done all season, and might need to do again tonight.

–Get heavy. Dave Branco has quietly put together a four-win streak at 285, including a match-opening pin in the Eagles’ loss to Paulsboro, and Branco’s picked a good time to hit his peak. Barnegat is weak at 220/285, and if Branco can find a way to pin, those bonus points could go a long way. Likewise with Gerald Owens, who has been strong at 220.