South Carroll can clinch the regular-season wrestling county championship by beating Winters Mill tonight.
But if the Falcons win and keep their county title hopes alive, it will be their second matchup of the evening.
They're set to face Liberty at 4 p.m. before traveling to Winfield to wrestle the Cavaliers, who are 28-3 and 6-0 against county opponents. Winters Mill is 15-4, 4-0 heading into its match against the Lions.
The Cavs and Falcons have been two of the top teams in Class 2A-1A over the past several years, with seven combined state titles since 2011 — WM won state duals 2012 and 2013, and team tournament crowns from 2011-13; SC has won the last two team tourney titles.
The rivals also have five combined county championships since 2010; Winters Mill won six consecutive county tournament titles before South Carroll took the crown last year.
"There's a lot of history between our programs," said Cavs coach Bryan Hamper. "It's our Senior Night, at home, a lot on the line. The guys are really excited."
Hamper and WM coach John Lowe agree that matchups will play a big role in tonight's outcome.
In tight dual meets, many times bonus points wind up being the difference. Pins are important, of course, giving teams the maximum of six points per bout, but strategy in certain matches can be just as critical.
"Obviously you wrestle to score points," Lowe said. "But if you're losing by eight and you're not going to win, let's lose by six and save the team a point."
Lowe said it was his idea to plan a "double dual" for Wednesday. Winters Mill's match against Liberty was postponed from Jan. 27, but with the Falcons battling for a berth in the upcoming Class 2A-1A West dual-meet tourney the need to get it rescheduled became important.
(Liberty is also in "double dual" mode Wednesday, hosting Winters Mill at 4 and North Carroll at 6.)
According to the state bulletin, the last date for regional dual tournament seeding is Saturday.
"A weird schedule, yes, but it gives us the opportunity to win our way into the postseason," Lowe said.
Boonsboro, Middletown, and Northern Garrett were all 9-1 in the latest 2A-1A West standings, with South Carroll (11-2) close behind. Southern Garrett and Winters Mill were both 9-2.
The state uses a points system to determine which four teams compete in the regional duals. Teams get eight points for each regular-season dual meet win, and the total is divided by the number of duals wrestled to reach a power rating (the minimum divisor is 11).
So Boonsboro, Middletown, and Northern are at 7.2, with SC at 6.76. Southern and WM are at 6.54.
Last winter at this point, the Falcons were finishing up a season that included a 1-6 county record. Lowe said he recently asked his wrestlers how pleased they'd have been if he had told them a year ago how different things were going to be the following season.
"This time last year we were atrocious," Lowe said. "We're very happy to be in this position."
South Carroll's position is a bit simpler — win at home Wednesday night and claim another county title, a spot in next week's regional duals, and make a strong step toward what Hamper hopes is another success postseason run.
"Any time we can go against a strong county opponent it's an exciting time," he said. "We know what to expect."
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Projected lineups
Weight WM SC
106 Koson Vantanaporn (14-9) Evan Hock (18-20)
113 Bailey Konold (16-6) Grayson Eller (25-15)
120 Dan Carr (7-6) Joey Thomas (41-0)
126 Brandon Naill (17-7) Cam Werner (33-8)
132 Troy Blessing (21-3) Tom Boldosser (38-3)
138 Nate Czarnowsky (2-7) Jake Mackenzie (38-3)
145 Bryan Drager (15-7) Joey Judson (30-10)
152 Cherokee Johnson (16-5) Shane Conners (41-0)
160 Neal Rinker (19-2) Jamar Williams (40-1)
170 Kyle Fisher (24-1) Patrick Kelly (27-11)
182 Jordan Tuekam (18-6) Carlo Grasso (27-12)
195 Jason Morris (15-9) Talmadge Eller (37-4)
220 A.J. Holmes (10-7) Doug Summerlin (20-10)
285 Kyle Shanholtz (10-13) Jason Money (25-15)
