South Plainfield will win No. 3

South Plainfield will win its third straight group title Sunday at the Ritacco Center. The Tigers know how to win close bouts in these kind of settings. Throw in the fact that head coach Kevin McCann believes he has arrived at the team's best lineup and the Tigers look like they should have enough to beat either Hackettstown or Kittatinny in the state Group II final Sunday afternoon.

Here's a capsule look at the Tigers' semifinal match with Point Pleasant Boro.


POINT PLEASANT BORO (21-3) VS. SOUTH PLAINFIELD (20-4)
Point Pleasant Boro won its first sectional title Thursday night as freshman 112-pounder Jordan Beverly (25-3), brother of New Jersey state champ Jeff Beverly (125, 1999), clinched the victory over Cinnaminson with a fall.

McCann said he would like to wrestle junior Patrick Hunter (29-1) against Beverly. Hunter, third in the state last year at 103, has been at 112, but has moved up to 119.

South Plainfield's upper weights will be challenged by the likes of junior 160-pounder Sean Casey (18-10), junior 171-pounder Skylar Engelken (28-1), junior 189-pounder Kyle Coleman (27-3), senior 215-pounder Gage Bongiovi (27-3) and junior 285-pounder Marty Infante (18-6). South Plainfield, ranked No. 2 in the Gannett New Jersey Top 20, may go wit the same lineup that routed Raritan in the sectional final.

Senior 215-pounder Preston Johnson moved up to 285 and won by fallin the sectional final. Junior 160-pounder Mark Wagner (25-1), sophomore 171-pounder Jon Conroy (17-12) or junior Dan Pompilio (20-12) and junior Brad Martin (9-10) have been overshadowed. South Plainfield is a strong favorite to advance to its third straight group final.

IF SOUTH PLAINFIELD WINS
The Tigers, who won state Group III titles the last two years, will meet a familiar team in the final. The Tigers beat North 2 winner Hackettstown 27-21 Jan. 15 and North I champ Kittatinny 32-21 Jan. 20. South split 14 bouts with Hackettstown, but had a pin, technical fall and major win. Hackettstown had no bonus points. The teams split two overtime decisions. The Tigers won nine of 14 bouts five days later in the victory over Kittatinny. Both wins were achieved without Johnson, who was out because of disciplinary reasons.