This week, a pair of top 20ish teams from neighboring states square off. That is the host Mt Carmel Caravan, the top team in Illinois, and the Crown Point Bulldogs, the top team in Indiana (based on the recent head to head win over Brownsburg). The teams are pretty familiar rivals with the Bulldogs currently enjoying a 2 match winning streak. While I think the Caravan flip that script on Friday, it’s going to be another barn burner and worth the price of admission.

This match up gives us a handful of ranked wrestlers, spread out in a way that should lend itself to a highly competitive and entertaining affair. Mt Carmel has 3 individuals ranked in our top 25. Crown Point currently has 2 ranked wrestlers but after that group, there are 3 more who have spent time ranked and currently sit just outside the top 25. So if you were to rank all 28 wrestlers 1-28, Mt Carmel has 1, 2, and 3 but Crown Point has 4-8. In a dual, since any individual – no matter how elite – can only get a max 6 points, Crown Point should end up with the point advantage through those 7 weights – but it will be close.

What this means, then, is that the final outcome will be determined by the other 7 weights where there is more opportunity for home team energy flipping toss ups, or maybe guys that are not ranked or on that radar but still solid when compared to their opponent here, you just don’t know how someone will step up here when looking back through their season performance. But when we do look at these remaining match ups, a lot seem to favor the Caravan. In fact, I have it 5-2 in the match advantage for the home team. 

The 2 Gavins should be solid for the Bulldogs, perhaps even to the point of bonus. And it’s bonus they will need. Because Mt Carmel is a decent favorite at 150 and 190 – where bonus is on the table for them. And I would say if there are any pure toss ups we side with the home team. We always do. And that could be the difference.

As we sit here now, I have Mt Carmel with an 8-6 match advantage. I have 3 of the 8 wins being with bonus and for Crown Point I have 3 of their 6 of similar dominance. The gap isn’t big at all, as you would expect with teams this close. All the visitor would have to do here is get 2 Clark pins (instead of the 1 I’m predicting) and a Newell win at 106. Just those 2 differences earn a 9 point swing, I’m predicting an 8 point Mt Carmel win, do the math. All of a sudden it’s 29-28. Absolutely doable. 

Best Individual Matches:

From a national perspective, 126 comes the closest to having 2 ranked wrestlers facing off. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call this the best match of the evening. Seth Mendoza is top 5 while Hawkins is currently #28 and has been as high as #23. I think we’re looking at Mendoza by major here.

So for a more “toss up”, highly competitive, match, I would look at heavyweight and/or 190.

Match That Could Turn The Dual:

106 is the sneaky good, highly competitive match up that I favor the home kid but if it went the other way, which is absolutely a possibility, things start to get even more interesting.