The final dual?
When Montini and Glenbard North square off in Moline on Saturday in a Class AA team quarterfinal, it could mark the end of a great and heated rivalry that only began two years ago.
With wrestling going to three classes next year, the Panthers and Broncos likely will take separate postseason paths, potentially leaving Saturday's meeting as the last meaningful dual in which the two programs will engage.
"The last two years, we've ended their season, and they've ended ours," said Montini state heavyweight champion Garrett Goebel. "We'll have to come out and wrestle our best."
The top-ranked Broncos (31-1) and second-ranked Panthers (25-4) have met three times in the last two seasons. Two years ago, the Panthers ended the Broncos' season at the Class AA Bolingbrook team sectional, and Montini returned the favor in a sectional final last year in Lombard.
"It's always going to be a good dual," Panthers senior Jamie Warczynski said of the rivalry.
The Broncos and Panthers had six individual state state-place winners apiece in Champaign last Saturday, and which of those can earn more bonus points among the 12 could determine the dual's outcome.
"We've got to step it up, we can't give up bonus points, and we need to get some bonus points," Warczynski said. "It's going to be a tight one."
Montini won 35-17 over Glenbard North in a dual on Jan. 5, at The Clash tournament in Minnesota, earning a 9-5 edge in matches won. That result likely means little heading into Saturday's rematch, for several reasons.
For one Glenbard North 130-pound state champion Jimmy Chase was absent from the Panthers' lineup, as was Montini senior Dan Stelter, who placed fourth at 160 pounds this year.
And as Panthers' state champion Tony Ramos (125 pounds) put it after his squad's sectional title win Tuesday, "it could come down to winning the coin flip."
Teams alternate at each weight in being first to send a wrestler to report at the scorer's table, leaving the other team with the option of who to send out to meet him.
The winner between the Broncos and Panthers will take on the winner between Libertyville and Granite City in a semifinal match, for the right to wrestle for a team state title Saturday night.
The other side of the bracket pits Lincoln-Way Central (18-3) against Rockton Hononegah (25-6) in one quarterfinal, and Providence Catholic (22-1) versus St. Rita (18-6) in the other.
In Class A Lisle (20-1) advanced downstate with a 53-15 win over Walther Lutheran on Tuesday. The Lions placed fourth two years ago in their only other appearance downstate, in John Ruettiger's final season as coach.
"We're ready," said Lions coach John Davis. "The kids are in their routine, and they're looking forward to it."
Lisle wrestles Petersburg PORTA (25-2) in a quarterfinal dual.
"They're good," Davis said of PORTA. "They've wrestled some good competition, and they had seven state qualifiers. Our upper weights match up fairly well, so hopefully we get some good matches from our upper-weight guys."
Davis' crew had five state qualifiers this year in Brian Reese, Adam Gleason, Josh Andrzejewski, Jake Kretman and David Pawlowicz.
The Lions' lone dual loss this year came 37-24 to top-ranked Wilmington. Should Lisle beat PORTA in its quarterfinal match, the Lions would face the winner between Wilmington (23-2) and Vandalia (22-2) in a state semifinal.
"They are a bunch of tough, hard-nosed kids," Davis said of Wilmington. "It would be great to wrestle them again."
The last time Lisle and PORTA met, in 2006, Lisle won 31-28 in a quarterfinal match to knock the Bluejays from the tournament.
On the other side of the bracket, Oregon (24-3) and Herrin (19-2) meet in a quarterfinal, with the winner advancing to a semifinal against the winner between Macomb (17-5) and Stillman Valley (23-1).