Week Two put a crimp on our collective picking gurus. Nobody did a very good job. Bob Miller, John Harlow, Kerry Naylor and our guest picker George Sample all tied at 6-4, while Chris Lash was one step behind that group with a 5-5 mark. The guests continue to lead the Herald pickers with a combined 15-5 mark after the opening two weeks of the season followed by Bob Miller 14-6, Kerry Naylor 13-7 with John Harlow and Chris Lash tied for the bottom spot with a 12-8 record.
We all vow to do better this week, but you can never tell what will happen in high school, college football and pro football, especially with local rivalries and such.
Who would have guessed that after two weeks, the two local schools would have a combined 1-3 record? Will Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis start to turn their seasons around this week. Both are home and Tyrone celebrates Homecoming so the advantage should go to the home team with the number of fans these two teams always generate.
This week our guest picker is Scott Franco, younger brother of Tyrone head coach John Franco and currently Sports Editor of the Lewistown Sentinel.
Lewistown at Tyrone: Tyrone is 0-2 for the second year in a row, but these kind of starts occur under John Franco about as often as it snows on the Fourth of July. Lewistown, with a new offensive scheme (see Kerry Naylor’s preview on this page), is 1-1 after a win over Bald Eagle Area. Very few people will remember the last time the Panthers defeated Tyrone (1993). Lewistown’s loss was a 7-0 opening day encounter to Philipsburg-Osceola.
The Picks: Miller Tyrone 20-7, John Harlow Tyrone 27-20, Kerry Naylor Tyrone 35-14, Chris Lash Tyrone 24-10, Scott Franco Tyrone 27-20.
Mount Union at Bellwood-Antis: The Blue Devils played as if they had just been introduced to the game of football for the first time in last week’s game against Bishop Guilfoyle. If they can remember this week then there is still hope for Friday. Injuries have hindered the Blue Devils each week. First it was Coy Daly then last week, it was Adam Plummer. Neither was serious enough to sideline anybody for more than the current game, but just enough to throw the offense and defense off kilter for that week. When was the last time Bellwood-Antis went six straight quarters without scoring?
The Picks: Miller Bellwood-Antis 27-17, John Harlow Bellwood-Antis 17-14, Kerry Naylor Bellwood-Antis 22-7, Chris Lash Bellwood-Antis 28-7, Scott Franco Bellwood-Antis 35-21.
Huntingdon at Bellefonte: Huntingdon is just too much for District Six opponents and should be heard from in the interdistricts before the playoffs are over. Red Raiders are young with little experience, and that is not good against the Bearcats.
The Picks: Miller Huntingdon, John Harlow Huntingdon, Kerry Naylor Huntingdon, Chris Lash Huntingdon, Scott Franco Huntingdon.
Pius X at Sharpsville: Back-breaking start of the season for Pius X couldn’t be much tougher than Mt. Carmel, Sharon and now Sharpsville. Both teams are 1-1. This is kind of a coin-toss game where you pick the winner by flipping a coin and hope it doesn’t stand on end.
The Picks: Miller Pius X, John Harlow Sharpsville, Kerry Naylor Pius X, Chris Lash Pius X, Scott Franco Pius X.
Glendale at Williamsburg: Two 0-2 teams, somebody will get victory number one. New coach at Williamsburg Glen Kagarise is attempting to get a new start for the Blue Pirates while John Kutz at Glendale is trying to improve the Vikings program. Another tossup for teams who combined for one win last year, a Williamsburg triumph over Glendale.
The Picks: Miller Williamsburg, John Harlow Williamsburg, Kerry Naylor Williamsburg, Chris Lash Glendale, Scott Franco Glendale.
Moshannon Valley at Claysburg-Kimmel: A pair of 2-0 teams meet. Claysburg lost most of their offensive skill people from a 7-3 slate last year, while Mo Valley returns 17 letterwinners, including nine starters on defense Members of different divisions of the ICC, only bragging rights are involved here, but this could be an early version of a Class-A district playoff game in November.
The Picks: Miller Moshannon Valley, John Harlow Claysburg-Kimmel, Kerry Naylor Claysburg-Kimmel, Chris Lash Claysburg-Kimmel, Scott Franco Moshannon Valley.
Miami at Temple: Philadelphia is a long way from Florida, but the Hurricanes will try to blow into Philly with Heisman Trophy candidate QB Ken Dorsey and emerge with a Big East Conference victory. Miami handed cross-state rival Florida an ugly loss (41-18) last week. Will the home-field advantage save Temple? Miami is in the easiest portion of a tough schedule with games against Temple, Boston College and Connecticut in the next three weeks.
The Picks: Miller Miami, John Harlow Miami, Kerry Naylor Miami, Chris Lash Miami, Scott Franco Miami.
Pitt at UAB: After a tough loss to Texas A &M in which the Panthers came within two extra points of a huge upset, Pitt travels to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for this week’s game. UAB is 1-1 this season. Walt Harris would enjoy a mistake-free contest from his Panthers and for quarterback Rod Rutherford to continue the rhythm he finally found in the second half of the Texas A & M game after a miserable start.
The Picks: Miller Pitt 27-20, John Harlow Pitt 20-10, Kerry Naylor Pitt 24-13, Chris Lash Pitt 17-14, Scott Franco 23-17.
Nebraska at Penn State: Joe Paterno is always wary of night games, although JoPa says this one might be alright because the temperature should be cooled down by gametime. Will the weather or the Penn State defense be able to cool down the Nebraska? Nebraska is working with new quarterback Jammal Lord, a work-in-progress to lead the Cornhuskers to the glory years again in place of departed Heisman winner Eric Crouch, who seemed to do everything but sell tickets and play in the band at halftime. The question might be how long can the Nittany Lions stay in the game. The offense will get a better test than offered by Central Florida, and the defense will face a different challenge than given by UCF’s pass-happy offensive attack
The Picks: Miller Nebraska 31-20, John Harlow Nebraska 63-10, Kerry Naylor Penn State 20-17, Chris Lash Nebraska 34-20, Scott Franco Penn State 28-23.
Oakland at Steelers: This is not the Oakland Athletics, but Rich Gannon will do the pitching for the Raiders. Although they are graybeards, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown can still beat you. The Steelers have often gotten beat in their opener, but last week’s game was more humiliating than most of the previous opening losses. Especially when so much is expected of the Steelers in 2002. Can the defense handle Oakland after being riddled by New England and Tom Brady and company?
The Picks: Miller Steelers 26-23, John Harlow Raiders 27-14, Kerry Naylor Steelers 24-13, Chris Lash Steelers 21-20, Scott Franco Raiders 21-10.
We thank Scott Franco for taking the time out to be our guest picker this week.
For more from Scott Franco, check out www.lewistownsentinel.com
