There were a few upsets this week, and a few the panel thought would go the other way in Week 6. Christina Pryor hit nine of 10, missing only on the Pitt upset of No. 10 South Florida, which no one picked correctly, and was right on target with her Lone Ranger pick of Vanderbilt over Auburn. Guest picker Rich DeLeo, Kerry Webster and myself all were 7-3 going south on Auburn and the Steelers as well. Overall leader Jim Cushion and Kerry Naylor were both 6-4 to round out the field.
In the overall campaign, Cushion (46-14) is still on top, but I edged into a tie with Jim, and Christina Pryor (45-15) made a big jump to trail by just one game. Kerry Naylor is two games back at 44-15, Kerry Webster is 43-17 and the combined guests are 41-19.
Our guest picker for this week is Magisterial Judge Fred Miller, Tyrone grad and sports enthusiast. Good luck Fred!
Philipsburg-Osceola at Tyrone: A mismatch on paper and probably on the field as well. P-O (2-4) lost a bunch of talent to graduation and the underclassmen haven’t picked it up quickly enough. Wins have come over Lewistown (34-12) and Penns Valley (21-17) last week, two teams with a combined one win between them, and that was the Rams 40-13 win over Lewistown. Tyrone (5-1), with Levi Reihart and the Eagles passing attack on target, coupled with the emergence of converted lineman Larry Glace as a premier runner, makes it tough for defenses, and the Tyrone defense has been very stingy itself.
The picks: Miller Tyrone 40-7, Kerry Webster Tyrone 60-6, Kerry Naylor Tyrone 36-6, Jim Cushion Tyrone 42-7, Christina Pryor Tyrone 35-7, Fred Miller Tyrone 42-6.
Bellwood-Antis at Glendale: Blue Devils are operating on all cylinders. It has been 16 quarters since an opponent has scored on the Blue Devil defense, while the Bellwood-Antis offense has put 184 points on the scoreboard in that same period of time! Glendale (3-3) has won three of four after an 0-2 start, but wins have been over West Branch (20-13), Williamsburg (34-7) and Juniata Valley (28-21), who have just one win between them.
The picks: Miller Bellwood-Antis 42-0, Kerry Webster Bellwood-Antis 56-7, Kerry Naylor Bellwood-Antis 48-7, Jim Cushion Bellwood-Antis 42-14, Christina Pryor Bellwood-Antis 42-3, Fred Miller Bellwood-Antis 49-0.
Huntingdon at Lewistown: Lewistown (0-6) hasn’t come close to beating anybody. Huntingdon has been up and down, most recently edging Indian Valley last week 21-18 to improve to 3-3. Bearcats have been competitive, with just about everybody except Tyrone, who shut them down completely. Look for another productive week for the Bearcats against the Panthers.
The picks: Miller Huntingdon, Kerry Webster Lewistown, Kerry Naylor Huntingdon, Jim Cushion Huntingdon, Christina Prior Huntingdon, Fred Miller Huntingdon.
Juniata Valley at West Branch: Valley opened with a 21-14 win over Tussey Mountain, then have dropped five straight. This should be the week for the Hornets to get a “W.” West Branch is winless and in all probability will stay that way for the remainder of the season, picking up experience under a new first-year coach.
The picks: Miller Juniata Valley, Kerry Webster West Branch, Kerry Naylor Juniata Valley, Jim Cushion Juniata Valley, Christina Pryor Juniata Valley, Fred Miller Juniata Valley.
Central Cambria at Bishop Guilfoyle: Two of the four teams currently tied at the top of Section I of the Laurel Highlands Conference, along with Penn Cambria and Forest Hills. Central Cambria gained momentum for this game by handing Forest Hills their first loss last week 27-0, while FH drilled BG 37-7 earlier. BG beat Penn Cambria 23-13, while Central Cambria lost by a point 14-13.
The picks: Miller Central Cambria, Kerry Webster Bishop Guilfoyle, Kerry Naylor Central Cambria, Jim Cushion Central Cambria, Christina Pryor Central Cambria, Fred Miller Central Cambria.
Bedford at Cambria Heights: Two teams at the bottom of Section I of the Laurel Highlands Conference. The loser will drop to the cellar, both are currently 0-4 in the division. Overall, Cambria Heights (1-5) has one victory to Bedford’s 0-6. Bedford however has played closer to the competition, has shown more offense than Heights, and should continue that trend.
The picks: Miller Bedford, Kerry Webster Bedford, Kerry Naylor Bedford, Jim Cushion Bedford, Christina Pryor Bedford, Fred Miller Bedford.
Vanderbilt at Mississippi State: Mississippi State was edged by Auburn in Week Three by the soccer or baseball-sounding score of 3-2. Last week, Vandy upset, or proved they belong in the Top 25, depending on your mindset, Auburn 14-13. The No. 13 Commodores are 3-0 in the SEC and 5-0 for the first time since 1943, that’s right, the 1943 that was during World War II. Special teams and defense secured the win over the Tigers when they had one more chance.
The picks: Miller Mississippi State, Kerry Webster Vanderbilt, Kerry Naylor Vanderbilt, Jim Cushion Vanderbilt, Christina Pryor Mississippi State, Fred Miller Vanderbilt.
LSU at Florida: No. 4 LSU was idle last week following a 34-24 win over Mississippi State, two weeks ago, falling a rung on the ladder while not playing. Florida led by Tim Tebow, passed and ran past Arkansas 38-7 to move up a step to No. 11. The Seminoles have been ranked as high as No. 4, but Tebow and company couldn’t avoid a 31-30 loss to Mississippi on Sept. 27. LSU has gotten off to several sluggish starts and must avoid another one.
The picks: Miller Florida, Kerry Webster Florida, Kerry Naylor Florida, Jim Cushion LSU, Christina Pryor LSU, Fred Miller Florida.
Texas at Oklahoma: Annual Red River Showdown has added meaning in ‘08 with Sooners coming in as No. 1 in the nation, and Texas not far down the ladder at No. 5. Both schools are 5-0. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford is leading the team with his arm and DeMarco Murray is doing it on the ground. Longhorns used a bunch of big plays to lasso Colorado last week, including three by oft-overlooked senior Chris Ogbonnya who caught a dumpoff pass from Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and ran 13-yards for scores and saved a TD by running down a Baylor interceptor of McCoy at the T-16.
The picks: Miller Oklahoma, Kerry Webster Oklahoma, Kerry Naylor Oklahoma, Jim Cushion Oklahoma, Christina Pryor Oklahoma, Fred Miller Oklahoma.
Penn State at Wisconsin: Wisconsin’s running back P.J. Hill and the Badgers smash-mouth style of offense will test the Nittany Lion defense in this night time game (8 p.m. start on ESPN). This will be the toughest test yet for the Penn State offensive line. WR Jordan Norwood will return for State after missing two games with a hamstring injury. Lions may be down to third string tight end, depending on injury status of Andrew Quarles and Mickey Shuler, neither of whom practiced Monday. More will be known later in the week. In the meantime, Wisconsin will have to contend with Daryll Clark and Evan Royster and the wide receivers trio of Norwood, Derrick Williams and Deon Butler and company.
The picks: Miller Penn State 27-20, Kerry Webster Penn State 28-14, Kerry Naylor Penn State 30-20, Jim Cushion Penn State 24-20, Christina Pryor Penn State 31-17, Fred Miller Penn State 27-13.
Congratulations: TheTyrone girls soccer team got their first win inthe three-year history of the sport at Tyrone, edging Grier School 4-3 on Wednesday.Tyrone’ sophomore Jimmy Ferguson captured the individual District 6 golf championship at Sinking Valley Country Club on Wednesday. Ferguson and Bellwood-Antis senior Tom Trexler, who finished sixth will move on to the Regional championships.
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno has started a new game. We can cal it “Where’s Joe” and have people send in their ideas each week about where the Nittany Lion mentor is for each game.
