Semifinal district games are on tap for this weekend. Thanks to the number one Double-A seed (Bedford) getting upset, the Tyrone/Philipsburg-Osceola game, at Tyrone, has been moved to Friday night. That means Bellwood-Antis fans can go to the Tyrone game on Friday night and Tyrone fans can see the Bellwood-Antis/Juniata Valley Single-A semifinal at Bellwood on Saturday night. Talk about a real football weekend!
Temperatures are being forecast way down low and snow flurries are a possibility, so even for football fanatics, it could be a good thing to get inside to watch the winter sports that soon will be beginning. The older I get, the less I can take the cold. Bundle up warmly for the football evenings this weekend.
Both local schools had relatively easy times last week in the first rounds of their respective playoffs, but with Tyrone facing the only team to defeat them this year and Bellwood-Antis facing an undefeated Juniata Valley team that gives up an average of two points a game, this week will feature some classics.
Last week, everybody missed on the Central Cambria upset of undefeated Bedford and the Northwestern win over Penn State. With that handicap hitting us all, Bob Miller, Sam Zema and guest picker Kellie Goodman each went 7-3, Kerry Naylor was 6-4 and Kerry Webster 4-6. Thanks again Kellie Goodman.
Overall with just this week and next to go, I have taken a nine-game lead (84-16) over Kerry Naylor (75-25) to pretty much wrap up the picking party title for 2004. John Harlow was the winner last year and he never fails to let me know it when we meet. Maybe next year, we can have a regular panel member in Milwaukee?
Second place is very much up for grabs however. Close behind Naylor are the combined guests, who won the 2002 picking crown at 74-26 and Sam Zema in his first year on the picking panel, with 73-27. Kerry Webster has settled into the bottom with a 66-34 log. We have done pretty well, considering the cellar-dweller is picking 67 percent correct and all the rest of us are 73 per cent or better.
This week our guest picker is Mike Sakash, Bellwood-Antis High School principal and District VI scheduling guru. Good luck Mike!
Philipsburg-Osceola at Tyrone: Jeff Winters connected with Lou LaFuria early and Ryan Mostyn blocked Ben Gummo’s PAT attempt late as the Mounties pulled off the upset in the first meeting. The Eagles have gone wild in the five games since outscoring their opponents by an average of 41-9. This is the game everybody in the Tyrone area has wanted since week five. This District VI-AA semifinal could be very, very close as the Eagles strive to continue on toward PIAA gold and to exact a measure of revenge.
The picks: Miller Tyrone 20-10, Kerry Naylor Tyrone 28-7, Kerry Webster Philipsburg-Osceola 7-5 (A safety and field goal?), Sam Zema Tyrone 21-20, Mike Sakash Tyrone 21-7.
Juniata Valley at Bellwood-Antis: A tough District VI-A semifinal opponent for the Blue Devils. The Hornets have no losses, score a lot of points and don’t give up anything. They are fast and solid and play a bunch of underclassmen. First year coach Mike Smith has something good going in the valley. B-A has played a tougher schedule and has come a long way since being manhandled by Tyrone in the opener. Saturday we find out if they have come far enough in this District VI-A contest.
The picks: Miller Bellwood-Antis 21-20 (my favorite score), Kerry Naylor Bellwood-Antis 14-8, Kerry Webster Juniata Valley 52-26, Sam Zema Juniata Valley 13-7, Mike Sakash Bellwood-Antis 27-20.
Bishop Carroll at Blairsville: Blairsville is undefeated and loaded in this District VI-A semifinal, but except for last week’s game against number eight seed Portage, hasn’t played out of the Heritage Conference. When the league is up that’s good, otherwise not so good. What will this mean against a Bishop Carroll team with tons of playoff experience and arguably the toughest schedule in several classes.
The picks: Miller Bishop Carroll, Kerry Naylor Blairsville, Kerry Webster Blairsville, Sam Zema Blairsville, Mike Sakash Bishop Carroll.
Central Cambria at Bishop McCort: Central Cambria, seeded number eight, knocked off undefeated and top ranked Bedford in overtime in first round District VI-AA action last week. Can the Red Devils continue on their way with another upset? In almost a same-case scenario, CC lost to Bedford by three (25-22) during the season, and also lost a close one to McCort (26-20). Hope springs eternal in the human breast, can the Devils do it again?
The picks: Miller Bishop McCort, Kerry Naylor Bishop McCort, Kerry Webster Bishop McCort, Sam Zema Bishop McCort, Mike Sakash Central Cambria.
Johnstown at Bellefonte: This is the District VI-AAA championship game. There are just seven AAA teams in the district and only four that qualify for the Class-AAA playoffs in District VI. Bellefonte always seems to peak late under head coach Tom Gravish. Since starting out 1-3, the Red Raiders have turned around their season, losing only to Tyrone while going 5-1, including their second win of the season over Huntingdon last week. Johnstown, a Triple-A school plays in the Laurel Highlands Conference against predominantly Class-A and AA opponents. In their semifinal District VI-AAA game last week, they shut out Central Mountain (4-6) 27-0. LaRod Stephens is a one-man show for the Johnstown Trojans, but will he be enough?
The picks: Miller Johnstown, Kerry Naylor Johnstown, Kerry Webster Johnstown, Sam Zema Bellefonte, Mike Sakash Johnstown.
North Star at Northern Bedford: This is a Thursday night game that kicks off the local high school football weekend. Northern Bedford (6-3), seeded number two, drew a bye through the quarterfinals in the District V-A division. North Star (5-5) upset perennial playoff qualifier Windber 6-0, in their quarterfinal game to get into the semifinals.
The picks: Miller Northern Bedford, Kerry Naylor Northern Bedford, Kerry Webster North Star, Sam Zema Northern Bedford, Mike Sakash North Star.
State College at Central Dauphin: This District III/VI first round playoff game will be played either Friday at 7 p.m. State College (7-3), the number eight seed, dropped a 39-23 decision to the top seeded Central Dauphin squad (9-1) on Oct. 1, at the same field.
The picks: Miller Central Dauphin, Kerry Naylor Central Dauphin, Kerry Webster Central Dauphin, Sam Zema Central Dauphin, Mike Sakash Central Dauphin.
Penn State at Indiana: Penn State has been pretty much the same all year-terrific defense, horrible offense. The offense is worse than horrible-that would mean the Nittany Lions actually had an offense. The word is in-Joe Paterno is sure, freshman quarterback Anthony Morelli will play on Saturday, although even Joe isn’t sure when or how much. Indiana’s only Big 10 win came over Minnesota and their 26-22 loss to Illinois last week was the first league win for Illinois.
The picks: Miller Indiana 14-10, Kerry Naylor Indiana 16-10, Kerry Webster Indiana 24-10, Sam Zema Indiana, Mike Sakash Penn State 14-7.
Pitt at Notre Dame: Even the best Pitt teams have had trouble going into South Bend to face the Fighting Irish, when Notre Dame teams haven’t bee noteworthy. The Panther team is fighting to find itself. They came up just short at Syracuse last week in overtime. So close and yet so far to respectability. Notre Dame is struggling (6-3) to get into the top echelon again, but its been 18 years since a Panther team won at Notre Dame.
The picks: Miller Notre Dame 27-20, Kerry Naylor Pitt 24-20, Kerry Webster Notre Dame 17-10, Sam Zema Notre Dame 24-21, Mike Sakash Notre Dame 17-14.
Steelers at Browns: Coach Bill Cowher says he will not allow the Steelers to suffer a meltdown against the Browns after Pittsburgh’s unprecedented run over the Patriots and Eagles. Duce Staley could play after missing the Eagles game with a sore hamstring, if not Jerome Bettis will get his second start in a row. The Steelers are playing like the NFL’s best team. You have to look no further that the play of the offensive line and defensive backfield to understand why.
The picks: Miller Steelers 31-28, Kerry Naylor Steelers 31-17, Kerry Webster Steelers 24-6, Sam Zema Steelers 16-13, Mike Sakash Steelers 31-17.
Sports notes: Penn State Altoona Cross Country Coach Doug Hoover, a Tyrone native, who resides in Williamsburg, has been named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Women’s’ Coach of the Year and PSU Altoona runner Leann Cascino (Johnstown) has been named Newcomer of the Year. Since the programs’ inception three years ago, the Penn State Altoona women have finished in third place in 2002 and in second place in both 2003 and 2004, in the conference championship meet. The Lady Lions are the only team in the conference to finish among the top three in all three years.
