We have been playing football since the middle of August when fall practice began and the time has now come to begin the second season. The District playoffs are beginning this week for the District VI-A, AA and AAA class teams. The biggest schools, in Class-AAAA all have another week of the regular season to go before they begin their limited playoffs, due to lesser numbers. Class-AAA has four teams involved, while Double-A and Single-A each have eight teams involved in their playoff tournament.
The two local schools, Bellwood-Antis and Tyrone, both did quite well during the season, with each drawing the number two seed in their respective classes. With a win in the first round over seventh-seeded opponents, both teams will get a second home game, and if fortunate enough to win in the semifinals, then will make the short trip to Altoona’s Mansion Park for the district championship. It has been a familiar trek to both local schools since the advent of the District final game in 1985.
Sports Editor Bob Miller, Kerry Naylor and Sam Zema all went 8-2 last week in the picking. Our special guests last week, the Tuesday Afternoon Church Bowling League went 7-3 and Kerry Webster was 6-4.
When compiling the weekly choices last week, we messed up Week 8 guest Mike Blaska’s totals. We credited Mike with an 8-2 week, but that should have been 9-1 with his only miss the Penn State/Iowa game. Thanks again for taking the time and we owe you one for the mistake in calculation.
Overall, Miller has a comfortable lead at 77-13, but has been known to take a nosedive when playoffs begin. Kerry Naylor has been particularly strong in the second half of the season and is second with a 69-21 record. The combined guests are 67-23 in third place, but the latest tracking polls show Sam Zema is closing fast (Oh, forget it, the election is over). Zema’s record is 66-24. Kerry Webster brings up the rear at 62-28.
Our guest picker this week is WTAJ Sports Director and on-air personality Kellie Goodman. Good luck Kellie!
Purchase Line at Tyrone: A District VI–AA first round game. After getting a wake-up call at midseason, when Philipsburg-Osceola showed the Golden Eagles that they are human, Tyrone has put it back on cruise-control on the way to a second seed in Class-AA and an 8-1 mark through the first nine weeks of the season. Purchase Line (6-3) plays in the Heritage Conference. In limited contact during district playoffs, local schools generally pound the stuffing out of Heritage Conference teams. Games still need to be won on the field however, just ask Tyrone, who looked ahead of Heritage member United a few years back and had their hats and other parts of clothing handed to them in a district game, that swiftly ended the Eagles aspirations for that year.
The picks: Miller Tyrone 40-6 (No Eagle-fleecing in 2004), Kerry Naylor Tyrone 33-6, Kerry Webster Tyrone 48-12, Sam Zema Tyrone 35-7, Kellie Goodman Tyrone 49-7.
Laurel Valley at Bellwood-Antis: A familiar playoff matchup, these two schools will be meeting for the fourth time since 1993, all in district playoff games. This time it is a first-round contest. The Rams won the 1993 District VI-A title in the first meeting, but the Blue Devils have hammered Laurel Valley 28-7 and 18-2 in the last two meetings. Valley plays in the Heritage Conference (See above for usual results). B-A has been looking better every game, but the district playoffs will be a stern test for the Blue Devils.
The picks: Miller Bellwood-Antis 27-14, Kerry Naylor Bellwood-Antis 21-7, Kerry Webster Bellwood-Antis 24-10, Sam Zema Bellwood-Antis 28-17, Kellie Goodman Bellwood-Antis 31-14.
Central Cambria at Bedford: A first round District VI-AA contest, this is one of four games that are rematches from earlier in the season. Top seed Bedford kept its unbeaten string intact in week five, but it took a 40-yard field goal with less than a minute to play to defeat the eighth seeded Red Devils 25-22, so this is by no means a clear-cut decision the seconds time around. Central Cambria finished just 5-4 with a 3-2 mark in the Laurel Highlands, with conference losses to Bedford and Forest Hills.
The picks: Miller Bedford, Kerry Naylor Bedford, Kerry Webster Bedford, Sam Zema Bedford, Kellie Goodman Bedford.
Chestnut Ridge at Philipsburg-Osceola: Philipsburg qualifies for the playoffs for the second straight year, after a long absence as the number three seed in Class-AA. The Mounties might be thinking ahead to a possible rematch with Tyrone in the semifinals. P-O (8-1) handed the Eagles their lone defeat 7-6 then turned around the week after and fell in overtime to Bellwood-Antis 6-3. Chestnut Ridge (7-2) lost to The Blue Devils a week after P-O and then got upset last week by Moshannon Valley.
The picks: Miller Philipsburg-Osceola, Kerry Naylor Philipsburg-Osceola, Kerry Webster Philipsburg-Osceola, Sam Zema Philipsburg-Osceola, Kellie Goodman Philipsburg-Osceola.
Moshannon Valley at Juniata Valley: Rematch of week seven game 48-0 whitewash by Juniata Valley. The third seeded Hornets (9-0) had two 100-yard plus rushers and another with 90 yards in the win. Mo Valley jumped from ninth (out of playoffs) to sixth seed with win over Chestnut Ridge. Knights are 7-2 with losses to Hornets and Bellwood-Antis.
The picks: Miller Juniata Valley (closer than the first time), Kerry Naylor Juniata Valley, Kerry Webster Juniata Valley, Sam Zema Juniata Valley, Kellie Goodman Juniata Valley.
Huntingdon at Bellefonte: District VI-AAA first rounder that is a rematch from week three. The first time around, Bellefonte scored the winning TD in a 25-20 triumph with 47 seconds left in the game. Second seed Bellefonte (5-4) had double the rushing yards and nearly triple the total yards of Huntingdon (5-4) on that day. The young Bearcats have had the entire season to get experience on the gridiron. Bellefonte is a notorious slow starter.
The picks; Miller Huntingdon, Kerry Naylor Huntingdon, Kerry Webster Huntingdon, Sam Zema Bellefonte, Kellie Goodman Bellefonte.
Forest Hills at Bishop McCort: Forest Hills must travel to Bishop McCort for the second straight week after getting mauled 49-15 on Saturday. Forest Hills (7-2) has a long tradition of success in the district playoffs with losses to Bedford and McCort this season. Hills opened the season with a 27-0 revenge win over Bishop Carroll. Bishop McCort (7-2) has its only Laurel Highlands division loss to Bishop Carroll on a late field goal 17-14 in week 4.
The picks: Miller Bishop McCort (home field advantage), Kerry Naylor Bishop McCort, Kerry Webster Forest Hills, Sam Zema Bishop McCort, Kellie Goodman Bishop McCort.
Northwestern at Penn State: Who will get the start at quarterback for the Nittany Lions, and how long will he be there, will be just a few of the questions whirling around Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Paterno says he believes PSU is just a wide receiver away form being a much more productive offense. The defense has been great, but the other side of the line hasn’t held up their end. Northwestern is 4-4 and has won three of their last four.
The picks: Miller Penn State 20-17, Kerry Naylor Penn State 18-10, Kerry Webster Penn State 24-0, Sam Zema Penn State 14-10, Kellie Goodman Penn State 17-3.
Pitt at Syracuse: Pitt is looking to crack the Top-25 and a win at Syracuse would go a long way towards that goal. The Orange has lost to four teams which were ranked at the time, while the Panthers’ schedule has been incredibly weak. Even good Pitt teams have had trouble winning at the Carrier Dome.
The picks: Miller Syracuse 27-24, Kerry Naylor Pitt 17-14, Kerry Webster Pitt 35-12, Sam Zema Pitt 24-21, Kellie Goodman Pitt 17-14.
Eagles at Steelers: Steelers are playing great, but can they get up for Eagles after the huge victory over the Patriots. Coach Cowher says he won’t allow a relapse, but coaches get penalties when they go on the field, which is where the game must be win. Eagles are much better team this year with Terrell Owens after years without a real quality receiver. As long as TO stays contented and happy, it will be a good combination. How long will Coach Andy Reid and Owens see eye-to-eye if the Eagles start losing?
The picks: Miller Steelers 31-28, Kerry Naylor Steelers 26-23, Kerry Webster Eagles 32-10, Sam Zema Steelers 20-17, Kellie Goodman Steelers 28-27.
Sports Notes:Take in a football game or two this weekend if you have the opportunity. Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis both begin their playoff torunaments at home on Friday night and Juniata College. Penn State and St. Francis are all at home on Saturday. Make a day of it, have something good to eat and enjoy what we have left of Fall before those forcasts of snow become true.
