There were a couple of tough games for the local schools this past week. First, Bellwood-Antis had to wait an extra 72 hours before the Blue Devils were sure of a victory over Penns Valley, with Friday night’s game continued over to Monday because of a power outage with 6:24 left to play. Then Tyrone was pressed to the limit by a very tough Bishop Guilfoyle squad that refused to quit, before scoring on a tailback Brice Mertiff to-quarterback Leonard Wilson pass with less than two minutes to play. Both schools emerged with victories, Tyrone 17-14 and Bellwood-Antis 34-0, but neither team had it easy. Despite the big B-A final score, it was not a blowout by any means, until a pair of interceptions were run back for TDs in the waning moments.
Week Six was not kind to any of the panel of pickers. Everybody missed the Steelers game and the Hollidaysburg upset of State College and at least one more game besides.
John Harlow retained his two-game lead over the field with a 7-3 week and 48-12 overall. Matching Harlow at 7-3 were Kerry Naylor and guest picker Tommy Edwards. With the popular WPRR Program Director and morning radio personality’s picks, the combined guest pickers are tied for the second spot overall with Herald General Manager Chris Lash. Lash, who went 6-4 last week and the guests have a 46-14 total. Naylor is 39-21 on the season after his best week of the year to date. Bob Miller went 6-4 last week to stay four games behind Lash and but lost a game to Harlow to trail by six.
Many sincere thanks to Tommy Edwards for taking the time to consent to be our guest last week.
This week our guest picker is Al Lingenfelter, who many of the readers will know from his work as a baseball and football official in the area. Lingenfelter has a tie-in to the Tyrone sports scene also as the grandfather of Brandon, Brady and Tyler Hoover.
Good luck Al!
Philipsburg-Osceola at Tyrone: The Eagles are on a roll and celebrating Homecoming. The P-O Mounties come into town enjoying their best year in a long time. Both teams sport big runners. Tyrone has Brice Mertiff, while Philipsburg-Osceola has Adam White. Each has come through a tough game and rallied for a win. P-O got a safety in week three to edge Penns valley 16-14. Tyrone used the aforementioned running back pass to get past BG. Huntingdon got by the Eagles 23-20 in overtime in a game in which Tyrone had the edge in everything except the final score. The Bearcats beat P-O by three scores 34-16. Will this be like the 1995 game featuring two undefeated teams with the Golden Eagles winning 6-5 .
The picks: Miller Tyrone 28-16, John Harlow Tyrone 21-14, Kerry Naylor Tyrone 35-13, Kerry Webster Philipsburg-Osceola 28-14, Chris Lash Tyrone 28-10, Al Lingenfelter Tyrone 28-14.
Bellwood-Antis at Chestnut Ridge: Blue Devils and Ridge both coming in to this game on a roll. Irresistible force meets immovable object! Maybe not. On paper the Lions appear to have the edge. Young B-A team should have taken the measure of Everett in game two, but experience won out 22-20. Give the Bellwood-Antis offense three chances in their opponents territory now after maturing over the past six weeks and damage would be done. The key could be Ridge quarterback Brian Barefoot and how the Blue Devils are able to defense him.
The picks: Miller Bellwood-Antis 27-24, John Harlow Bellwood-Antis 17-7, Kerry Naylor Chestnut Ridge 21-7, Kerry Webster Bellwood-Antis 35-12, Chris Lash Chestnut Ridge 24-20, Al Lingenfelter Bellwood-Antis 23-14.
Juniata Valley at Moshannon Valley: A battle of valleys. Could be closer than many might figure. Mo Valley has made a habit of winning over the past few years, while Juniata Valley has been up and down. Look for whoever is able to control the football to put up points and get the win. That would appear to favor the Black Knights of Mo Valley.
The picks: Miller Moshannon Valley, John Harlow Juniata Valley, Kerry Naylor Moshannon Valley, Kerry Webster Moshannon Valley, Chris Lash Moshannon Valley, Al Lingenfelter Moshannon Valley.
Huntingdon at Indian Valley: Huntingdon is in the midst of a great season, despite having to overcome several bumps in the road with injuries to key personnel. Indian Valley has underachieved in 2003, or maybe doesn’t have the team everyone was expecting out of coach Gawen Stoker. Bearcats don’t seem to have anyone to stop them, except possibly archrival Hollidaysburg in week nine.
The picks: Miller Huntingdon, John Harlow Huntingdon, Kerry Naylor Huntingdon, Kerry Webster Huntingdon, Chris Lash Huntingdon, Al Lingenfelter Huntingdon.
Mount Union at Penns Valley: Rams just lost a tough one to Bellwood-Antis that was very close except for two onsides kicks recovered by Blue Devils in first three minutes of second half and the need to go away from a tough ground game late in the contest. Mount Union with 20 players in uniform, has been taking in on the chin. The Trojans have some tough two-way players, but Penns valley has the rushing attack to wear them down.
The picks: Miller Penns Valley, John Harlow Penns Valley, Kerry Naylor Penns Valley, Kerry Webster Mount Union, Chris Lash Penns Valley, Al Lingenfelter Penns Valley.
Pius X at Bishop Guilfoyle: BG takes on the last of three extremely tough midseason opponents (Huntingdon and Tyrone were the first two). The Marauders haven’t done very well and need wins to move back up into playoff contention. Right now BG is ninth with only the top eight qualifying. A battle could be looming for the final playoff spot in week nine when Bishop Guilfoyle hosts Bellwood-Antis. Pius X is Pius X, state-ranked (No. 8) with no sign of a letdown from the past few seasons.
The picks: Miller Pius X, John Harlow Pius X, Kerry Naylor Pius X, Kerry Webster Pius X, Chris Lash Pius x, Al Lingenfelter Bishop Guilfoyle.
Edinboro at IUP: We take a venture into Division II football. IUP has been head and shoulders above everybody else in the PAC Conference for years. IUP was tested by Clarion last week, but rallied for the win to remain undefeated( 5-0). The Indians have replaced record-setting quarterback Brian Eyer with sophomore Kevin Weldl without missing a beat. (Tyrone freshman Tyler Mertiff is the backup). Mike Jemison has been running wild. IUP will celebrate Homecoming with gametime set for 2 p.m.
The picks: Miller IUP, John Harlow IUP, Kerry Naylor IUP, Kerry Webster IUP, Chris Lash IUP, Al Lingenfelter IUP.
Notre Dame at Pitt: Practically a must-win situation for both teams. Alumni and practically everybody look for coach Tyrone Willingham (love that first name!) to lead the Irish to the Promised Land, a plateau Notre Dame hasn’t reached in several years, or that several coaches? Number 15-ranked Pitt spent the off week working on defense. That is no surprise seeing that the Panthers have given up a ton of points and yards in two losses to Toledo and Texas A&M.
The picks: Miller Pitt 30-17, John Harlow Pitt 27-10, Kerry Naylor Pitt 29-18, Kerry Webster Notre Dame 36-19, Chris Lash Pitt 34-20, Al Lingenfelter Pitt 35-19.
Penn State at Purdue: The Boilermakers are 4-1 overall, 1-0 in Big 10 action. Nittany Lions are last in run defense and Purdue likes to run the ball. Zack Mills is practicing lightly, but there is no QB controversy yet. Comparing numbers if Michael Robinson continues to put up numbers like he did last week, there shouldn’t be any controversy. Mills has not led anybody anywhere since his freshman year.
The picks: Miller Purdue 24-20, John Harlow Purdue 34-17, Kerry Naylor Purdue 28-21, Kerry Webster Purdue 35-7, Chris Lash Purdue 24-17, Al Lingenfelter Purdue 42-24.
Steelers at Denver: Bill Cowher is still pushing for Tommy Maddox as his quarterback, but how long can he continue when “Touchdown Tommy” is throwing to Steeler opponents? The Steelers’ defense must prevent Denver QB Jake Plummer if he plays after aggravating an old injury to his throwing shoulder last week, from becoming the third straight signal caller to put up impressive numbers. A healthy offensive line would be the answer to Maddox’s prayers.
The picks: Miller Denver 33-20, John Harlow Denver 27-10, Kerry Naylor Denver 31-20, Kerry Webster Denver 42-7, Chris Lash Denver 36-20, Al Lingenfelter Steelers 34-28.
GOOD SPORTS:If you have some spare time on Saturday why not take in a local college football game. IUP with Tyrone grad Tyler Mertiff as the backup QB will host Edinboro at 2 p.m., Juniata College with B-A grad Matt Garner leading the defense with a team-high 48 tackles entertains Lebanon Valley at 1:30 p.m. and St. Francis University with B-A grad Dan Graham doing the placekicking hosts Albany at 1 p.m.
