The guest picker rides again at the Daily Herald. Tyrone basketball coach Mike Harris proved he’s also pretty good at football as well, at least in recognizing winners. Harris went nine-for-10 last week to lead Chris Lash and Bob Miller who also missed on just one pick. John Harlow went 8-2 and Kerry Naylor was 7-3 bringing up the rear.
For the season, the guests continue to hold a three-game advantage over the Daily Herald staffers with a combined 57-13. Bob Miller continues to trail by three with a 54-16 mark, followed by Chris Lash at 52-18, Kerry Naylor at 50-20 and John Harlow at 47-23.
Our guest picker this week is Tyrone sports fan and great sports enthusiast of all sports and all schools in the northern part of Blair County, Eleanor Feltenberger. We wish to thank Eleanor for her time and effort.
Tyrone at Indian Valley: Indian Valley is coming off their first loss, an overtime effort at Huntingdon and should be ready to prove that last week against the Bearcats was just a speedbump on the way to getting things started again. Tyrone was forced to go almost totally to the run because of the weather in last week’s game at P-O. That wasn’t all bad with two hard-running sophomore running backs in Ben Gummo and Brice Mertiff, who proved to be the best “mudder” on either team.
The Picks: Miller Tyrone 21-20 (the upset of the week), John Harlow Tyrone 35-14, Kerry Naylor Tyrone 21-14, Chris Lash Indian Valley 21-10, Eleanor Feltenberger Tyrone 14-7.
Northern Bedford at Claysburg-Kimmel: Another team that was handed its first loss last week, Northern Bedford, who plays all home games at Everett while the Panthers are finally building a football field at their own school, lost to undefeated Moshannon Valley. Claysburg is second in ICC Section II while Northern is in the top spot of the same division. A win here can sew up the division for Northern Bedford and go along way toward solidifying a spot in the District 5/6 playoffs. Claysburg is 5-2 overall and almost certainly will be out of playoff consideration with a third loss.
The Picks: Miller Northern Bedford, John Harlow Northern Bedford, Kerry Naylor Northern Bedford, Chris Lash Northern Bedford, Eleanor Feltenberger Northern Bedford.
Everett at Glendale: Glendale (2-5) was shut out by West Branch last week, while Everett (3-4) was defeating Tussey. This is a battle between Everett from the ICC Section II and Glendale from the ICC Section III.
The Picks: Miller Everett, John Harlow Everett, Kerry Naylor Everett, Chris Lash Everett, Eleanor Feltenberger Everett.
Bald Eagle Area at Philipsburg-Osceola: The last two teams to taste defeat at the hands of Tyrone, BEA in Week Five 55-20 in good weather and Philipsburg 14-7 in terrible weather last week. This is a battle for one of the combatants to escape last place in the Big 8.
The Picks: Miller Bald Eagle Area, John Harlow Bald Eagle Area, Kerry Naylor Bald Eagle Area, Chris Lash Bald Eagle Area, Eleanor Feltenberger Philipsburg-Osceola.
Moshannon Valley at Juniata Valley: Mo Valley just keeps plugging along, still undefeated at 7-0. In a battle of the valleys, Moshannon Valley is at the top of ICC Section III, while Juniata Valley is at the bottom and is just 1-6 overall. Mo Valley can’t afford to look ahead to a monumental battle with Bellwood-Antis in Week Nine.
The Picks: Miller Moshannon Valley, John Harlow Moshannon Valley, Kerry Naylor Moshannon Valley, Chris Lash Moshannon Valley, Eleanor Feltenberger Moshannon Valley.
Shippensburg University at Lock Haven University: This one is the annual “battle of the brothers.” My brother graduated from the Lock and I graduated from Shippensburg when it was still called Shippensburg State College. Back then in the ice ages, we didn’t win many games, but usually managed to beat Lock Haven. Shippensburg is 2-0 in conference play after edging Slippery Rock in overtime last week.
The Picks: Miller Shippensburg University (of course), John Harlow Shippensburg University (spent most of his time at SU getting educated? at Maxie’s), Kerry Naylor Lock Haven University (guess which school he graduated from?), Chris Lash Shippensburg University, Eleanor Feltenberger Shippensburg University.
Ohio State at Wisconsin: OSU is a future Penn State opponent against Wisconsin, a team the Nittany Lions edged 34-31 two weeks ago. Ohio State is in the early hunt for the Big 10 title along with Iowa (3-0) and Michigan (2-0) who represent the only two losses on the Nittany Lion’s card.
The Picks: Miller Ohio State, John Harlow Ohio State, Kerry Naylor Ohio State, Chris Lash Ohio State, Eleanor Feltenberger Ohio State.
Northwestern at Penn State: Penn State is back at home against the Badgers, who are 2-5 and were idle last week after absorbing a loss to Minnesota in a 45-42 offensive shootout. Zach Mills and Larry Johnson have had another week to rest injuries, although LJ may not see much playing time this week to rest a painful hamstring. Is JoePa serious about his grump with the referees or is that just a ploy to get the team going and stay up regardless of the quality of team they play this week.
The Picks: Miller Penn State 45-17, John Harlow Penn State 68-10, Kerry Naylor Penn State 42-3, Chris Lash Penn State 36-20, Eleanor Feltenberger Penn State 30-17.
Indianapolis at Steelers: This is a battle of “M” quarterbacks-Manning versus Maddox. Although many feel it’s not in question, don’t count Pittsburgh out in this one. Tommy Maddox has taken charge of the suddenly rejuvenated Steelers. He has been a leader, no question about that. Every professional team has the talent, often all a team needs is leadership to guide the talent and sometimes, all the talent needs is a leader they feel is in control of the situation.
The Picks: Miller Steelers 35-28, John Harlow Indianapolis 30-10, Kerry Naylor Steelers 24-10, Chris Lash Steelers 28-24, Eleanor Feltenberger Steelers 17-14.
Tampa Bay at Eagles: Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three straight games. With that defense, if Mike Alstott can run like he did last week against the Browns, take it to the bank for the Bucs. Philadelphia (3-2) is in first place in the NFC East Division, but is the only NFC division leader after six weeks with more than one loss team
The Picks: Miller Tampa Bay, John Harlow Tampa Bay, Kerry Naylor Philadelphia, Chris Lash Tampa Bay, Eleanor Feltenberger Tampa Bay.
AREA SPORTS NOTES: Tyrone grad Julie DelBaggio, a sophomore at Penn State Altoona was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference women’s tennis player of the week. DelBaggio was 4-0 this past week in singles at the Number Six position. She is 3-1 in doubles and 7-0 in singles action overall.
Doug Hoover and Sonja Hinish representing the Pennsylvania Biathlon Club competed in the Summer Biathlon National Championship at Grand Rapids, Minnesota on October 5-6.
Hoover approached this race a bit differently from others he has competed in this year running less conservatively than usual and was in serious contention for the first time. Before Hoover had traded aggressiveness for solid finishing places at the end of the race, but had never been in contention before. The Tyrone grad ended up seventh in the men’s race with a time of 26:31 and five penalties.
“I learned that I can run with these guys at seas level,” said Hoover. “Now I have another year to learn to run that fast and still shot well.” This was Hoover’s eighth time competing at Nationals and his fifth top-10 finish.
Hinish, a high school junior from Williamsburg, who attends Bishop Guilfoyle High School was running just her second Nationals in just her first complete year of competition. She finished in 12th place in a time of 25:13 with eight penalties.
Both PBC members were the only Pennsylvanians in the top 15 of their respective races.
Bellwood-Antis approved new wrestling coaches last Tuesday night at their school board meeting. Tim Andrekovich was approved as the new junior high wrestling coach. Jim Weyant was named an assistant junior high coach. Darrell Claar was named a volunteer junior high assistant and Josh Evans and Dave Ervine were also accepted as volunteer assistant coaches.
The next time you see her at a sports event, check in with Eleanor Feltenberger. Thanks again Eleanor!
