Be prepared for football from the good ol’ days this week when Milton Union and Miami East hook up. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
After a surprising Week 7, Week 8 reveals that given last week’s results there’s no comfort, and take nothing for granted with this week’s picks. Can you trust anyone to win?
Week 7 was another up-and-down week, with trusted picks in Tipp, Troy, and Piqua…and head-scratching misses with Lehman, New Bremen, and Versailles.
Versailles, who in the span of a week became sentimental favorites to rebound from the manner in which they lost the previous week to Marion Local, was perhaps the biggest surprise of all.
“Time to get a new coin,” someone wrote. “You can’t tell heads or tails.”
Another added, writing to the Reader Speaks page, “If you’re interested in who wins a football game you better go and see for yourself, I guess.”
And can you take anything for granted again this week, with Marion vs. Anna, Coldwater vs. New Bremen, Versailles vs. Minster, and Miami East vs. Milton Union?
Take my advice, and do as I do. Yes, go and see for yourself.
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Here’s our eight best selections for the week, beginning with….
Miami East’s defense bottled up Lehman and its offense last week, while scoring 55 points.
Miami East @ Milton Union…If you want to trust an outcome there is no scarier game to pick this week than the old rivalry between Milton and Miami East. They’ve played for years, the game holds a passion in both communities, and there have been a few surprising outcomes over the years because of it. Milton is in the middle of a major rebuild, and East is in the middle of their best year since I don’t know when. When they’re good, as they were last week with Lehman, they’re electrifying. But against teams like Covington (22-21), you wonder…. East will score its share of points, but you always wonder about how many they’ll give up. The Vikings are simply too good with KJ Gustin and the passing game not to win this game…Vikings by three scores.
St. Henry @ Delphos St. John…The only doubt about this game is that of the bus breaking down on the way there, or on the way home. It’s an exciting year for the faithful in St. Henry, and it should be. 6-1, and their only loss to Marion Local, it’s been a long time between drinks of post-season respect for the Redskins. And this year, they deserve it, improving with each passing week. This will serve as an excellent setup game for finishing games with New Bremen and Versailles, and they will not look beyond the Blue Jays. There’s too much riding on how they finish. They’re #2 behind Marion Local in Region 28, and they’ll stay there this week. Redskins handily over Delphos St. John.
Coach Bill Nees promised early in the year that Piqua would improve over the course of weeks…and they have.
Piqua @ Stebbins…At 3-4 Bill Nees has the Indians playing the way he told me they would play at this stage back a month ago…in the frozen food aisle at Kroger. The Indians have steadily improved, are gaining some confidence, and face a Stebbins team this week who at 4-3 are a mirror image of Piqua. Of their four wins Stebbins does not have a good one in the bunch, the composite record of the opposition being 4-20. And that’s a perfect matchup for a Piqua team that I now believe will finish .500 and make the dance. Most are taking Stebbins because they’re at home. But that won’t matter to Nees and Piqua. Don’t take it for granted, but Piqua by a score.
Lehman @ Bethel…Frankly, it’s hard to pick football teams that score 32 points and lose, as the Cavaliers did last week at Miami East. And now they have to go on the road again to Bethel with a couple of major dings and salvage as much as they can for the next three weeks against the Bees, Riverside, and Covington, who is suddenly no one’s take-it-gor-granted. Bethel is averaging about 14 points a game and that’s Lehman’s advantage in this one, because even with a couple of injuries they’re going to score. They 6-1 and ranked #11 this week in Region 28. Cavaliers should win by two scores.
Versailles doesn’t have to have a big game from quarterback Ethan Wilker this week, but it wouldn’t hurt. either.
Minster @ Versailles…So which Minster, and which Versailles? And how do you tell the difference when both teams wear orange and black? Both are 4-3 and emotionally in opposite corners this week, Minster coming off a surprising win over New Bremen…and Versailles coming off an even more surprising loss to Anna. But it’s not hard to pick the Tigers this week if you believe that 35-7 last week was just too hard to explain. At home, and coming off a pair of losses, the smart money has to be with Versailles, and that’s just a figure of speech. Versailles, by two scores.
Preble Shawnee @ Tri-County North…I get the message…that Ansonia, Preble, Arcanum and Tri-Village deserve more attention, and that between the four their combined records are 25-3. But the problem is the rest of the Western Ohio Athletic Conference football, where between those six teams their records are 9-23. But next week…7-0 Preble Shawnee plays 7-0 Tri-Village for what will inevitably by the conference title in a game that will feature some real firepower. You’ll read about them then. This week. Preble beats North by four scores.
Jonathan Alder @ London…Another team that’s craving respect is the London Red Raiders, who at 7-0 have their dream Madison County matchup this week with the 7-0 Jonathan Alder Pioneers. How good are the Red Raiders? Very. How good are the Pioneers? Well, their best win has been over Bloom-Carroll, and they have too many softies like Tecumseh, Urbana, and Shawnee to really know. But no football game will have a better crowd and atmosphere this week than Jonathan Alder and London, just twenty minutes apart, and the only bragging rights to be had in the county. I’m picking London, by two scores.
Marion Local has shown the ability to make the big play, but not as consistently as in the past. They’ll need it this week against Anna.
Anna @ Marion Local…Not to be redundant…but which Anna? The one who showed up red hot last week against Versailles, or the one that lost to Minster win Week 3 and St. Henry in Week 5? And which Marion? The one that emotionally came out flat against Versailles, or the one that rebounded last week with a 41-7 romp over Fort Recovery? Obviously, with 71 wins in a row the favorite is Marion, and they should be because they seem to handle the adversity of playing under so much attention from week to week, even for a young team. But don’t misunderstand. Anna is a young team, as well. And a talented one. And at 5-2 they’re playing with house money and they’re going to make the post-season playoffs. The Rockets are probably going to finish no worse than 7-3 and will be a handful as a top six seed in the questionable Division VI Region 24. They’re ranked at #10 right now. You have to pick Marion, but Anna is going to make them work for it. Flyers, by two scores.
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