FROM THE PRESS BOX: PIGSKIN PICKERS FORECAST A MOSTLY-GOOD WEEKEND FOR VALLEY TEAMS (2021-10-15)

It’s Week 8 South of the Border, and Week 6 on the North side, and there are three big games involving Valley teams tonight.

Waverly is on the road at Watkins Glen / O-M in a game to decide the Section IV, Division V title, while Tioga hosts Harpursville-Afton in a game with big Division VI title implications, and Athens hosts NTL large School-leading Canton. The six teams have a combined record of 32-3.

On Saturday, Sayre makes the trip to Shikshinny to face Northwest Area.

Last weekend was a very good on for the pigskin pickers. Little Red led the way with a 10-0 record, while The Mick and Country Bob were 9-1, and I was 8-2. On the season, Little Red remains atop the standings at 65-8, while The Mick is 60-13, I have a 59-14 mark, and Country Bob is 55-18.

In all, our pigskin prognosticators will make picks on 12 games — six in Pa., and six in N.Y.

Let’s start with the three Valley teams in action:

FRIDAY
Waverly (6-0) at Watkins Glen / O-M (4-1):  The state-ranked Wolverines, 10th in Class B, are coming off a 46-7 win over Dryden, while the Seneca Indians, an honorable mention in the state-rankings, steamrolled Cobleskill-Richmondville, also an honorable mention, 47-13.

The winner of this game wins the Division V title, while the loser plays the Division IV champ, which will likely be Chenango Forks.

This is a good Seneca Indian team. Travon Jones is one of the best two-way players in Section IV, and QB Cam Holland, RB Owen Scholtisek, and tight end Adam Pastore are players.

Prediction: Waverly is much better than I envisioned this season, and the main reason is defense. The Wolverines’ defense has allowed just three TDs in six games, but they will get their biggest test of the season to this point tonight. … WAVERLY 26, WATKINS GLEN / O-M 22.
Little Red: Waverly 27, WG / O-M 14
The Mick: Waverly 34, WG / OM 12
Country Bob: Waverly 28, WG / OM 14

Harpursville-Afton (5-0) at Tioga (5-0):  The state-ranked Tigers, ranked No. 1 in Class D, are coming off a 46-15 win over 15th-ranked Newark Valley last Friday, while the 11th-ranked Hornets thumped Deposit-Hancock, 53-20.

The Tigers have been dominant all season, outscoring their an opponents by an average of 45 to 8.6, and beating their divisional rivals by an average of 49.5 to 7.3.

H-A beat up on Sidney, B-G and Deposit-Hancock, but needed a pair of late TDs to beat Newark Valley in the season opener, and also scored late in a 28-14 win over Walton.

Prediction: The Hornets struggled to stop Newark Valley in a 42-33 win, which is not good news with Tioga averaging more 500 yards per game in total offense in front of them tonight. … TIOGA 55, HARPURSVILLE-AFTON 12.
Little Red: Tioga 45, H-A 7
The Mick: Tioga 55, H-A 6
Country Bob: Tioga 35, H-A 6

Canton (7-0) at Athens (5-2): The Wildcats are coming off a 44-14 win over North Penn Friday, while the Warriors thumped Montgomery, 48-6.

Canton is predominantly a running team, with four or five backs that can hurt you, but senior QB Cooper Kitchen and junior slot receiver Weston Bellows are a dangerous, big-play combo in the passing game.

Athens has scored a lot of points in its wins, but was shutout in both of its losses.

Prediction: Canton is probably the best team in the NTL, although Muncy might will have something to say about that in the postseason, but Athens has not been embarrassed this season, and I don’t expect that to happen tonight either. The Warrior defense will be the difference, though. … CANTON 20, ATHENS 7.
Little Red: Canton 21, Athens 7
The Mick: Canton 21, Athens 8
Country Bob: Canton 28, Athens 7

Troy (5-2) at Towanda (0-6): The Trojans are coming off a 22-21 loss at Sayre Saturday night, while the Blank Knights (due to Covid) have been off since a 26-19 home loss to Cowanesque Valley in Week 6.

Prediction: Troy is likely to be steamed after a loss in the final minute to Sayre, and Towanda may not be at full strength. … TROY 47, TOWANDA 0.
Little Red: Troy 42, Towanda 0
The Mick: Troy 55, Towanda 0
Country Bob: Troy 42, Towanda 6

Wellsboro (1-3) at Wyalusing (2-5): The Green Hornets, who lost their second game to Covid last week, have been off since a 26-0 loss to Canton in Week 5, while the Rams dropped a 32-0 decision at home to Cowanesque Valley last weekend.

Prediction: Wellsboro is still in the thick of things for a District playoff spot, but need wins. Look for them to get healthy tonight. … WELLSBORO 28, WYALUSING 13.
Little Red: Wellsboro 28, Wyalusing 7
The Mick: Wellsboro 31, Wyalusing 20
Country Bob: Wellsboro 24, Wyalusing 7

Line Mountain (0-6) at North Penn (3-4): The Panthers are coming off a 44-14 loss at Athens Friday, while Line Mountain dropped a 26-0 decision to Executive Education Academy Charter School out of District 11.

Prediction: North Penn has been pretty good against mediocre teams, and Line Mountain qualifies. … NORTH PENN 27, LINE MOUNTAIN 12.
Little Red: Line Mountain 20, North Penn 13
The Mick: Line Mountain 23, North Penn 14
Country Bob: North Penn 18, Line Mountain 12

Montgomery (3-4) at Muncy (6-1): The Indians are coming off a 31-20 win over South Williamsport, while the Red Raiders were thumped, 48-6, by Canton.

Prediction: Muncy has won six in a row, and has scored 42.5 points per game in the process. After a promising start, Montgomery has lost four in a row, allowing 34.3 points per game in that span. … MUNCY 48, MONTGOMERY 14.
Little Red: Muncy 48, Montgomery 0
The Mick: Muncy 44, Montgomery 12
Country Bob: Muncy 35, Montgomery 0

Windsor (3-2) at Owego (1-4): The Indians are coming off a 35-13 loss to Maine-Endwell, while the Black Knights dropped a 26-8 decision to Susquehanna Valley.

Prediction: Owego, which graduated 22 seniors from last spring’s team, is still searching for its identity, while Windsor’s promising 3-0 start was derailed by a bad loss to Johnson City, and last week’s setback against SV. … WINDSOR 29, OWEGO 12.
Little Red: Windsor 35, Owego 14
The Mick: Windsor 24, Owego 0
Country Bob: Owego 14, Windsor 10

8-MAN
Newfield (1-2) at SVEC (3-0): The state’s second-ranked Eagles, off since Week 4 due to covid, are coming off a 64-0 win over Edison, while the Trojans were thumped, 47-0, by Lansing.

Prediction: Newfield played fourth-ranked Greene tough in a 28-26 loss in Week 2, but were soundly beat by Lansing. SVEC has outscored its opponents by an average of 62.7 to 4. … SVEC 62, NEWFIELD 6.
Little Red: SVEC 68, Newfield 7
The Mick: SVEC 55, Newfield 28
Country Bob: SVEC 49, Newfield 0

Unadilla Valley (1-3) at Notre Dame (0-4): The Crusaders are coming off a 38-6 loss to Unatego/Franklin, while the Storm dropped a 53-14 decision to state-ranked Groton.

Prediction: Unadilla Valley lost 38-7 earlier this season to Unatego / Franklin, so this could be a competitive game. … UNADILLA VALLEY 34, NOTRE DAME 30.
Little Red: Unadilla Valley 42, Notre Dame 14
The Mick: Unadilla Valley 36, Notre Dame 13
Country Bob: Unadilla Valley 28, Notre Dame 20

SATURDAY

Prediction: Both teams lost close games to Cowanesque Valley, but the Redskins were missing 14 players due to Covid. Northwest lost to Montgomery, 27-14, while Sayre beat them 36-16. … SAYRE 40, NORTHWEST 20.
Little Red: Sayre 28, Northwest 14
The Mick: Sayre 44, Northwest 13.
Country Bob: Sayre 49, Northwest Area 6

Newark Valley (3-2) at Delhi (4-1): The Cardinals are coming off a 46-15 loss at Tioga Friday, while Delhi bounced back nicely from its 55-0 home loss to Tioga with a 41-7 win over winless B-G.

Prediction: Despite last week’s loss at Tioga, this is a pretty good Newark Valley team, and Delhi is enduring its share of issues. … NEWARK VALLEY 36, DELHI 20.
Little Red: Newark Valley 28, Delhi 24
The Mick: Newark Valley 36, Delhi 27.
Country Bob: Newark Valley 35, Delhi 6


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