FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 6 PICKS — CAN WAVERLY TAKE DOWN M-E? (2024-09-26)

It’s Week 6 of the high school football season, and it begins with a pair of games on Thursday, and features a BIG game on Saturday.

Tioga looks to bounce back from its first loss in three-plus seasons Thursday night at SVEC, while Towanda hosts Canton in an NTL Large School battle.

On Friday, Athens and Sayre host divisional opponents, and on Saturday, reigning Class C state champion Waverly travels to take on last year’s Class B finalist Maine-Endwell.

Three of the pigskin prognosticators had solid weeks last week, and then there was Country Bob. The Mick was 9-2 on the week to improve to 42-6 on the season, while Little Red and I were 8-3. Little Red improves to 38-10, while I an now 37-11. Country Bob was 4-7 and is 36-12 on the season.

So what do the pigskin pickers predict for Week 6? Let’s take a look:

THURSDAY
Tioga (2-1) at SVEC (1-2): The Tigers, still ranked No. 1 in Class D, are coming off a 25-0 loss to state-ranked Chenango Forks, ranked 3rd in Class C, while the Eagles lost 28-24 to state-ranked Bainbridge-Guilford (7th in Class D).

Tioga will play its first game of the season against a Class D team tonight, and we should get a good indication of where the Tigers stand as SVEC played B-G tough in a loss last week.

Prediction: It will be interesting to see how the Tigers bounce back, and how its defense handles SVEC RB Logan Aman. Likewise, it will be interesting to see if the Tigers can get its offense back to where it was prior to last week’s standstill at Forks. … TIOGA 33, SVEC 13.
The Mick: Tioga 24, SVEC 17 … Country Bob: Tioga 42, SVEC 13. … Little Red: Tioga 42, SVEC 7.

Canton (3-2) at Towanda (3-2): The Black Knights are coming off a 56-13 loss to unbeaten Troy, while the Warriors dropped a 19-15 decision at home to Montgomery.

Prediction: This is a tough game to get a handle on. … TOWANDA 27, CANTON 14.
The Mick: Towanda 42, Canton 36. … Country Bob: Canton 47, Towanda 35. … Little Red: Canton 48, Towanda 35.

FRIDAY
Wellsboro (1-4) at Athens (2-3): The Wildcats are coming off a disappointing 16-14 loss to North Penn-Mansfield, while the Hornets rolled to a 40-8 win over Cowanesque Valley.

Athens just couldn’t get anything going offensively, but it’s defense was solid. The Wildcat D will need to be good again this week against Wellsboro’s Ryder Bowen, who rushed for more than 300 yards last week.

Prediction: I would expect sophomore QB Connor Davidson to run the ball a bit more this week. If he does, good things will happen. … ATHENS 34, WELLSBORO 14.
The Mick: Wellsboro 24, Athens 15. …  Country Bob: Athens 35, Wellsboro 21. … Little Red: Athens 28, Wellsboro 24.

Northwest Area (1-4) at Sayre (0-5): The Redskins are coming off a 61-20 loss to Muncy, while the Rangers edges New Hope-Solebury, 17-14.

Northwest Area can move the ball on offense, but has struggled on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 47 points per game in its four losses. The Redskins are allowing 57 points per game.

Prediction: This has all the makings of a shootout. … NORTHWEST 48, SAYRE 36.
The Mick: Sayre 54, Northwest 53. … Country Bob: Northwest 28, Sayre 20. … Little Red: Northwest 28, Sayre 8.

Owego (2-0) at Horseheads (2-1): The River Hawks are coming off a 28-6 win over Norwich, while the Blue Raiders dropped a 34-21 decision at Waverly.

Prediction: Horseheads showed a lot of positives in its loss at Waverly. And, playing at home could be the difference. … HORSEHEADS 24, OWEGO 21.
The Mick: Horseheads 35, Owego 13. … Country Bob: Horseheads 27, Owego 21. … Little Red: Horseheads 35, Owego 21.

Troy (5-0) at Wyalusing (3-2): The Trojans are coming off a 56-13 over Towanda, while the Rams dropped a 21-19 decision to South Williamsport.

Prediction: Starting to sound like a broken record, but Troy can pick its own score in this one. … TROY 61, WYALUSING 6.
The Mick: Troy 63, Wyalusing 7. … Country Bob: Troy 57, Wyalusing 0. … Little Red: Troy 49, Wyalusing 7.

Muncy (4-1) at Montgomery (3-2): The Indians are coming off a 61-20 win at Sayre, while the Red Raiders edged Canton, 19-16.

Prediction: I really liked what I saw from Montgomery at Sayre earlier this season, but Muncy looks explosive, and big Austin Johnson will probably be the difference. … MUNCY 27, MONTGOMERY 13.
The Mick: Muncy 16, Montgomery 8. … Country Bob: Muncy 35, Montgomery 13. … Little Red: Muncy 35, Montgomery 7.

South Williamsport (2-3) at Cowanesque Valley (1-4): The Mounties are coming off a 21-19 win over Wyalusing, while the Indians dropped a 40-8 decision to Wellsboro.

Prediction: CV is a year away from better things. … SOUTH 34, CV 6.
The Mick: South 38, CV 16. … Country Bob: South 47, CV 13. … Little Red: South 35, CV 0.

Warrior Run (4-1) at North Penn-Mansfield (2-3): The Defenders are coming off a 24-0 loss to unbeaten Lewisburg, while the Tigers topped Athens, 16-14.

Prediction: NP-Mansfield is better than I thought, but they are not Lewisburg. … WARRIOR RUN 42, NP-M 12.
The Mick: Warrior Run 48, NP-M 7. …  Country Bob: Warrior Run 35, NP-M 6. … Little Red: Warrior Run 35, NP-M 7.

SATURDAY
Waverly (3-0) at Maine-Endwell (3-0): The Wolverines are coming off a 34-21 win over Horseheads, while the Spartans rolled to a 61-6 win over Chenango Valley.

This is a battle of top-ranked teams in New York State, with reigning Class C champion Waverly ranked No. 1 in Class C, and returning Class B state finalist Maine-Endwell, ranked No. 1 in Class B.

Jason Miller has done amazing things with the Waverly program, ditto for Nick Aiello at Tioga, and Dave Hogan at Chenango Forks, but if there’s a blueprint to follow it’s Matt Gallagher’s at M-E.

Prediction: Waverly needs to run the ball enough to keep M-E off QB Ben Shaw. Conversely, the Wolverines need to force M-E to throw the ball. Should be a good one. … M-E 24, WAVERLY 17.
The Mick: Waverly 21, M-E 18. …  Country Bob: M-E 21, Waverly 20. … Little Red: Maine-Endwell 28, Waverly 14.

Newark Valley (1-2) at Chenango Forks (3-0): The Cardinals are coming off a 32-20 loss to Whitney Point, while the Blue Devils blanked Tioga, 25-0.

Prediction: Forks looked like the real deal last week. … FORKS 55, NV 0.
The Mick: Forks 48, NV 0. … Country Bob: Forks 42, NV 6. … Little Red: Forks 52, NV 0.

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