FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 8 PICKS — CAN VALLEY TEAMS MANAGE THREE WINS? (2024-10-11)

It’s Week 8 of the high school football season, and only one team — Sayre — is at home this weekend.

Athens (at Wyalusing) and Waverly (at Dryden) are on the road Friday night, while Tioga (at Newark Valley) takes on its arch-rival, and Sayre hosts Towanda under the lights for its Homecoming.

The pigskin prognosticators had a pretty good week in Week 7 with Tim Birney going 10-1, Little Red and Country Bob were 9-2, and The Mick was 8-3.

On the season, The Mick leads the pack at 58-12, while I am 56-14, Little Red is 55-15, and Country Bob is 53-17.

So what do the pigskin pickers predict for Week 9? Let’s take a look:

Waverly (4-1) at Dryden (3-2): The Wolverines are coming off a 62-0 win over Schuyler, while the Purple Lions topped Whitney Point, 34-22.

Waverly is clicking on all cylinders, averaging 43.6 points per game, while allowing 16.5 points per game (just 6 per game if you take out M-E game), while Dryden’s wins are against two of the weakest programs (Ithaca and Whitney Point) in Section IV.

Prediction: Waverly has hung up 70 on Dryden at least twice in Jason Miller’s tenure. Don’t be shocked if they do it again tonight. … WAVERLY 55, DRYDEN 0.
The Mick: Waverly 58, Dryden 0. … Country Bob: Waverly 55, Dryden 0. … Little Red: Waverly 63, Dryden 7.

Athens (3-4) at Wyalusing (4-3): The Wildcats are coming off a 34-13 loss to Towanda, while the Rams rolled to a 54-28 win over Canton.

Athens has a lot of talent, but it’s still young talent, and with young talent comes inconsistency. If there’s one thing consistent with this team it’s inconsistency.

Wyalusing does one thing: it runs the football, but does it pretty well.

Prediction: If the Wildcats can stop Wyalusing’s ground game … but that’s a big if. … ATHENS 27, WYALUSING 22.
The Mick: Wyalusing 27, Athens 12. … Country Bob: Wyalusing 35, Canton 20. … Little Red: Wyalusing 35, Athens 17.

Owego (4-0) at Westhill (2-3): The River Hawks rolled to a 61-6 win over Oneonta, while the Warriors dropped a 54-42 decision to Chittenango.

Owego has been dominant, outscoring its opponents 39. to 6.5 per game, including a surprisingly-easy 35-14 win over Horseheads, while Westhill has been involved in shootout after shootout and is being outscored 39 to 38.2 in five games, including a 42-28 loss to Chenango Forks.

Prediction: Maine-Endwell only scored 21 on Forks, and Westhill scored 28, so the Warriors offense has to be pretty good. The question is: Can Owego slow down that offense, or outscore it if they can’t. … WESTHILL 34, OWEGO 30.
The Mick: Owego 48, Westhill 14. … Country Bob: Westhill 27, Owego 24. … Little Red: Owego 35, Westhill 14.

Troy (7-0) at North Penn-Mansfield (2-5): The Trojans are coming off a 50-20 win over Wellsboro, while the Panthers dropped a 59-20 decision to Muncy.

Prediction: NP-M is allowing 47.6 point in its losses, while Troy is averaging 48.1 points per game. … TROY 62, NP-M 0.
The Mick: Troy 58, NP-M 8. … Country Bob: Troy 48, NP-M 0. … Little Red: Troy 55, NP-M 7.

Wellsboro (1-6) at Canton (3-4): The Hornets are coming off a 50-20 loss to Troy, while the Warriors dropped a 54-28 decision to Wyalusing.

Prediction: These are two teams headed in opposite directions. Wellsboro is improving, while Canton hasn’t been able to overcome its injuries. … CANTON 33, WELLSBORO 19.
The Mick: Wellsboro 36, Canton 32. … Country Bob: Wellsboro 27, Canton 13. … Little Red: Wellsboro 21, Canton 13.

Northwest Area (1-6) at Cowanesque Valley (2-5): The Indians are coming off a 29-24 win over CMVT, while the Rangers dropped a 45-8 decision to Montgomery.

Prediction: A young CV is looking for its second win in a row, but Northwest has some weapons. … CV 20, Northwest 16.
The Mick: CV 21, Northwest 8. … Country Bob: CV 35, Northwest 13. … Little Red: CV 28, Northwest 20.

Corning (3-1) at Horseheads (3-2): The Hawks dropped a 58-36 decision to Cicero-North Syracuse, while the Blue Raiders rolled to a 42-6 win over Elmira.

Prediction: Horseheads had trouble stopping Owego’s ground game, which is not a good sign when you’re facing another power run game like Corning. … CORNING 36, HORSEHEADS 27.
The Mick: Horseheads 44, Corning 36. … Country Bob: Corning 28, Horseheads 20. … Little Red: Corning 42, Horseheads 21.

Montgomery (4-3) at Holy Redeemer (0-7): The Red Raiders are coming off a 45-8 win over Northwest Area, while the Royals dropped a 13-0 decision to previously-winless Montrose.

Prediction: Montgomery has been playing well, and Holy Redeemer has not. … MONTGOMERY 48, HOLY REDEEMER 6.
The Mick: Montgomery 38, HR 6. … Country Bob: Montgomery 42, HR 6. … Little Red: Montgomery 21, HR 13.

SATURDAY
Tioga (3-2) at Newark Valley (1-4): The Tigers are coming off a 41-34 loss to Delhi, while the Cardinals dropped a 35-14 decision to Susquehanna Valley.

Prediction: Tioga is banged up, but not nearly as badly as Newark Valley. … TIOGA 27, NV 12.
The Mick: Tioga 33, NV 13. … Country Bob: Tioga 35, NV 7. …  Little Red: Tioga 28, NV 14.

Towanda (5-2) at Sayre (1-6): The Redskins are coming off a 55-7 loss to South Williamsport, while the Black Knights rolled to a 34-13 win over Athens.

Prediction: Towanda is playing well, while Sayre has struggled against the top teams in the NTL. … TOWANDA 48, SAYRE 12.
The Mick: Towanda 54, Sayre 6. … Country Bob: Towanda 50, Sayre 6. … Little Red: Towanda 44, Sayre 13.

SVEC (2-3) at Delhi (3-2): The Eagles are coming off a 34-14 win over Harpursville-Afton, while the Bulldogs topped Tioga, 41-34.

Prediction: Delhi is the team to beat in Section IV, Class D, and SVEC is not at that level yet. … DELHI 44, SVEC 12.
The Mick: Delhi 38, SVEC 12. … Country Bob: Delhi 47, SVEC 12. … Little Red: Delhi 35, SVEC 14.

Muncy (6-1) at South Williamsport (4-3): The Indians are coming off a 59-20 win over North Penn-Mansfield, while the Mounties rolled to a 55-7 win over Sayre.

Prediction: Muncy is the team to beat in District 4, Class A, and South is not quite what they were last year. … MUNCY 27, SOUTH 12.
The Mick: Muncy 32, South 15. … Country Bob: Muncy 27, South 21. … Little Red: Muncy 31, South 13.

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