Everyone had the Waverly-Troy game circled on their calendars as a "Game of the Year" candidate well in advance of that contest two weeks ago, but the play of the Athens Wildcats in the first three weeks makes tonight another "Game of the Week" candidate.Sayre is on the road at Cowanesque Valley tonight. Meanwhile, the New York State football season opens for everyone with Waverly at Windsor tonight, and Tioga travels to Deposit-Hancock Saturday afternoon.
For the first time ever, all four of VSR's pigskin prognosticators picked all 10 games exactly the same last week. All four were 8-1 on the weekend, missing out on Wellsboro's win over Wyalusing.
On the season, The Mick leads the pack at 19-7, while Country Bob and I are 18-8, and Little Red is 17-9.
Without further ado, the VSR Pigskin Pickers make their picks for Week 4 (Week 3 in Pa. and Week 1 in N.Y.):
Troy (2-1) at Athens (3-0): The Wildcats are coming off a 56-22 win over Canton, while the Trojans rolled over South Williamsport, 42-13.
This game comes down to two things. First, which team will win the battle in the trenches. If anyone had any doubts how good Waverly is up front, those doubts should have been erased in Week Double-Zero. If Athens wants to duplicate Waverly's win, its line will have to at least play the Trojans even in the trenches.
Second, will Troy standout Brendan Gilliland play? He did not play last week. If Gilliland is in the line-up at 100 percent, the Trojans are tough to stop. Without him, the Troy offense is more manageable, but still very dangerous.
Prediction: Athens has an explosive offense, and junior dual-threat QB Connor Davidson is the driving force behind it, but Troy is a different animal and the best team the Wildcats will see until the postseason. ... TROY 17, ATHENS 13.
The Mick: Athens 21, Troy 15 (OT) ... Country Bob: Athens 28, Troy 21 ... Little Red: Athens 35, Troy 27.
Sayre (0-3) at Cowanesque Valley (1-2): The Redskins are coming off a 58-0 loss at Montgomery, while the Indians dropped a 48-6 loss to Muncy.
The Redskins got banged up in its Week Zero loss to Troy and haven't recovered from it. The offense has had very little success, and the defense has spent way too much time on the field.
Prediction: CV struggled last week against Muncy, and in the second half against Wyalusing, but looked good against Towanda, and in the first half against Wyalusing. Which version shows up tonight? ... CV 44, Sayre 12.
The Mick: CV 35, Sayre 7 ... Country Bob: CV 47, Sayre 6 ... Little Red: CV 42, Sayre 13.
Waverly (1-0) at Windsor (1-0): Waverly edged defending PIAA Class AA state champion Troy, 14-13, in Week Double-zero, while the Black Knights edged Tioga, 9-7.
Waverly has had two weeks to fine-tune its offense, and its defense, which frankly is a little scary.
Windsor looked very good defensively against Tioga, but offensively struggled against a defense that spent way too much time on the field.
Prediction: The Wolverines have to be a confident bunch heading into Windsor tonight. Waverly is very good up front, and I think that's the difference. ... WAVERLY 24, WINDSOR 0.
The Mick: Waverly 24, Windsor 10 ... Country Bob: Waverly 35, Windsor 13 ... Little Red: Waverly 48, Windsor 14.
Tioga (0-1) at Deposit-Hancock (1-0): The Tigers dropped its season-opener to Windsor, 9-7, in Week Double-Zero, while D-H rolled over Whitney Point, 37-14, in Week Zero.
Tioga's offense was virtually non-existent in its loss to Windsor, but its defense was very good.
Prediction: The Tigers dominated D-H up front last season. It will be interesting to see if they've figured out their offensive woes, which began up front. ... TIOGA 26, D-H 19.
The Mick: Tioga 33, D-H 21 ... Country Bob: Tioga 28, D-H 6 ... Little Red: Tioga 27, D-H 13.
Wellsboro (1-2) at Towanda (0-3): The Black Knights are coming off a last-second, 24-17, loss to North Penn-Mansfield, while the Hornets topped Wyalusing, 14-6.
Prediction: After Troy and Athens, I don't think much separates the remainder of the NTL. Anyone can beat anyone on any given week. ... TOWANDA 19, WELLSBORO 15.
The Mick: Wellsboro 21, Towanda 14 ... Country Bob: Towanda 21, Wellsboro 20 ... Little Red: Wellsboro 20, Towanda 7.
North Penn-Mansfield (3-0) at Canton (1-2): The Tigers pulled out a 24-17 win over Towanda in the closing seconds last week, while the Warriors dropped a 56-22 decision at Athens.
Prediction: NP-M has some weapons, and is unbeaten, but Canton has played a tougher schedule. ... NP-M 20, CANTON 13.
The Mick: Canton 14, NP-M 13 ... Country Bob: NP-M 27, Canton 17 ... Little Red: NP-M 28, Canton 7.
Montgomery (2-1) at Wyalusing (1-2): The Rams dropped a 14-6 decision to Wellsboro, while the Red Raiders rolled over Sayre, 58-0.
Prediction: This looks to be a low-scoring contest. ... MONTGOMERY 14, WYALUSING 13.
The Mick: Montgomery 24, Wyalusing 12 ... Country Bob: Montgomery 27, Wyalusing 13 ... Little Red: Montgomery 34, Wyalusing 14.
Muncy (2-1) at Northwest Area (0-3): The Indians are coming off a 48-6 shellacking of Cowanesque Valley, while the Rangers were thumped 59-0 by Lake Lehman.
Prediction: Muncy's lone loss was to unbeaten Warrior Run, while Northwest Area has struggled in its final NTL season. ... MUNCY 47, NORTHWEST 6.
The Mick: Muncy 36, Northwest 6 ... Country Bob: Muncy 42, Northwest 6 ... Little Red: Muncy 42, Northwest 0.
Sidney at Newark Valley (1-0): The Cardinals are coming off a come-from-behind, 19-14, win over Schuyler, while the Warriors open the season tonight.
Prediction: Newark Valley showed grit and a solid defense, which should be enough this week. ... NV 19, SIDNEY 12.
The Mick: NV 28, Sidney 13 ... Country Bob: NV 19, Sidney 14. ... Little Red: NV 35, Sidney 17.
SVEC (1-0) at Schuyler (0-1): The Eagles are coming off a 54-13 win over Harpursville-Afton, while the Storm dropped a 19-14 decision to Newark Valley — a game it led 14-0 at the half.
Prediction: The Eagles are explosive on offense, and athletic on defense. ... SVEC 33, SCHUYLER 13.
The Mick: SVEC 44, Schuyler 7 ... Country Bob: SVEC 35, Schuyler 6 ... Little Red: SVEC 28, Schuyler 7.
Susquehanna Valley at Owego (0-1): The River Hawks dropped a 7-6 decision to powerhouse Chenango Forks in Week Zero, while the Sabers will open the season tonight.
Prediction: Owego's defensive performance against Forks was an eye-opener. ... OWEGO 20, SV 6.
The Mick: Owego, 21, SV 13. ... Country Bob: Owego 21, SV 15 ... Little Red: Owego 14, SV 7.
