Pigskin Pick’Em: Week No. 7

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It feels (and is) too early to be Week No. 7 of the high school football season, yet here we are. 

While league and conference titles remain up in the air, we’re getting an idea of what potential playoff matchups could look like with the expanded 16-team per region format that’s being used this fall by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

First things first though. A handful of Friday’s games will go a long way toward determining league and conference championships and it feels like it’s the weekend for a couple of notable upsets to occur. 

Before I get to this week’s picks, my record last week was 15-5, which puts my overall season record at 113-29 or 79.5 percent. 

20 area games are on this week’s Pigskin Pick’Em slate. 

Games of the Week

Coldwater (6-0) at St. Henry (4-2)

Don’t ask me why but this one feels like it has upset written all over it. 

Coldwater is ranked No. 1 in Division VI and has had a couple of close calls (14-6 over Oak Hills and 21-14 over Delphos St. John’s) while St. Henry’s two losses have come against Division VI No. 2 Fort Frye (16-12) and Division VII No. 1 Marion Local (20-7).

While I can see an upset happening, it’s kind of tough to pick against the No. 1 team in the state, so I’m sticking with the Cavaliers.

The pick: Coldwater 

Delphos St. John’s (1-5) at Parkway (1-5)

The Blue Jays gave Coldwater all they could handle two weeks ago and the Panthers picked up their first win of the season last week against Minster. 

It’s a classic toss-up game between these two but it should be an entertaining game. 

After some thought, I’m going with the Blue Jays in a close one, but I won’t be at all shocked if Parkway wins it.

The pick: Delphos St. John’s 

Fairview (2-4) at Wayne Trace (1-5)

Another game that can be considered a toss-up. 

The Apaches have won two of their last three games while Wayne Trace has played a challenging schedule against teams that are a combined 22-14, including three 5-1 teams and a 4-2 team. 

It probably makes a bit more sense to pick Fairview since they’ve picked up a couple of wins in mid to late September, but something tells me the Raiders will pull this one out.

The pick: Wayne Trace 

Crestview (5-1) at Columbus Grove (6-0)

Count me as one of the people who didn’t think the Bulldogs would be 6-0 and ranked No. 8 in Division VI. It’s also fair to say I wasn’t sure if the Knights would be 5-1 at this point of the season but here we are. 

I’ll just come out and say it – it’s pretty tough to pick against Columbus Grove at home. The Bulldogs certainly aren’t a high-flying flashy team but they get things done, especially on the defensive side of the ball. 

This will be a hard fought game and it should be close one but I’m giving a slight edge to the Bulldogs. 

The pick: Columbus Grove

Van Wert (5-1) at Shawnee (4-2)

There’s no need to beat around the bush here. With all due respect to Shawnee, I think Van Wert wins this game. 

The Indians play outstanding defense and it’ll be interesting to see how that unit fares against Van Wert’s powerful offense, which has become more balanced in recent games. To be blunt though, I have a tough time seeing Shawnee’s offense keep up with Van Wert. 

Once again, I’m going with the Cougars. 

The pick: Van Wert 

Best of the Rest

WBL

Bath at Defiance: Bath

Elida at Wapakoneta: Wapakoneta

Ottawa-Glandorf at Celina: Ottawa-Glandorf

St. Marys Memorial at Kenton: St. Marys Memorial

NWC

Ada at Spencerville: Spencerville

Allen East at Delphos Jefferson: Allen East

Leipsic at Bluffton: Leipsic 

GMC 

Ayersville at Antwerp: Antwerp 

Edgerton at Hicksville: Edgerton

Paulding at Tinora: Tinora

MAC 

Anna at Versailles: Versailles 

Fort Recovery at Marion Local: Marion Local

New Bremen at Minster: New Bremen 

Others

Toledo Whitmer at Lima Sr: Whitmer 

Lima Central Catholic vs. Beverly Fort Frye (at London HS): Fort Frye