Pigskin Pick’Em: regular season finale

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It’s Week 10 and some titanic battles are on tap on Friday night. It’s a very exciting weekend, with conference and league titles up for grabs, followed by the announcement of official first round playoff pairings on Sunday.

Last week I went 19-1, with the only miss being Versailles and Coldwater. I picked Versailles to win, but Coldwater came out on top. My overall season record is now 146-33, or 81.5 percent. 20 more area games are on this week’s Pigskin Pick’Em list.

Games of the Week

Bluffton (9-0) at Columbus Grove (7-2)

It’s for all the marbles in the NWC. What a matchup. You really couldn’t ask for any more than a game like this one. By now you know about Bluffton’s seven straight shutouts. You also know Clymer Stadium is a tough place for opposing teams to play. Columbus Grove hasn’t lost there since the 2019 season. I fully expect a low scoring game here, with two touchdowns probably winning it. It seems wrong to pick against Columbus Grove at home but against conventional wisdom, that’s what I’m doing here.

The pick: Bluffton

Celina (8-1) at Wapakoneta (7-2)

Talk about two teams on a roll. I seriously doubt there will be an empty seat for this one. All Celina does is keep on winning and after an 0-2 start, Wapakoneta has simply dominated every single opponent. This is another game that I can see being low scoring. While I think Celina is capable of winning this and winning an outright WBL championship, I like the Redskins at home and a co-championship between the two teams.

The pick: Wapakoneta

Coldwater (9-0) at Marion Local (9-0)

This is big boy football at the small school level. Neither team is flashy but they’re both obviously very good and I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that both are 9-0. Marion Local owns Ohio’s current longest winning streak, regular season and playoffs, 40 games. If there’s a team that can end it, it’s Coldwater, but I’m picking the Flyers at home.

The pick: Marion Local

Leipsic (7-2) at Crestview (6-3)

The home finale for the Knights, who looked good during last week’s 42-0 win over Spencerville. Leipsic is an old school style team, one of those teams that loves to establish the run and play great defense. The Vikings are another team that’s not flashy but they are a tough out. As much as I’d like to pick the Knights, I feel Leipsic is the correct pick. If I’m wrong, it won’t bother me.

The pick: Leipsic

Van Wert (6-3) at Elida (5-4)

This one has the potential to be closer than one might expect. Elida can present some challenges defensively and they play hard on every single down. The Cougars seem to be gaining momentum and looked good against Kenton, especially on defense. Is an upset possible here? Yes, it’s possible, but I like Van Wert to pull away for the win.

The pick: Van Wert

Best of the Rest

WBL

Bath at St. Marys Memorial: St. Marys Memorial
Defiance at Ottawa-Glandorf: Defiance
Shawnee at Kenton: Kenton

NWC

Allen East at Ada: Allen East
Delphos Jefferson at Spencerville: Spencerville

MAC

Anna at Parkway: Anna
Delphos St. John’s at New Bremen: New Bremen
Minster at Versailles: Versailles
St. Henry at Fort Recovery: St. Henry

GMC

Edgerton at Antwerp: Antwerp
Fairview at Ayersville: Ayersville
Hicksville at Tinora: Tinora
Paulding at Wayne Trace: Wayne Trace

TCL

Toledo Start at Lima Sr: Lima Sr.

Non-conference

Fort Loramie at Lima Central Catholic (Saturday): Lima Central Catholic