2024 Pigskin Pick’Em: Week No. 4

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Believe it or not, it’s already Week No. 4 of the high school football season and that means conference and league play for all area teams, with the GMC and NWC joining the fold this weekend. Some tough matchups await, including a key WBL game and a couple of intriguing games in the NWC.

As far as last week, it was another subpar week in terms of picks. I was just 13-7 (65 percent), far below the standard of at least 80 percent correct picks. That puts my overall season record at 55-24 (69.6 percent) meaning I have a lot of work to do.

Without further delay, here are this week’s picks.

Games of the Week

Coldwater (3-0) at Anna (2-1)

A matchup of two state ranked MAC teams, commonly known as Friday night in the Midwest Athletic Conference. In case you didn’t hear, six MAC teams are ranked in the first Associated Press poll. Coldwater is ranked No. 1 in Division VI and Anna is ranked No. 8. The rule of thumb in MAC games is to pick the home team but there are exceptions and this is one of them. I’m going with the Cavaliers in this one.

The pick: Coldwater

Wapakoneta (3-0) at St. Marys Memorial (2-1)

Why can’t this be a Week No. 10 game? Some may suggest that this will be a not-so-close game but I don’t think that will be the case. The Roughriders will do all they can to bounce back from last week’s loss at Defiance. However, I think at this point Wapakoneta is a step ahead of all other WBL teams, so I’m going with the Redskins in a game that could be fairly close.

The pick: Wapakoneta

Wayne Trace (0-3) at Paulding (3-0)

A rivalry game to open Green Meadows Conference play. Many of us can agree that Wayne Trace isn’t really an 0-3 team. The Raiders lost a heartbreaker to Spencerville and hung with Crestview for a good portion of last Friday’s game. I do think the Raiders will be within striking distance but I believe the Panthers will improve to 4-0.

The pick: Paulding

Crestview (2-1) at Fort Loramie (1-2)

This is a tough one to pick. Many of the numbers seem to favor Crestview but the numbers are a bit deceiving since Fort Loramie has most likely played the toughest non-conference schedule among all NWC teams, including a pair of highly ranked MAC teams. Don’t get me wrong – Crestview is no slouch and I think the Knights will win plenty of games this season but with some hesitation, I’m going with the NWC newcomer in this one.

The pick: Fort Loramie

Defiance (1-2) at Van Wert (1-2)

I want to say this game starts a gauntlet for the Cougars but in reality, the gauntlet began back in Week No. 2 at Bath. However, it is accurate to say things aren’t getting any easier for Van Wert with last week’s game at Celina, vs. Defiance on Friday, then back-to-back games against Wapakoneta and St. Marys Memorial. Defiance received a shot of confidence with last week’s win over St. Marys Memorial and I think that confidence will carry over this week. I’m not accustomed to picking against the Cougars at home but I’m doing it here.

The pick: Defiance

Best of the Rest

GMC

Antwerp at Edgerton: Edgerton

Ayersville at Fairview: Fairview

Tinora at Hicksville: Tinora

MAC 

Fort Recovery at St. Henry: St. Henry

Marion Local at Delphos St. John’s: Marion Local

Parkway at Minster: Minster

Versailles at New Bremen: Versailles

NWC

Bluffton at Delphos Jefferson (Saturday): Bluffton

Columbus Grove at Spencerville: Columbus Grove

Lima Central Catholic at Allen East: Lima Central Catholic

WBL

Elida at Ottawa-Glandorf: Ottawa-Glandorf

Kenton at Bath: Bath

Shawnee at Celina: Celina

Non-conference

Lima Sr. at Sylvania Northview: Lima Sr.