{"id":145528,"date":"2021-09-02T03:56:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T08:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=145528"},"modified":"2021-09-02T03:56:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T08:56:12","slug":"pigskin-pickem-23-week-no-3-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2021\/09\/02\/pigskin-pickem-23-week-no-3-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Pigskin Pick’Em: 23 Week No. 3 games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western Buckeye League play is underway, the Midwest Athletic Conference begins on Friday and for the remainder of area teams, it\u2019s the final weekend of non-conference football, commonly referred to as the final tuneup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, some very interesting matchups are on the schedule, with some games that are almost too close to call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week I went 21-5 (80.7 percent), which is pleasing for Week No. 2 matchups. So far this season my record is 44-12 or 78.5 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, MAC teams begin conference play and there are 23 games on the area schedule. Lima Sr.\u2019s game against Mansfield Sr. was canceled because of COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Games of the Week<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Marys Memorial (2-0) at Wapakoneta (1-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out I shouldn\u2019t have picked against Wapakoneta at home last week. The Redskins defeated Ottawa-Glandorf in convincing fashion 28-13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, rival St. Marys Memorial is coming to town. Before making a pick, I just want to say this feels like a game that should always be played in Week No. 10. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This one is tough. I\u2019m hesitant to pick against Wapakoneta at home again, but St. Marys has opened some eyes with a 2-0 start. Plus, throw in the fact that the last two games between these two teams went to overtime and a third was a two point game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This game is a coin toss, but I\u2019m giving a slight edge to the Roughriders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: St. Marys Memorial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ottawa-Glandorf (0-2) at Elida (2-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t think the Titans would be 0-2 at this point and I\u2019m sure many other people thought the same. I\u2019m not surprised by Elida\u2019s 2-0 start, as the Bulldogs were one of the most improved teams last season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If O-G has any hopes of at least a share of the WBL championship, this is a must win game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elida hasn\u2019t given up a point this season, while the Titans have given up 70 in two games. I don\u2019t see them giving up 35 points in this game, and while I have a hard time believing O-G could be 0-3, I\u2019m going with the Bulldogs in a tight one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Elida<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen East (2-0) at Elmwood (2-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intriguing. This is how I would describe this matchup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

On paper, the two teams are similar. Allen East has scored 102 points and given up 26 in two games, while the Royals have put up 97 points and allowed 28. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can see both teams scoring multiple touchdowns and it could be case of the last team with the ball wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a tough one to pick, but I\u2019ll give a give a slight edge to the Royals at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Elmwood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert (2-0) at Defiance (0-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I still think Defiance has improved and I think the Bulldogs will continue to improve throughout the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars have picked up where they left off last season and it\u2019s going take a lot for a team to hold Van Wert\u2019s offense in check. I\u2019m not sure if they\u2019ll score 40-plus points at Fred Brown Stadium but it\u2019s tough to pick against Van Wert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like Van Wert\u2019s chances to improve to 3-0 on the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Van Wert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crestview (2-0) at Wayne Trace (0-2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve saved this one for last because I wanted more time to overthink it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is, you can make a case for either team to win. It sounds clich\u00e9 but it\u2019s one of those rivalry games where anything can happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wayne Trace doesn\u2019t have a win but the Raiders hung tough with two solid opponents, Fort Recovery and Patrick Henry. There have been some bright spots and this feels like one of those games that could be a breakout game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Crestview has cruised to a pair of wins and has looked impressive in doing so. A fairly balanced and very efficient offense has been a big part of those wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first thought was to take Wayne Trace in a mild upset at home but I\u2019ve decided I\u2019m going with the Knights. If Crestview wins, it\u2019ll be the seventh straight victory over their non-conference rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Crestview<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of the Rest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ada at Hardin-Northern: Hardin-Northern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bluffton at Ayersville: Ayersville<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Columbus Grove at Patrick Henry: Columbus Grove<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leipsic at Tinora: Leipsic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry at Delphos Jefferson: Perry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencerville at Lima Central Catholic: Lima Central Catholic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antwerp at Hilltop: Antwerp<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan at Fairview: Bryan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgerton at Montpelier: Edgerton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edon at Hicksville: Edon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paulding at Delta: Paulding<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna at Parkway: Anna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coldwater at Fort Recovery: Coldwater<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphos St. John\u2019s at New Bremen: New Bremen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Henry at Minster: St. Henry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Versailles at Marion Local: Marion Local <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bath at Kenton: Bath<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celina at Shawnee: Shawnee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor Western Buckeye League play is underway, the Midwest Athletic Conference begins on Friday and for the remainder of area teams, it\u2019s the final weekend of non-conference football, commonly referred to as the final tuneup.  Once again, some very interesting matchups are on the schedule, with some games that are almost too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-31 19:16:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}