{"id":183781,"date":"2024-09-18T21:01:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T02:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=183781"},"modified":"2024-09-19T09:13:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T14:13:20","slug":"2024-pigskin-pickem-week-no-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2024\/09\/18\/2024-pigskin-pickem-week-no-5\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Pigskin Pick’Em: Week No. 5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Is it just me or is this season flying by? How is it possible this is Week No. 5, the halfway point of the regular season? The first four weeks seem like a blur. Some teams are on their way to attaining goals they set before the season while others have been forced to readjust some of those goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week was the holy grail. After back-to-back subpar weeks, I managed to go 19-0. That takes my overall record to 74-24, or 75.5 percent. By now, you know the goal is to pick at least 80 percent of games correctly so there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done. Having said that, on to this week\u2019s picks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Coldwater (4-0) at Minster (4-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division VI No. 2 Coldwater at Division VII No. 2 Minster. Wow. Looking down the line, I won\u2019t be shocked if this is one of those years when the MAC has three state champions in three different divisions. But back to the more immediate future \u2013 there won\u2019t be an empty seat in the stadium and while I usually don\u2019t pick against the home team in a MAC game like this, I\u2019m going to go with the Cavaliers in this one, although it should be a tough one. I\u2019m guessing it\u2019ll be a lower scoring game with a touchdown or less being the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Coldwater<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defiance (2-2) at Shawnee (2-2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After an 0-2 start, Defiance has won two straight and after a 2-0 start, Shawnee has dropped two straight. At first glance, Defiance seems like the favorite but this feels like it could be a trap game at Shawnee. Despite two straight losses, the Indians are a much improved team and it\u2019s accurate to say the Bulldogs are finding their stride. I\u2019m trying not to overthink this one, so I\u2019m going to stick with original thought, which is the Bulldogs should leave with a win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Defiance<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Bremen (3-1) at Marion Local (4-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 5 New Bremen is coming off an 18-17 loss to Versailles, a team ranked No. 3 in Division V in this week\u2019s statewide poll. No. 1 Marion Local has won 52 straight has outscored its first four opponents 207-15. Yes, the Flyers are going to lose a game at some point, but it won\u2019t be this Friday night. Make it 53 straight victories, just four away from tying the record and five from breaking it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The pick: Marion Local<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

This one might be the toughest one to pick. Why? There are so many unknowns. Who is going to line up at quarterback for the Knights? Who\u2019s going to line up at quarterback for the Mustangs? Could running back Braxton Leeth be ready to suit up again for Crestview? If both teams were at full strength it would be a good game. I still think it\u2019ll be a good game. Allen East opened the season 2-0 but has lost two straight. Crestview has gone W-L-W-L, which, if that pattern continues, would indicate a win is in order. I\u2019ve stalled long enough, time to make a decision. I\u2019m going with the Mustangs but I won\u2019t be surprised if the Knights pull out the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Allen East<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert (1-3) at Wapakoneta (4-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two teams have provided a couple of entertaining games. Two years ago, the Redskins blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in the closing seconds for a 20-19 win. In 2021, Van Wert won a 55-45 shootout at Eggerss Stadium. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they\u2019re running into one of the best teams in all of Division III. In addition to that, Wapakoneta has won 17 straight Western Buckeye League games at home. Yes, anything can happen in high school football but the correct pick here is the Redskins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Wapakoneta<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

GMC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgerton at Wayne Trace: Edgerton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

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

MAC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphos St. John\u2019s at Fort Recovery: Delphos St. John\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

NWC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphos Jefferson at Columbus Grove: Columbus Grove<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lima Central Catholic at Fort Loramie: Lima Central Catholic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

WBL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Ottawa-Glandorf at St. Marys Memorial: St. Marys Memorial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TCL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toledo Bowsher at Lima Sr.: Lima Sr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports Is it just me or is this season flying by? How is it possible this is Week No. 5, the halfway point of the regular season? The first four weeks seem like a blur. Some teams are on their way to attaining goals they set before the season while others have been […]<\/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-183781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-03 09:17:29","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\/183781","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=183781"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183838,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183781\/revisions\/183838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}