{"id":210141,"date":"2026-09-16T20:27:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=210141"},"modified":"2026-09-17T13:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T18:04:40","slug":"pigskin-pickem-week-no-5-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/09\/16\/pigskin-pickem-week-no-5-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Pigskin Pick’Em: Week No. 5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor’s note: Last week’s Pigskin Pick’Em record and the season record have been updated with correct figutres<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The halfway point of the 2026 high school football regular season is upon us and it\u2019s safe to say there have been some surprises as we hit mid-season. One thing\u2019s for sure \u2013 it\u2019s been an enjoyable season and there are many more good games on tap. A crystal ball won\u2019t help, as conference\/league title races remain murky in the GMC, NWC and WBL. Each one has multiple teams capable of winning a championship. As far as the MAC, there are some excellent teams but I\u2019m not sure if any of them can knock off Marion Local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week I went 13-5. It should have been 14-4, but I mistakenly typed Defiance instead of St. Marys Memorial in my WBL picks and then somehow didn\u2019t catch it until after it was published. It counts as a loss, regardless of my intent. 15-3 is 72 percent, which is more in line with what I expect each week. That takes my season record to 70-30, 70 percent. I still have a lot of work to do. 19 games are on this week\u2019s Pigskin Pick\u2019Em schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

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

4-0 vs. 4-0, or just another Friday night in the MAC. If you follow the Associated Press poll, both teams are highly regarded, but that\u2019s also nothing new. Coldwater is ranked No. 3 in Division V in this week\u2019s poll, while Minster is ranked No. 2 in Division VII. On paper it looks like a great matchup and it very well may be a great matchup on the field as well. However, I\u2019m going to cite two things: Minster hasn\u2019t beaten Coldwater since 2016 (they didn\u2019t play in 2022 or 2023) and I generally don\u2019t pick against the home team in the MAC, but there are exceptions. This isn\u2019t one of them. It should be a good game but I like the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Wapakoneta (1-3) at St. Marys Memorial (3-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defending WBL champions vs. the preseason favorites. I love this type of game. Never mind Wapakoneta\u2019s record \u2013 the three teams the Redskins have lost to have a combined record of 12-0 and all three (Oregon Clay, Celina and Ottawa-Glandorf) are state-ranked. The Roughriders opponents haven\u2019t been quite as daunting. Wapakoneta and St. Marys Memorial have a common opponent, Celina. The Redskins fell to the Bulldogs 7-6, while the Roughriders lost 30-28, so that\u2019s no help in making a pick. Recent history? Wapak has won five straight in the rivalry series. One can argue that the Redskins are the favorite here, but I\u2019m going to go with the Roughriders. Am I being stubborn because that\u2019s who I picked to win the league title? Maybe, but I\u2019m going with the home team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Wayne Trace (3-1) at Paulding (3-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I won\u2019t be there to see it but I\u2019m excited about this one. It has the potential to be one of the better games around the area this Friday night. After a season opening loss to New Bremen, the Raiders have been on a roll and have scored 55, 35 and 57 points in their last three games, all wins. Paulding\u2019s only loss came in Week No. 3, 21-20 to Delphos Jefferson. It\u2019s the only game the Panthers have allowed more than six points. In three wins, Paulding allowed 6, 0 and 6 points. Something is going to have to give Friday night. Paulding is probably a slight favorite here, but I\u2019m very tempted to go with the Raiders. In fact, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do. Is it a slight reach? Perhaps, but I\u2019ll say the Raiders win their fourth straight game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The pick: Wayne Trace<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crestview (1-3) at Fort Loramie (3-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NWC gauntlet begins for Crestview. As mentioned in Wednesday\u2019s game preview, the schedule from here on out is brutal and it starts with a trip to Fort Loramie. The Redskins are off to a good start, with the only loss coming in the season opener to No. 2 Minster, 27-17. If you look back, that game was tied 17-17 at halftime. It is fair to note that two of Fort Loramie\u2019s wins have come by a combined four points, 13-12 over Anna and 28-24 over Delphos Jefferson. I do think the Knights can compete in this one and I think they can make things uncomfortable for Fort Loramie, but I also think the Redskins get the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Fort Loramie<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defiance (1-3) at Van Wert (3-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season to a really good Celina team. How good? Well, if you follow the Associated Press high school football poll, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 3 in the state in Division III. Van Wert was tied with Celina 28-28 in the third quarter before the Bulldogs pulled away. When you look back at it, a slow start (down 14-0) doomed the Cougars. In comes Defiance, a team that most likely is better than its 1-3 record indicates. The Bulldogs have had to face Ottawa-Glandorf, Wapakoneta and St. Marys Memorial since a season opening win over Napoleon. While Defiance\u2019s record may be a bit deceiving, I like the Cougars to bounce back and win this one on the night the 90th anniversary of Eggerss Stadium is celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Columbus Grove at Spencerville: Columbus Grove<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lima Central Catholic at Allen East: Lima Central Catholic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Toledo Rogers at Lima Sr: Lima Sr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Elida at Ottawa-Glandorf: Ottawa-Glandorf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Editor’s note: Last week’s Pigskin Pick’Em record and the season record have been updated with correct figutres. SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports The halfway point of the 2026 high school football regular season is upon us and it\u2019s safe to say there have been some surprises as we hit mid-season. One thing\u2019s for sure \u2013 it\u2019s 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-210141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-25 15:42:54","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\/210141","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=210141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210226,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210141\/revisions\/210226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}