Bear54

Week 8 Picks... Attica @ Covington - Is it basketball season yet? Rough go for both schools this year. The Red Ramblers play hard, just not enough Joes. The Trojans are underwhelming at best, but they should get the home win, 44-18. Fountain Central @ North Vermillion - The Mustangs fought hard against SV, but again, ran out of steam. The Falcons have been putting things together since getting shut down by RP a couple weeks ago. This is probably game of the week #2. Crabtree & Blank vs. Herb & Company. Falcons outlast the Mustangs, 35-34. Seeger @ South Vermillion - The WRC Championship is on the line! Hopefully the Patriots are healthy. The Wildcats got a bit of a test for once from FC last week. This is definitely game of the week #1. Wildcats D gets a stop late, 28-24. Parke Heritage @ Riverton Parke - Saturday night special. Seriously, another game change due to officials? Where are all the Refs? Parke County Championship and bragging rights on the line. Who will complain more about losing, @KAllen, an avid RP fan or @BillyBettis, a PH enthusiast? Unfortunately for the Woolfs, although they'll be fired up, this probably won't be a Dog Fight. I think the Panthers just have more Joes, 36-16.

Week 7 Picks... North Vermillion @ Parke Heritage - The Falcons get another week to rev back up the offense with sectionals looming close. I'm sure some of the Woolfs are hoping to be hitting the hardwood or the mats soon. Not a Dog Fight, the Falcons get the win, but it'll be closer than some think, 40-24. Riverton Parke @ Attica - The Panthers took one on the chin from the River Cats. They might be banged up a bit, but it shouldn't matter this week. The Red Ramblers take it on the chin every week. They'll have no answers for Mr. RP. Panthers get healthy and come away with the win, 41-6. Seeger @ Covington - The Patriots may be banged up a little bit from last week as well. What a game with FC! The Trojans escaped at PH, despite some questionable play calls late. Seeger keeps it rolling and sets up a Conference Championship game next week at SV, 35-14. South Vermillion @ Fountain Central - The Wildcats flexed some muscle last week shutting down RP completely. SV defense doesn't hardly get enough credit. The Mustangs nearly took out Seeger, but sputtered late. I see this being close for a while but South Vermillion pulls away, 42-19.

Week 6 Picks... Attica @ North Vermillion - The Falcons are probably ready to get back to winning this week. Back to back losses to the Wildcats and the Panthers may have knocked them out of WRC contention. I think the Red Ramblers are just what the doctor ordered. Falcons get a running clock game in their favor, 48-6. Covington @ Parke Heritage - The Trojans took it on the chin last week. So did the Woolfs. Trojans haven't pulled out a win since week one, but have scored some points in previous games. The Woolfs have only managed to score significant points against Attica. This one may be a Dog Fight. i think the Woolfs home field advantage will help them come out on top, 34-32. Fountain Central @ Seeger - Oh boy, this should be a good one. Possibly game of the week material. I'm sure there will be no love lost between the Patriots and the Mustangs. Former Coach vs. Former Players. Both teams have rebounded nicely from a rough beginning. And both can pound the ball down the field. Although, I think Seeger will be too much in the end, 44-24. Riverton Parke @ South Vermillion - This one was so important it had to be played on a Saturday! Seriously though, I heard there was some trouble finding officials to work Friday night, so it had to be moved. I hope this isn't becoming a trend. Saturday is for college football! Maybe the Wildcats still have some talent they feel can play on Saturdays? The Panthers looked impressive grinding one out against the Falcons. If the Panthers can pull this one off it may give Seeger an inside track to the WRC title. I think that is what will happen. Panthers find a way and grind out another one, 26-24.

Week 5 Picks... Covington @ South Vermillion - The Wildcats came out and punched the Falcons in the face and coasted to a victory. The Trojans came out and punched the Mustangs in the face and got rolled after that. I think the Wildcats really separated themselves from the rest of the pack last week. They win big, 40-14. Fountain Central @ Attica - The Mustangs finally woke from their slumber last week and got a good win. The Red Ramblers got man handled by a winless Woolfs team. FC is better than their record indicates. Mustangs get WRC victory #2, 40-6. North Vermillion @ Riverton Parke - The Falcons have to win out and hope some one beats SV to share the WRC crown now. The Panthers just couldn't get themselves over the hump last week against Seeger. Look for both teams to refocus this week. This has game of the week potential. Panthers get the Homecoming victory, 27-26. Parke Heritage at Seeger - The Woolfs took their frustrations out on Attica last week and got their first win. The Patriots roughed up Riverton Parke for their second win in a row. I don't think this will be a Dog Fight, Seeger wins big, 35-7.

Picks for week 4... Covington @ Fountain Central - The Mustangs play hard and pound the ball. Turnovers, I heard, did them in last week. The Trojans are still chucking it all over the place, but without the results they had last year. The Mustangs will control the clock and get the W finally in a lower scoring affair, 22-18. Parke Heritage @ Attica - The Woolfs are still struggling to score points. The Red Ramblers are still giving up plenty of points. This one might be a Dog Fight. But I think the Woolfs will be just fine, 32-12. Riverton Parke @ Seeger - The Panthers seem to be heading in the right direction. History says the Patriots should win this game. But I think the Panthers are trying to make some history of their own. RP moves to 4-0, 24-12. South Vermillion @ North Vermillion - The Wildcats looked pretty impressive last week shutting out PH, their second of the season. The Falcons rebounded from their Linton loss with a high-scoring win over Covington. I don't think SV can keep NV off the board, but I think they'll win the County Championship, 42-35.

I too was at the game Donnie, just like WRC123. The Amish Christians scored on their final two possessions of the 2nd quarter after RP turnovers and again on the first possession of the 3rd quarter to make it a 42-18 game. #24 scored all of his offensive TDs in the first half. The Panthers played a really bad 3rd quarter and couldn't get the running clock until the 9 minute mark of the 4th quarter when #24 took an Amish pass at the goal line 100 yards on an INT return TD. That's when the JV offense and defense came in to finish the game. So, nothing really out of the ordinary for any team in a similar situation. If anything the Panthers should be criticized for not finishing off the Amish early enough and letting them hang around.

Looking at stats on MaxPreps, the RP kid did have a big game, but only on 14 carries. He must be starving to death if he only got 14 carries and ended up with 250+ yards and 5 TDs

Week 3 Picks... Fountain Central @ Riverton Parke - The Mustangs couldn't pull it off against the deceptively bad Athenians of Crawfordsville. (Maybe if they had those 2 time outs in the 4th quarter) But their QB is a tough kid. The Panthers pounded the ball against that poor team from Michigan. (Who would probably beat some WRC teams.) They are 2-0 for the first time in a while. The Panthers have a pretty good player toting the ball as well. This could be a good game or a blowout. Surprisingly, I think the Panthers actually have more depth. They win without throwing a pass, 24-12. North Vermillion @ Covington - The Falcons get a rebound game this week after getting destroyed (as expected) by Linton. Although I don't think anyone in the WRC could hang with the Miners. I don't know how far the Trojans have fallen, but I heard their numbers are down. Tough loss last week at home against a usually not good South Newton. Soccer fever must be gearing up. Falcons get a running clock, 44-6. Seeger @ Attica - Really thought the Patriots would pull it off against Benton Central. They find themselves 0-2 and looking for a win. This week they finally get it done against a struggling Red Ramblers squad. Big trouble in little Attica these days on the football front. Another running clock, 41-0. South Vermillion @ Parke Heritage - I'd love to know how the Woolfs managed to have 3 home games to start off the season. Unfortunately, it has not helped them in the win/loss column. West Vigo was pretty impressive in handing them a beat down after a close start last week. The Wildcats look to get back to their winning ways after getting roughed up last week also in Sullivan. This may be a Dog Fight early, but the Wildcats will pull away, 35-12.

Week Two Picks... Attica @ Tri-County - Both teams have been on the struggle bus the past few seasons. Both gave up over 50 points last week. The Red Ramblers' 53 points looks a little worse than the Cavaliers' 51 points. I don't think either team will score 50 points in this game. But some body's got to win. Home field advantage to the Cavaliers, 14-13. Fountain Central @ Crawfordsville - Looks like the Athenians executed well against Attica Last week. The Mustangs not so much, but Southmont was much better competition. I think this one will be a close one. Again, home field advantage for C-Ville, 34-24. Linton-Stockton @ North Vermillion - The Miners have dominated this regular season series, but it is always a good test for the Falcons. I see much of the same this week, Miners move to 2-0 in the WRC, 48-14. Seeger @ Benton Central - The Patriots traded punches with LCC last week for a minute before the Knights pulled away. The Bison got a season opening victory. BC used to dominate this game until recently. I think the Patriots rebound this week, but it's another close one, 28-21. South Newton @ Covington - The Rebels got a close win over their county rival. The first in a while. The Trojans blew out a bad Indy Washington team, although it was on the road. I think this one is another close game. Trojans might just have a few more athletes, 35-28. South Vermillion @ Sullivan - The Wildcats shut out a West Vigo team still struggling to find an identity. Sullivan handled a pretty decent North Knox team. I really like the home team in this one. Golden Arrows pull away in the end, 35-14. West Vigo @ Parke Heritage - Woolfs looked hapless versus the Miners. So did the Vikings against South Vermillion. This will be a Dog Fight. Vikings get their new head coach his first win, Woolfs have to wait until later, 24-20. Grand Valley Christian @ Riverton Parke - I've never even heard of GVC until this match up showed up on Harrell's site last week. Apparently, after some research, the Patriots are a pretty prolific passing team? The Panthers' win 2 hours away at 3A Pike Central last week was pretty ugly I heard. Still, it was a win. The Panthers' ground and pound offensive style takes the air out of GVC's passing attack, 24-12

Figured it's time to make my picks... Covington @ Indy Washington - Pick it. No clue about either team. The Trojans lost a ton of talent and got a new head coach in the off-season. The Continentals traditionally struggle playing teams outside of Indianapolis. Good thing the game is in Indianapolis. Continentals get the home field advantage, 28-27. Crawfordsville @ Attica - Both programs struggled last year. Both have new head coaches. May be more of the same this year for both teams. The Red Ramblers keep throwing guys out there. But I'm taking the road team in this one. C-Ville by two scores, 18-6. Lafayette Central Catholic @ Seeger - Heard it's been kind of hectic in Patriot land this off-season. Yet another new WRC head coach. LCC by as much as they want, and maybe a little more than that, 48-7. Linton @ Parke Heritage - New head coach (New WRC coach #4, if you're keeping track), New offense and No more Johnsons on the field for the Woolfs. Last year this would have been a Dog Fight... That was last year. Miners by as much as they want, 45-0. North Central (Farmersburg) @ North Vermillion - The Thunderbirds had a heck of a run at the end of the season last year. But a lot of those guys are gone. The Falcons returned quite a few kids this year. From what I'm reading and hearing, they should be one of the teams to beat in the WRC. Look for this game to be close early, but the Falcons pull away in the end, 35-14. Riverton Parke @ Pike Central - Panthers surprised some people (*see Covington) at the end of last season too, and I heard looked impressive at their scrimmage. Is this is the year? We shall see. Their RB is a stud! The Chargers are the bigger school, but haven't won more than 4 games in a season since antiquity. Another road team with the win, 24-12 Southmont @ Fountain Central - Another "new" WRC coach. Although this one's been around the block a few times. How many kids do the Mustangs actually have? I've seen conflicting reports. The Mounties looked impressive over the summer. They win going away, 28-7. West Vigo @ South Vermillion - Vikings have a new coach (although they're not in the WRC) and new offense. The Wildcats look to continue what they've been doing with their former QB's little brother at the helm. This used to be an annually played game, with the Vikings usually taking the win. But I'll take the Wildcats, although it'll be closer than they want it to be, 35-24.

I also heard RP/West Vigo was a very competitive scrimmage. Very Physical. With maybe the Panthers having the advantage in the passing game? However, I also heard both were without their starting QB's and RB's. Both teams will be fairly young this year with some older guys in key positions. Also heard the Panthers had nearly 150 kids playing football K-12, with nearly 40 each on the Jr. High and high school rosters.

Crickets in here... Woolfs win 80-0. This one will be over at halftime. They finally win that elusive Sectional title since becoming Parke Heritage and ride north into the sunset... OR Throw the records out and its a dog fight to the end. Winner gets all the football players in Parke County for the next 5-10 years. Or tenderloins - teams choice. (And half of a former poster's salary...) At least until next week when the prize for winning Sectional 45 is to play the winner of Indy Lutheran and Covenant Christian.

Yes, that's what I mean. Aint gonna be that much scoring going on in either game Extra Point - Remember earlier in the season when the Woolfs played in a rain game against a good opponent? I do, and they scored a whole 0 points. And that was when they had a whole team of playmakers.

Based on the weather forecast, neither of these games will cover...

South Putnam vs. Parke Heritage - The weather may be a factor this Friday. I think the Eagles can control the clock and control the game. It will be close, but the Woolfs have slowly become one demensional over the past couple of weeks. The Eagles will take advantage of that and eliminate the Woolfs from the turnament for the second straight year. Covington vs. Riverton Parke - Apparently you guys forgot there was another side of the bracket in this Sectional? This game will be much closer than two weeks ago. The Panthers went back to the ground last week for the tune of 500 plus yards, most of it in the first half. That's a lot yards, regardless of the opponent. The Trojans had a hard time stopping RP last time once they went exclusively to the ground, but their QB is a handful and the Panthers will need to slow him down. Again, weather may be the great equalizer in this one. Winner is the last WRC school standing.

I'll keep this short since I haven't donated yet... 1A Woolfs 50 - Ramblers 6 Eagles 38 - Falcons 24 Trojans 56 - Mustangs 21 Panthers 46 - Clovers 8 2A Sparkplugs 35 - Patriots 21 Knights 42 - Wildcats 21

KAllen, I've got to say that these sources are amazing. I'd put money on anything a Billie Creek Village parking attendant says... ATTICA vs. SOUTH VERMILLION - The Wildcats warm-up for their trip to LCC next week. The Ramblers will score some points in this one, and hit some people. Ramblers never say die... SV 42 - ATTICA 24 COVINGTON vs. RIVERTON PARKE - Watch the forecast. Most teams won't throw the ball when it's pouring down rain. Of course, the Trojans have been blessed with great weather all year and have been slinging it. The Panthers returned to the ground and pound last week against PH and appeared to have a little success. Covington has had trouble stopping the run (See the Seeger game stats). This one might be closer than people outside of RP territory would think. COVINGTON 35 - RP 30 FOUNTAIN CENTRAL vs. PARKE HERITAGE - I hear the Woolfs may be sore after last week because the Panthers were laying down some wood. I guess you should expect that from a county rivalry game. The Mustangs are the last hope to put a blemish on the Woolfs WRC record. Sorry, Donnie, as much as I would like to see an upset, I don't think the Mustangs have the firepower to trade punches. PH 48 - FC 26 SEEGER vs. NORTH VERMILLION - The Patriots have kept on keeping on. And the Falcons are playing much better than they did in week one. I think this one has game of the week potential. Especially if the rain comes. SEEGER 34 - NV 32

SOUTH NEWTON vs. ATTICA - This may actually be closer than some would think. The Rebels are much improved this year, but The Ramblers will still play hard. First win for the Ramblers? Not yet. SN 28 - ATTICA 20 NORTH VERMILLION vs. FOUNTAIN CENTRAL - I think the Falcons get the Mustangs back for last year, in a close one. First Annual Pizza Bowl goes to the Falcons. Maybe they can bronze a pizza pan or something for the traveling trophy? NV 42 - FC 36 RIVERTON PARKE vs. PARKE HERITAGE - The Parke County Pounder Game. Is it really a trophy game if you make up your own trophy? The Panthers need to get the ball back on the ground to eat up clock and limit the Woolfs possessions. We'll see what happens with the extra defensive help the Woolfs have added. PH 49 - RP 20 SOUTH VERMILLION vs. SEEGER - The Wildcats get the Patriots back for last year's Sectional loss. Although, I don't think it'll mean as much with some of the cast missing on the Patriots' sideline. SV 35 - SEEGER 26 COVINGTON vs. TRI-COUNTY - The Trojans beef up their passing statistics against the winless Cavaliers. COVINGTON 49 - TRI-COUNTY 14

That would require them to face Adams Central again... not happening

Week 7 already? Who's going to kick it in gear and fine tune for the playoffs and who's going to be shopping for a new pair of basketball shoes? (Or wrestling shoes for some of us.) COVINGTON - ATTICA - One thing is for certain, the Trojans will throw the ball and the Ramblers will play hard. Covington 56 - Attica 8 FOUNTAIN CENTRAL vs. SOUTH VERMILLION - The Wildcats put forth a nice effort last week. But the HOF proved to be too much for the Visor. Even without QB 1 the Wolfs beat the Wildcat's D1 QB. The Mustangs got close to pulling one out over Herb and the Patriots. This should actually be a competitive and fun game. I think the Wilcats pull out a close one. SV 28 - FC 26 PARKE HERITAGE vs. NORTH VERMILLION - SV is the only team not named Adams Central to hold the Wolfs under 30 points. Granted QB 1 was in street clothes for the Wolfs. Could the Falcons keep them under 30 two weeks in a row? I think Crabtree and Co. can figure it out, and NV can move the ball and score. I'm not convinced that PH has all the sudden learned how to play championship defense as some have been saying. This game is very intriguing. The Wolfs need to have a dominant performance for their pysche. The Falcons are still trying to prove last year was a fluke and they are still in the run for the sectional. I think we get another classic. PH 41 - NV 34 RIVERTON PARKE vs. NORTH CENTRAL - The Panthers seemed to have a great night last week against a fairly weak opponent. I think I saw a reference to them being bullies somewhere in last week's post. Which, of course, is laughable considering some of the beatings the Panthers have taken over the years. The T-Birds appeared to get a nice win last week also. Although, I'm not buying it that Park Tudor was a state ranked team. I do believe there will be passes thrown in this game. What RP team will show up? Has NC found some late season magic? I think the Panthers make it 3 years in a row over the T-Birds. RP 42 - NC 21 SHERIDAN vs. SEEGER - The Patriots have won the last two games in this matchup. But I think the Blackhawks were experiencing some down years. I look for this to be a bit more competitive that recent outings. No disrespect to whoever KAllen is, but this may be the game that features no passes. Although, Herb has never been one to turn down a back shoulder fade call. I think Bud gets the last laugh. Sheridan 35 - Seeger 28

I guess I just don't understand... What is RP prentending to be? A good team? No one would accuse them of being a championship caliber team. A term that has been thrown around a lot when mentioning the team from Rockville, but we've yet to see them carry around ANY hardware. No conference championships, no sectionals. I think the only pretenders this year are the Wolfs. They may finally get their WRC championship that has eluded them in what you call the "weaskest WRC football season in history." And if the talent discrepancy is so great, why are the Wolfs a last minute drive away from having the same record as the Falcons? NV might just be peaking at the right time. You act like those guys coaching on the Falcon sideline have never won big games before. By the way, I would hate to tell my grandkids that I won a conference championship by default because all the other teams were mediocre.

Ah, same old WRC. The good teams make the weak teams look like trash to justify their questionable, sometimes DB-ish coaching decisions. What happened to win with class? Agreed Donnie...

Ah, Tanka, nothing gets past you... However, the questions you ask shouldn't be directed towards me. I just heard there may have been some special kick practice and route running by the Falcons after they were up handily over the Panthers. Maybe they wanted to get to the running clock and were in a hurry to get to the after-game Homecoming activities? Maybe not. Perhaps some of the Panther or Falcon faithful can answer that for you.

SEEGER vs. FOUNTAIN CENTRAL - Looks like Coach King and the Patriots have figured out the recipe for success. Run the ball, score a lot more points than the other team and get stops on defense. Too bad they couldn't do that when they played PH. FC did what they needed to do against Attica. (Despite, Donnie Baker's and I's differences) They will be overwhelmed by Seeger's running game. Seeger wins big. SEEGER 40 - FC 12 CLOVERDALE vs. RIVERTON PARKE - Really expected the Panthers to come out and show everybody they were better last week at NV. And up until Friday, the Falcons D was like swiss cheese. I fully expect RP to take their frustrations out on a Clovers team that is very young. Although, this game was pretty close last year. It is Homecoming at RP also. Should be a good night for them. RP 30 - CLOVERDALE 14 NORTH VERMILLION vs. ATTICA - The Falcons took advantage of several RP turnovers last week. It was definitely the difference in the game. I heard they even worked on their special teams and passing game some late in the game. So, hopefully all facets are still clicking against the Ramblers. NV 45 - ATTICA 6 COVINGTON vs. SOUTH NEWTON - I know little about the Rebels, but they seem to be having a better year. The Trojans took one on the chin last week. Literally. I did not see the Patriots thumping them so badly. Covington should win this game, but we'll see if they're getting ready for basketball season a little early or if they'll enjoy chucking it around the football field a little more. COVINGTON 40 - SN 28 PARKE HERITAGE vs. SOUTH VERMILLION - This one I had circled at the beginning of the season as the WRC Championship Part 2. However, both teams come stumbling into this one. The Wolfs have learned that beefing up the schedule can be tough. The Wildcats have still not learned it doesn't matter what the stats look like, it's the W's & L's. Defense helps too. I heard PH may be without the services of QB 1. That may hurt them. But they should still have better athletes than SV to win this game. Should. PH 42 - SV 41

Should be a good game next year, but I think this series will end up like the NV series before too long. Linton may want to keep some feelers out.