By Sterling Guesser
Last week, my only miss was picking Boyle County to win. This week my only miss was picking Boyle County to lose. The Rebels are proving to be somewhat of an enigma. In my profession, it does not matter whether a team is good or bad, I just need them to be consistent and predictable.
After three weeks of making picks, I am now 23 out of 26 (88.4%).
I am shooting for perfection this week (local high schools first in alphabetical order):
- Boyle County (3-1)-The Rebels squeaked by Highlands 21-20 at home, with a missed point-after being the difference in the game. I picked the Rebels to lose this skirmish based on some key injuries, but they proved to have more depth than I believed. They will get a chance to heal up this week with an OPEN date. No win or loss this week.
- Casey County (1-3)- The “other” Rebels got a win over winless Jackson County. This week they will host the Bulldogs of winless Clinton County (0-4). The Bulldogs are winless but not hapless. They will score some points and my data points to them scoring a few more than Casey. Look out Casey, the Bulldogs’ bite is worse than their bark. Clinton County wins 34-28.
- Danville (3-1)- The Admirals’ undefeated ship was sunk by Lincoln County. Danville lost an intense, down-to-the wire game by three points at Lincoln County. They will have another close game this week with the Washington County Commanders (3-1), but the Admirals’ armada will outrace the Commanders, hitting them with a barrage of land and air attacks. The Commanders will not be able to keep up and Danville sprints to a 42-35 victory.
- Garrard County (2-1)- The Golden Lions ripped apart the Lewis County Lions in a 45-7 massacre. This week, Garrard will host the Bardstown Bethlehem Eagles (2-2). The Eagles will never get off the ground in this game as Garrard County grounds (and pounds) them in the friendly confines of the Golden Lion den. The Golden Lions will pull away for a 35-14 win.
- Lincoln County (4-0)- The Patriots are still humming “Anchors Aweigh” as they enjoy their back-to-back-year wins over Danville. This week, the Patriots visit the Jaguars of East Jessamine (2-2). It’s a short, easy march for the Lincoln County militia, and they will tame the Jaguars in Nicholasville. Lincoln County wins 42-7.
- Mercer County (0-4)- Mercer is off to a sluggish start while suffering some lopsided defeats. They host the Southwestern Warriors (0-4) this week. It is noteworthy that warriors of various kinds have been trying to win in Mercer County since before this was a state. Will the Warriors breech the fort, or will the Titans defend their home turf? See the Southwestern section below for the winner.
- Pulaski County (4-0)- The Maroons keep rolling along. As I predicted, they beat Corbin to stay undefeated. It’s going to be tough for Pulaski this week, and I don’t just mean the mountain drive, when they visit Johnson Central (4-0). The undefeated Eagles have rolled over both Belfry and Pikeville, two high-quality football programs, and have played a little tougher scheduled than Pulaski. I think PC gets their first loss of the season, 28-21.
- Rockcastle County (4-0)- The Rockets exploded for 49 points in a home shutout of Powell County. They will make the short drive to Berea (or “Breer” as some say), to play Madison Southern (1-3) this week. Rockcastle has dominated the series with their neighbor to the north, and this will be no different. The Rockets soar to great heights in a 35-7 win over the Eagles.
- Somerset (3-1)- The Briar Jumpers go to Greensburg this week for a showdown with the Green County Dragons (3-1). This is the toughest pick of the week. Both teams have advantages, but this one is hard to match up. It may be more of a gut pick than an analytical one, but I think the Bunnies slay the Dragons and win 35-28.
- Southwestern (0-4)- The Warriors have had an uncharacteristically rough start to the football season. They travel to Mercer County this week to play the also-winless Titans (0-4) on Harrodsburg High School’s old field. One of these two gets their first win. Who will it be? Mercer has not been competitive at all in their losses, while Southwestern has lost a couple of one-score games. My instincts tell me that’s the difference maker. The Warriors invade Harrodsburg and get a win over the Pioneer/Scotties/Titans by a score of 28-6.
Kentucky Semi-Pro Games (College Football):
I was 5-2 in my in-state college picks last week, with only EKU and Centre College letting me down. Here’s hoping everyone plays up to their potential this week:
UK (2-1) pummeled Eastern Michigan and goes into an OPEN week riding high. After the week off, they will next play South Carolina on the 27th….
Louisville (2-0) had a week off. This week, it will be their turn to destroy a MAC team for a non-conference win when they host Bowling Green State…..
EKU (1-1) got trampled by the Marshall Thundering Herd. This week, they are on the road again visiting the University of West Georgia. Who? Huh? Where? Anyway, it’s a road trip for Colonel fans to Carrollton, Georgia, located southwest of Atlanta nearly in Alabama. This is a tough one but when in doubt, I always go with EKU……
WKU (2-1) had a week off and will host Nevada this week. The Hilltoppers tame the Wolf Pak to get the win…..
Murray State (0-3) got thumped again, this time by Georgia State. This week, they travel to Jacksonville State, in Alabama, where they will again get thumped. It’s going to be a long season for the Racers…..
Morehead State (1-2) got drilled by Austin Peay. This week they get back in the win column by being downright unneighborly and beating up on their neighbor, Kentucky Christian…..
Georgetown College (3-0) keeps winning. The Tigers beat up on Warner from Florida at home and will now travel to the Miami area to visit St. Thomas of Florida. They will come back with a 4-0 record, sun burns, and an impressive win…..
Lindsey Wilson (3-0) is a juggernaut. They beat highly ranked St. Thomas (FL) 52-25. They will win this week, too, when they travel to Reinhardt University in Georgia…..
Centre College (1-1) will be one of three Kentucky teams playing in Georgia this weekend when they travel to LaGrange. I will quote ZZ Top from their song “LaGrange” with my advice to the Colonels when I say, “Have Mercy,” This will be an easy win for Centre…..
Editor’s Note: Sterling Guesser has always been a local football fan. He became a savant prognosticator when he was involved in a car accident with a semi-truck carrying a load of footballs. He was not badly injured, but ever since a pallet of footballs fell on his head in that collision, he can see the future of football games. He is also a fictional character, and his picks are purely for entertainment purposes.
