By Sterling Guesser
I am still chasing perfection as I went 6-out-of-7 this week. I’m finished picking against Boyle County. They either rise to the occasion in big games or catch prestigious programs in the right seasons. The jury is still out on which is which but either way they end up winning those games.
After six weeks of predicting high school football games, I am now 43 out of 49 (87.7%). Note: I started the picks after the first week of games.
This is the week I get them all right (and this is my boldest prediction of the week). Here you go (local high schools first in alphabetical order):
- Boyle County (5-1)-The Rebels hosted Louisville St. Xavier and basically dominated this historically powerful program. It is never good to pick against Boyle in a big game. I thought they would lose 28-14 but they won 14-3. Where I went wrong was expecting St. X’s backup quarterback to get those other 25 points I predicted. I hit Boyle’s score right on the nose. This week Boyle starts district play against Russell County (3-3). The floating party is over for the Lakers as Boyle County leaves them in their wake. Boyle wins 48-7.
- Casey County (1-6)- Casey County gets a much-need break for an OPEN date this week after losing their previous two games by a combined score of 89-8.
- Danville (6-1)- You could change the Admirals’ nickname to “Butter” because they’re on a roll! They have been vanquishing opponents week after week with impressive scores. The Ads are back at home against another Louisville school this week when they host the Lions of W.E.B. DuBois Academy (3-4). If you just look at the scores of each team’s games with common opponent Washington County, you might think DuBois has the advantage, but you’d be wrong. Danville has momentum, tradition, and explosiveness on their side. They will defeat the lions 41-20.
- Garrard County (3-3)- Garrard will host the Bardstown Tigers this week. Lions and Tigers, oh my! The Golden Lions are in the gauntlet portion of their schedule. They got blanked last week by Lexington Catholic, now they have to face Bardstown, then Mercer County, and will finish the season at Lincoln County on Halloween. The only winnable game of the remaining four is Mercer County. It’s going to get ugly in the Golden Lion den this week as Bardstown rolls 42-7.
- Lincoln County (6-1)- The Patriots beat Wayne County to go to 1-0 in district play. They are OPEN this week to rest up for a big game at Boyle County the following week. This fall break hole in the schedule could not have come at a better time for the dinged-up Lincoln team.
- Mercer County (0-6)- Mercer is coming off its OPEN week and woke up Saturday morning for the first time this season without a loss. The Titans travel to Lexington Catholic (4-2) this week and the losing will continue for Mercer. The Knights joust their way to a 42-0 win.
- Pulaski County (4-2)- The Maroons had an OPEN week after two straight losses. They host undefeated South Laurel (7-0) this week and have had two weeks to prepare for this district game. There is a lot on the line as Pulaski will want to win for playoff seeding purposes but also to turn the tide of recent losses, and to defeat their former coach, Johnny Hines, who is now the head coach at South Laurel. This will be an intense, action-packed game. The RPI rankings predict Pulaski as a slight favorite, but I think South Laurel easily gets the win. The Cardinals over the Maroons 42-28.
- Rockcastle County (6-1)- I already knew Rockcastle was over-rated and had played a cupcake schedule. Others have awakened to that conclusion after Bell County pounded the Rockets 39-6. Dudley Hilton’s Bobcats interrupted regular programming for a special reality check. Rockcastle has an OPEN date this week to focus getting back their regular programming of “who’d-they-beat” teams in two weeks.
- Somerset (6-1)- The Briar Jumpers are on a six-game winning streak after beating Clinton County 49-6 (I predicted a 48-6 win). Somerset is off this week and then comes back to three winnable games (Monroe, McCreary, and Hazard). I am not predicting those games yet, but I do think the bunnies finish strong and make a nice playoff run. Stay tuned.
- Southwestern (1-5)- Pikeville beat the Warriors worse than I thought they would (35-8 final vs a predicted 38-21 loss). Things are looking pretty bad at Southwestern with no potential wins left on their schedule. This week they play North Laurel (5-1) on the road in London. This will not be a good trip and Southwestern comes home with a 28-0 loss.
Kentucky Semi-Pro Games (College Football):
I missed two college games this week, but they were both close—Louisville lost in overtime and Centre pulled out a one point win—and I was soooo close to getting those right.
Let’s pick ‘em:
UK (2-3) took its annual whipping from Georgia and has a bye week to lick its wounds and look through Coach Stoops’ contract buyout clause again…..
Louisville (4-1) came up short in overtime with Virginia. I missed this one, but it was close. The Cards will be in Miami to play the U in two weeks, so we have that to look forward to…..
EKU (2-3) had a bye week. They host the Austin Peay State Governors this week in a tough matchup. Unfortunately, the Governors show no clemency and defeat the Colonels ……
WKU (5-1) came home from Delaware with a win. They are off this weekend but play Florida International the following Tuesday night in a rare midweek game. That prediction next week…..
Murray State (0-5) got mauled by the South Dakota Coyotes. was idle last week but will make a journey to South Dakota this week. This week the hapless Racers lose to Illinois State…..
Morehead State (2-3) lost to Dayton, as predicted. This week they travel to Deland, Florida to play Stetson. Morehead comes back with a suntan, a bag of oranges, and a win ….
Georgetown College (3-2) lost to tough in-state rival Lindsey Wilson at home. This week the Tigers are going down to Montgomery, Alabama to play Faulkner University. There are some great college football teams in Alabama but this is not one of them. Georgetown wins easily……
Lindsey Wilson (5-0) got a big win last week at Georgetown. was also off last week. The Blue Raiders will host fellow in-state school University of The Cumberlands this week and will remain at the top of heap of small school Kentucky college football with a lopsided victory…..
Centre College (2-2) proved me wrong by getting a one point win at Millsaps last week in Mississippi. This week the Colonels travel to Maryville, Tennessee to play the undefeated football Scots. I hate to do it, but I see Centre losing this week….
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.
