Chicks Picks – 09/29/2011

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, September 29, 2011 | 4:55 PM

Welcome to Week 5 of the high school football season. While working in Morgantown, WV last week, Chick’s Picks got a chance to see ESPN setting the stage for their Saturday morning broadcast of College GameDay.  As the crowd of rowdy Mountaineer and Tiger fans was already beginning to assemble, Chick’s Picks decided to escape before it was too late.  She took what she thought to be the exit from the Mountain Lair, but was instead shocked at what she had stumbled upon.

This assumed exit actually led to the backstage area where Chick’s Picks found Lee Corso himself practicing his legendary donning of the mascot head for GameDay.  Awestruck, Chick’s Picks was left speechless in the presence of one of the most renowned prognosticators in all of sports.  She simply observed as Mr. Corso contemplated his prediction for the WVU – LSU matchup. 

After witnessing such a profound event, Chick’s Picks came up with the idea that she should bring Lee Corso’s mascot head-donning to the WPIAL.  So, she presented the idea to Mr. Rebel back at the Network, explaining that it would add flair to her weekly column.  Rebel was not sold, however, declaring that after her poor performance last week, she was lucky to still be prognosticating at all.

Chick’s Picks finished last week with the worst record in her career at 48-20 (71%), dropping her season total to 208-63 (77%).  In hopes of redemption, here are this week’s big games:

CLASS AAAA
#2 North Allegheny (4-0) at #6 Seneca Valley (3-1)
Seneca Valley will be seeking a second consecutive upset as it hosts North Allegheny in Northern Seven Conference action Friday night.  Last week, the unranked Raiders took down then #5-ranked McKeesport with ease, 47-20.  The win propelled Seneca Valley to #6 in the MSA Sports Top 10.  North Allegheny also strolled to a painless victory, 49-14 over Erie McDowell.  Fans can expect prolific passing from both teams, as each possesses a top WPIAL quarterback.  Seneca Valley’s Jordan Brown sits atop the list with 846 yards.  North Allegheny’s Mack Leftwich ranks in the Top 10 of WPIAL passers with 767 yards.  History shows that the Tigers have owned the Raiders over the last decade.  Chick’s Picks knows the Raiders were giant killers last week, but isn’t sure they can pull off two in a row.
North Allegheny over Seneca Valley.

CLASS AAA
Belle Vernon (2-2) at #10 Chartiers Valley (3-1)
Belle Vernon travels to Bridgeville to meet Chartiers Valley in a Big Eight Conference matchup.  The Leopards are looking to rebound after being shut out by New Castle last week, 27-0.  After starting off the season with a respectable 14-7 loss to Hopewell, Belle Vernon has since gone 2-1, with wins over McGuffey and Trinity.  Chartiers Valley continued to reap the benefits of a healthy Wayne Capers last week with a 24-17 upset of Class AAAA Bethel Park.  Capers proved he could do it all in the win, accumulating more then 400 yards of offense himself.  The Colts have won three straight since their Week 1 loss to Montour.  These two have met three times in as many years, with the Colts going 3-0 in the series and outscoring the Leopards, 124-40.  Chick’s Picks is a sucker for a good comeback story, just like that of Capers and the Colts.
Chartiers Valley over Belle Vernon.

CLASS AA
#3 Greensburg Central Catholic (4-0) at #10 Mount Pleasant (3-1)
The Centurions clash with the Vikings in this highly anticipated Interstate Conference showdown Friday night.  Last week, Greensburg Central Catholic blanked Yough, 49-0.  This was the first shutout of the year for what is typically a very stingy Centurion defense.  Mount Pleasant, on the other hand, needed a come-from-behind rally to overcome Brownsville, 14-6.  The only loss of the season for the Vikings came to impressive Ellwood City, 31-28.  The Centurions and the Vikings boast similar defenses this season, with each allowing around 14 points per game.  Offensively, however, GCC nearly doubles Mount Pleasant, posting 192 points on the year to the Vikings’ 100.  Greensburg Central Catholic has won two of three meetings since Mount Pleasant joined Class AA in 2008, with the initial meeting being the only measurable victory.  The Vikings then edged the Centurions, 36-35, in 2009, and in 2010, GCC pulled away late for a 7-0 win.  Chick’s Picks thinks that Muzzy’s troops will prevail this time around.
Greensburg Central Catholic over Mount Pleasant.

CLASS A
#7 Springdale (3-1) at #4 Bishop Canevin (4-0)
Dormont Stadium is the site for this Eastern Conference matchup featuring the Dynamos and the Crusaders.  Springdale is coming off of a 26-12 win over Northgate, while Bishop Canevin routed Frazier, 48-6.  The Dynamos’ only loss this season came to Avonworth in Week 2 by just one point, 7-6.  Although only three rankings separate these two in the MSA Sports Top 10, statistically they appear much further apart.  Springdale is averaging 17.3 points per game.  Bishop Canevin more than doubles that at 40.8 points per game.  The Crusaders have, in fact, scored 40 or more points in three of their four games.  Defensively, the Crusaders are nearly as good as it gets in the WPIAL, having allowed just 12 points to date this season.  The Dynamos are not far behind, though, with 25.  When these two met last season, Springdale handed Bishop Canevin its only regular season loss, 35-0.  Chick’s Picks thinks the tables are turned this time around.
Bishop Canevin over Springdale.

CLASS AAAA:

Big East Conference
Fox Chapel over Kiski Area
Pittsburgh Central Catholic over Penn Hills
Woodland Hills over Altoona

Foothills Conference
McKeesport over Latrobe
Gateway over Norwin
Penn-Trafford over Connellsville

Great Southern Conference
Upper St. Clair over Baldwin
Mount Lebanon over Canon-McMillan
Peters Township over Bethel Park

Northern Seven Conference
Erie McDowell over Pine-Richland
Shaler over Butler

CLASS AAA:

Big Eight Conference
Thomas Jefferson over Elizabeth Forward
South Park over McGuffey
West Mifflin over Trinity

Greater Allegheny Conference
Knoch over Hampton
Indiana over Valley
Mars over Kittanning

Keystone Conference
Ringgold over Albert Gallatin
Franklin Regional over Derry
Uniontown over Hollidaysburg
Greensburg Salem over Laurel Highlands

Parkway Conference
Hopewell over Blackhawk
Montour over New Castle
Central Valley over Moon

CLASS AA:

Allegheny Conference
Burrell over Apollo-Ridge
Freeport over Ford City
Shady Side Academy over West Shamokin
Summit Academy over Deer Lakes

Century Conference
South Fayette over Burgettstown
Quaker Valley over South Allegheny
Keystone Oaks over Washington
Seton-LaSalle over Steel Valley

Interstate Conference
Jeannette over Charleroi
Southmoreland over Waynesburg
East Allegheny over Yough

Midwestern Conference
Laurel over Freedom
Ellwood City over Mohawk
Aliquippa over New Brighton
Beaver Falls over Riverside

CLASS A:

Big Seven Conference
Rochester over Shenango
Sto-Rox over Union
Cornell over South Side Beaver
Neshannock over Western Beaver

Black Hills Conference
Clairton over Avella
Chartiers-Houston over Bentworth
Brentwood over Fort Cherry
Serra Catholic over Carlynton

Eastern Conference
OLSH over Leechburg
Avonworth over Riverview
Northgate over Wilkinsburg

Tri-County South Conference
Beth-Center over California
Carmichaels over West Greene
Frazier over Geibel
Jefferson-Morgan over Mapletown

WPIAL/CITY LEAGUE NON-CONFERENCE
Beaver over Brownsville
Monessen over North Catholic
North Hills over Hempfield
Highlands over Plum
Wheeling Central Catholic over Oliver

CITY LEAGUE
University Prep over Carrick
Perry over Langley
Allderdice over Westinghouse
 

Tags: Belle Vernon, Bishop Canevin, Chartiers Valley, Greensburg C.C.