Chick Picks for Week Two

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 10, 2015 | 4:33 PM

Welcome to Week 2 of the high school football season. The term Friday Night Lights was given new meaning last week, with severe storms and lightning causing several Week 1 games to be delayed and even postponed. Earlier last week, Chick’s Picks was contacted by one of her fellow MSA Sports broadcasters, Matt Vandriak, who had a proposition for the prognosticator.

He said, “Hey Chick’s – I’m going to be broadcasting the inaugural Armstrong River Hawks game Friday night. I think it would be great if I could take your crystal ball along to the press box. Good PR for the network.”

Chick’s Picks, who is not one to pass up publicity, agreed. So, off went the crystal ball.

Shortly after games began to kickoff, things went downhill quickly. Back at MSA Sports Network World Headquarters, Chick’s Picks received a call from Mr. Vandriak and his broadcast partner Brandon Showers, informing her that their game had been delayed due to lightning strikes in the area. They assured her, though, that the crystal ball was safe.

Hours went by with no further communication from the Armstrong press box, as Chick’s Picks began to panic. At last, around 1:00 am when the game finally ended, another call came in from Mr. Vandriak.

“Chick’s, I had quite a bit of time on my hands during the delay, so I was reviewing your picks compared to the final scores that had come in from around the WPIAL. To say that you got your predictions off to a rough start this season was putting it mildly. So, I took matters into my own hands.”

Mr. Vandriak went onto explain how he thought a good, solid shock would help to jump start the crystal ball, so he took it down to the field in hopes of attracting a lightning strike. Sure enough, he got his wish.

Somehow, some way, though, the crystal ball was returned to Chick’s Picks in one piece—and with a bit more life, it seemed.

Chick’s Picks hopes that shock will help her improve this week’s predictions after finishing last week with a 46-20 (70%) record. Here are this week’s big games:

CLASS AAAA
#4 North Allegheny (1-0) at #7 Pine-Richland (1-0)
Pine-Richland will play host to bitter Northern Eight Conference rival North Allegheny Friday night. The Rams opened their season with a 63-7 thumping of Shaler last week. QB Philip Jurkovec was a dual threat, passing for 140 yards, and rushing for another 105 yards. The Tigers did not let a Friday night lightning postponement discourage them, as they defeated Seneca Valley 34-24 Saturday afternoon. North Allegheny boasted two 100-yard rushers in the win—Ethan Maenza and Michael Pope. When the Tigers and the Rams met last season, Pine-Richland edged North Allegheny, 28-24. Chick’s Picks predicts a second straight win over the Tigers for the Rams.
Pine-Richland over North Allegheny.

CLASS AAA
#1 Montour (1-0) at #10 New Castle (0-1)
Montour hits the road Friday night to take on New Castle in a Parkway Conference battle. The Spartans made a statement last week with a 17-14 win over Central Valley. Senior RB David Haseleu tallied 100 yards and a touchdown for Montour. The Red Hurricane will look to rebound after falling to West Allegheny, 41-14. Pat Minenok found the end zone for both New Castle touchdowns. Last season when these two met, the Spartans rolled to a 40-21 win. Chick’s Picks predicts that the Spartans will ride their Week 1 momentum to a victory in this one.
Montour over New Castle.

CLASS AA
#6 Highlands (1-0) at Apollo-Ridge (1-0)
The Vikings welcome the Golden Rams to town for an Allegheny Conference matchup Friday night. Apollo-Ridge is coming off of a narrow 37-34 victory over Keystone Oaks last week, while Highlands knocked off Summit Academy, 42-24. Golden Rams QB Breydan Thimons showed his versatility last week, passing for 200 yards and rushing for another 100 yards. Duane Brown proved last week that he is a force to be reckoned with for the Vikings, picking up 147 receiving yards and 165 rushing yards. Brown also found paydirt five times. When these two met last season, the Rams edged the Vikings, 28-27. Chick’s Picks predicts a larger margin, but the same result.
Highlands over Apollo-Ridge.

CLASS A
#4 Neshannock (1-0) at #6 Shenango (1-0)
Big Seven Conference action heats up when Shenango hosts Neshannock Friday night. Both the Wildcats and the Lancers recorded big wins in Week 1—Shenango 47-0 over Western Beaver, and Neshannock 46-21 over South Side Beaver. Hunter Waskin turned in three touchdowns for the Wildcats. The Lancers had two 100-yard rushers in Frank Antuono and Robert Lindsay. When these two met last season, Neshannock blanked Shenango, 33-0. Chick’s Picks predicts that the Lancers’ running game will be too hot to handle this time around.
Neshannock over Shenango.

CLASS AAAA

Foothills Conference

McKeesport over Altoona

Kiski Area over Latrobe

Norwin over Hempfield

Penn-Trafford over Connellsville

Northern Eight Conference

Seneca Valley over Fox Chapel

Central Catholic over Shaler

Southeastern Conference

Woodland Hills over Bethel Park

Penn Hills over Canon-McMillan