Chicks Picks – Week Six – 2012

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 4, 2012 | 1:26 PM

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Welcome to Week 6 of the high school football season. Over the years, Chick’s Picks has gotten used to the fame that comes along with being the best high school football prognosticator. So, it came as no surprise when ESPN contacted her, inviting her to be featured on an upcoming episode of Sport Science. The show, which explores the relationship of physics to different types of athletes across all sports, has always been a favorite of Chick’s Picks, so she did not hesitate to accept the invitation.

As filming was set to begin, host John Brenkus explained to Chick’s Picks that his crew would be connecting both her and her crystal ball to several sensors, allowing them to analyze the science behind prognosticating. Brenkus and the crew were left in awe after their inside look, declaring Chick’s Picks the most fascinating athlete ever to appear on the show. She took this as high praise, considering other Sport Science veterans include Megatron, Arian Foster, and Adrian Peterson.

Chick’s Picks returned to MSA Sports World Headquarters after the shoot, her confidence riding high—a film shoot and one of her best prognosticating performances all in the same week. She wrapped up Week 5 with a 55-13 (81%) record, upping her season total to 259-74 (78%). Here are this week’s predictions:

Agree with her picks? Disagree? Chick’s Picks wants to hear from you! Be sure to follow her on Twitter @ChicksPicksMSA. Don’t forget to tweet your scores to us @MSASports or use #MSAScores!

CLASS AAAA
#1 North Allegheny (5-0) at #2 Gateway (5-0)

Fans will be treated to a playoff sneak peak Friday night at Antimarino Stadium in Monroeville where Gateway will play host to North Allegheny. Both teams come into this week’s matchup with perfect records. The Gators are coming off a 41-13 win over Hempfield, while the Tigers routed Butler, 49-0. These two last met in last year’s semifinals, where North Allegheny advanced to the WPIAL title game with a 21-17 win. This edition features two of the top quarterbacks in the WPIAL. Gateway’s Thomas Woodson ranks sixth in the WPIAL with 963 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. North Allegheny’s Mack Leftwich comes in second with 1,180 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Gators boast the top offense in Class AAAA, averaging 49 points per game. Fittingly, they will face the top-ranked defense of the Tigers, allowing only 5.4 points per game. Chick’s Picks will stick by her old rule of thumb that defense wins championships…and big games.
North Allegheny over Gateway

CLASS AAA
#10 Elizabeth Forward (3-2) at #4 West Mifflin (5-0)

The Warriors make their first appearance in the MSA Sports Top 10 this week, only to take on the undefeated Titans in a Big Nine Conference showdown. Last week, Elizabeth Forward blanked Uniontown, 33-0. West Mifflin stayed perfect with a 48-20 win over Ringgold. The Warriors are led by QB JaQuan Davidson, who is also the team’s leading rusher with 534 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Titans rely on RB Jim Wheeler, who happens to be the leading rusher in the WPIAL with 1,061 yards and 14 touchdowns. Elizabeth Forward’s two losses this season came in rather close contests to Trinity (14-7) and Thomas Jefferson (21-19). The Warriors, at (3-2), have already improved their win total from last season, when they finished with a (2-8) record. One of those eight losses came to the Titans, 41-3. Chick’s Picks knows the Warriors are much improved from last year’s squad, but not quite enough to pull the upset over the Titans.
West Mifflin over Elizabeth Forward

CLASS AA
#10 Freeport (4-1) at #7 Burrell (5-0)

Allegheny Conference rivals Freeport and Burrell face off Friday night. The Yellowjackets are coming off a 28-14 win over Shady Side Academy last week, while Burrell rolled over Kittanning, 56-35. Freeport will rely heavily on do-it-all QB Brendan Lynch, who has 343 passing yards and four touchdowns, along with 485 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The Yellowjackets’ defense has also been impressive, allowing only 58 points on the season. That defense will have its hands full this week, however, as it tries to contend with Buccaneers RB Cole Bush. The highly touted Bush is the WPIAL’s second-leading rusher with 1,048 yards. He also leads the WPIAL in scoring with 19 touchdowns, including six last week against Kittanning. When these two met last season, Burrell got away with a 33-25 victory. Chick’s Picks likes the Buccaneers to make it two in a row.
Burrell over Freeport

CLASS A
#4 Neshannock (5-0) at #2 Rochester (5-0)

The Lancers take their perfect record on the road to face the perennial power Rams in a Big Seven Conference showdown Friday night. Neshannock continued its roll last week with a 41-6 win over South Side Beaver. Rochester also netted a 41-6 victory last week over Western Beaver. The Lancers made their mark with a huge come-from-behind win over Sto-Rox, 35-34, in Week 3, and have continued to ride high since. QB Ernie Burkes can get it done in the air or on the ground, with over 750 combined yards already this season. The Rams boast Dante Marsick, one of the leading scorers in the WPIAL with 16 touchdowns. Rochester’s defense has allowed only 38 points in its first five games, but will face a potent Neshannock offense that is averaging 43 points per game. The Rams came away with a 38-7 win when these two met last season. Chick’s Picks predicts a much closer score this time around, but with the same result.
Rochester over Neshannock