Here are a few of The Birdie’s favorite things … and his Week 8 picks in the A-K Valley

By: The Birdie
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 | 6:58 PM

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Last week: 9-2

Overall: 70-17 (80.5%)

When The Birdie wrote his column last week about the teams and players in the A-K Valley he was excited about, something strange happened.

His heart grew three sizes that day.

“I’m sometimes a bit cranky,” our feathered friend admitted in the understatement of the year. “But I found it’s fun to be positive. I’m going to be a ray of stinking sunshine for the second week in a row.

“This week, I’m going to write about things I love about high school football. Let’s make it a top-10 list.”

10. The way the two officials under the goal posts look at each other and nod before they signal a kick is good.

9. Reverses on kickoff returns.

8. Warm weather into October. (Birdie won’t be putting his shorts away until, like, Thanksgiving at this rate.)

7. Weird, unbalanced extra point formations.

6. Seven. (Get it? Six-seven. Heh.)

5. When goth kids are in the homecoming court. (Are there still goth kids?)

4. Halftime shows with Queen songs. (Bonus points for “Don’t Stop Me Now.”)

3. Kickers. (I saw that 65-yard try, Harran Zureikat. Don’t give up. A little breeze, and you got this.)

2. Linemen who lift up running backs after they score touchdowns like Patrick Swayze lifting Jennifer Grey.

1. Football players who are also in the band.

Now let’s see if The Birdie’s new positive attitude leads to some good Week 8 picks.

Brentwood (3-5) at Leechburg (5-2): The Blue Devils are in position to claim a plum playoff seed, but these Spartans are no joke. They gave a good Jeannette team all it could handle last week. Take nothing for granted. Leechburg, 21-13

Shaler (2-6) at Fox Chapel (2-6): The Foxes catch the Titans at a bad time — riding high after finally beating rival North Hills last week. Shaler, 27-12

West Mifflin (2-6) at Knoch (0-8): If the Knights want to stay out of the Greater Allegheny basement, this is their chance. West Mifflin, 20-14

Burrell (3-5) at Imani Christian (8-0): The Saints are the spike strip on every Allegheny 7 team’s schedule. Imani Christian, 34-13

Deer Lakes (1-7) at Valley (0-8): This season hasn’t gone as planned for either of these teams. Now’s the chance to build some late season momentum. Deer Lakes, 34-26

East Allegheny (2-6) at Freeport (6-2): A golden opportunity for the Yellowjackets to get right before the Imani finale next week. Freeport, 27-14

Apollo-Ridge (5-3) at South Park (4-4): The Vikings can clinch a playoff berth with a win. Now’s the time. You don’t want to mess around with Week 9. Apollo-Ridge, 20-13

Jeannette (5-3) at Springdale (0-6): The Dynamos have been making incremental progress. For example, they scored a couple of second-half touchdowns last week. Gotta keep it going. Jeannette, 35-6

Kiski Area (4-4) at Plum (3-5): Don’t look now, but the Cavaliers are on a roll. A four-game winning streak would sound pretty sweet. Kiski Area, 27-21

McGuffey (0-8) at Highlands (5-3): The Golden Rams have a good chance to enter the playoffs on a five-game winning streak. Just gotta stay focused. Highlands, 41-14

Clairton (6-1) at Riverview (4-4): The Raiders probably want nothing more than to bounce back from last week’s loss, and they run into a team that hasn’t given up a point since August. That’s a bad break. Clairton, 27-0

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Brentwood, Burrell, Clairton, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Imani Christian, Jeannette, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, McGuffey, Plum, Riverview, Shaler, South Park, Springdale, Valley, West Mifflin