The Birdie dreams of streams, makes Week 5 picks in A-K Valley football

By: The Birdie
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 | 6:32 PM

Last week: 9-2

Overall: 46-10 (82.1%)

The Birdie loves getting out under the Friday Night Lights more than anything, but he decided to try something different last week.

“Trib HSSN is the best place to watch high school football games when you can’t be there in person,” Birdie said matter-of-factly. “But there are other places streaming games too.”

He fired up his computer, feverishly typing in URLs, opening tab after tab and carefully tiling them on his monitors.

“My very own octo-box,” he said with pride. “I’m going to watch eight games at the same time. It’s high school football RedZone.”

Like all of the bird brain’s best-laid plans, this one went awry.

“Buffering,” he huffed, beginning his list of complaints about the non-HSSN streams. “People were cranky about one minute of commercials on NFL RedZone Sundays? They should try watching the same ad for a tool company 15 times in three hours.

“There’s no concession stand in this place,” he said, gesturing broadly around the office. “And I don’t know how Scott Hanson holds it for seven hours. I went to the little bird’s room and missed three touchdowns and a field goal.”

His dream of being the next Mark Goodson or Bill Todman dashed, The Birdie went back to what he knows best: making Week 5 picks in A-K Valley football.

Deer Lakes (1-4) at Highlands (2-3): Both teams are coming off losses, but the vibes are very different. The Golden Rams played powerhouse Imani Christian tough, whereas the Lancers saw their skid reach four with a loss to East Allegheny. Momentum is all in the Rams’ favor. Highlands, 28-14

Franklin Regional (0-5) at Kiski Area (1-4): Both teams are battling to stay out of the basement in the Big East. Both teams suffered heartbreaking losses to Gateway. It’s the kind of evenly matched game that comes down to one key turnover. Kiski Area, 21-20

Pine-Richland (4-1) at Fox Chapel (2-3): The challenge for every team in the Northeast Conference is not letting what happens in the Pine-Richland game linger into the next week. Pine-Richland, 34-6

Knoch (0-5) at Indiana (2-3): Indiana got the ball rolling a bit with a pair of wins, including one over a solid Derry team last week. The Knights have no momentum of which to speak. Indiana, 42-21

Burrell (1-4) at East Allegheny (1-4): The Bucs are better than their 1-4 record indicates. Two of their losses are to Avonworth and Freeport. Problem is, the same could be said about East Allegheny. Should be a good ballgame. One big play could make the difference. Burrell, 14-13

Freeport (5-0) at Valley (0-5): The sizzling Yellowjackets have to focus on the task at hand and not look forward to Highlands and Hopewell the next two weeks. Freeport, 41-6

Penn-Trafford (4-1) at Plum (2-3): It’s so hard to maintain momentum in Class 5A when the schedule presents Pine-Richland and Penn-Trafford back to back. If the Mustangs can learn from this week and last, they can make some noise in the back half of the season. Penn-Trafford, 28-14

Apollo-Ridge (3-2) at OLSH (2-3): It’s nice to see the Vikings getting rewarded with some wins after they couldn’t catch a break last year. This is the kind of game they can win. Control the ball and play smart. Apollo-Ridge, 20-14

Greensburg Central Catholic (3-2) at Riverview (3-2): A critical matchup in the Class A playoff race. The Raiders need to play mistake-free and keep the dynamic Centurions offense off the field as much as possible. Greensburg Central Catholic, 27-21

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Greensburg C.C., Highlands, Indiana, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn-Trafford, Pine-Richland, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, Valley