The Birdie finds his mojo picking A-K Valley football games

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 | 4:48 PM

Last week: 9-3 (.750)

Season: 44-11 (.800)

The Birdie enjoys the drama of the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room, with its ongoing twists and turns reminding him of his favorite soap operas.

Then again, he’s always been into drama: He was a theater nerd in his younger days, and he even originally tried to go to Hollywood for a career.

It didn’t work out well. First, he got passed over for “Sesame Street” in favor of a certain big bird. Then, he lost out to Tweety for a gig on “Looney Tunes.”

“That decision was looney,” he said, still bitter decades later.

All the rejections eventually made The Birdie find a second career path of picking games. And while Alle-Kiski fans would love to say “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

“Sorry, Leechburg fans,” he said. “I saw you hoping for a trade, or maybe a retirement. But I’ve got a lot of years left.”

The Birdie found his mojo — somewhat — last week, picking nine of 12 games correctly. But if he wants to complete his EGOT — “I already have the EGO down,” he said — he knows he needs to do better.

Who will take a bow this week?

Friday

Burrell (1-4, 1-3) at Deer Lakes (2-2, 2-2)

Burrell and Deer Lakes both have the potential for big plays, but right now the Lancers are doing it more consistently. Deer Lakes, 35-21

Greensburg Central Catholic (3-2, 2-2) at Springdale (0-4, 0-2)

The Dynamos are in dire need of some points, but it won’t happen this week against GCC’s stingy D. GCC, 27-7

Hampton (1-4, 0-4) at Kiski Area (3-2, 2-2)

Dick Dilts Field is proving to be home, sweet home for the Cavaliers, and expect that to continue this week against the struggling Talbots. Kiski Area, 35-13

Highlands (1-4, 0-4) at Ambridge (1-4, 0-2)

The Golden Rams have been proving The Birdie wrong all season. Maybe this time they’ll get it right. Highlands, 42-10

Knoch (2-3, 2-2) at Montour (0-5, 0-2)

Go figure: The Knights are finding their midseason form at midseason. And they have a good chance to keep it rolling against the struggling Spartans. Knoch, 35-7

Leechburg (2-3, 1-2) at Clairton (4-0, 2-0)

The Blue Devils are riding high after last week’s blowout of Riverview, but the Bears are a different animal altogether. Clairton, 48-14

Penn-Trafford (3-2, 3-1) at Plum (1-4, 0-4)

It’s been ugly for Plum since Week Zero, and it won’t get much better this week. Penn-Trafford, 38-7

Upper St. Clair (4-1) at Fox Chapel (1-4)

The Foxes got that first win last week, but USC will Render that meaningless this week. Upper St. Clair, 38-14

Valley (1-4) at Freedom (4-1)

“Right now, Valley just wants to be free of this schedule,” The Birdie said. The Bulldogs will keep the Vikings locked into their losing streak. Freedom, 28-21

Yough (3-2, 3-1) at Freeport (1-3, 1-3)

A game against Uniontown might have provided the right tonic for Freeport to get its season back on track. Freeport, 31-28

Saturday

Apollo-Ridge (2-3, 1-2) at Shady Side Academy (4-0, 2-0)

The sky looks like it’s falling for the Vikings, and a matchup with Skyy Moore and the Indians won’t help matters. Shady Side Academy, 42-21

Riverview (0-4, 0-3) at Imani Christian (4-1, 2-1)

The Saints scored 80 points in a game this season. Riverview has 19 in four games. Imani Christian, 46-7

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski School, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, Valley