The Birdie goes ‘pick’ or treating in A-K Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 | 5:42 PM

The Birdie didn't play any tricks on the costumed characters wandering his neighborhood Tuesday night.

“Tricks are for kids but not on Halloween night,” he said sagely. “I play enough tricks the other 364 days of the year. Halloween is for costumes and candy.”

As mentioned previously in this space, Halloween is The Birdie's favorite holiday. He loved dressing up, but he especially loved the candy.

“I ate almost all of it,” he said. “Kit Kat. Milky Way. M&Ms. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Snickers. Even candy corn. Candy corn gets a bad rap. There's much worse out there than that.”

As an example, The Birdie pointed out a few of his least-favorite treats.

First, he never understood people who would give out apples on Halloween — “You'd be better off just saving your money and turning your lights off during trick-or-treat hours,” he said.

And then there was the candy that just tasted bad.

“Anytime I got a Good and Plenty, I was good and ready to throw it in the trash,” he said. “Milk Duds are awful, and even the people who named them know that. And Mallo Cups? Who wants a Reese's Cup that tastes like a Marshmallow Peep?”

Although his childhood is long in the past, The Birdie still loves himself some candy. He buys extra at Halloween so he can chow down on the leftovers.

The Birdie hopes the players at Fox Chapel, Freeport and Springdale didn't gorge themselves on candy after Tuesday, not with their playoff games coming up this week.

But thinking of candy got The Birdie wondering about these teams' best chocolate comparison. It took some deep thinking, but he thinks he's got it down pat.

“Springdale, they're Reese's Peanut Butter Cups,” he said. “You've got the orange packaging. And then they're just old reliable — year after year, they're just always there, just like the Dynamos.

“Freeport, I'm going with Nestle Crunch. That's what the Yellowjackets are all about on offense and defense. I'm sure I heard that noise dozens of times when I was at Freeport this year.

“Fox Chapel, that was the hardest one to pin down. But then I remembered that dynamic duo backfield they have, and it became obvious: Twix. Nick Gizzo and Micah Morris are perfect fits for Right Twix and Left Twix … two halves, equally as good. Also, Twix is the only candy with a cookie crunch, for whatever that's worth.”

The Birdie made himself hungry thinking about all this candy, but he believes he still will make strong picks for this weekend's games. He dropped a pair of games in Week 9, but that doesn't worry him heading into the postseason.

He flipped down his sunglasses, “CSI: Miami” style.

“Candy is dandy,” he said, “but you've heard the song — the Bird is the word.”

Fox Chapel (6-4) at Penn-Trafford (9-1)

Winners of five straight games, Fox Chapel might not be your typical No. 8 seed in an eight-team bracket, especially with the play of the Foxes' running game. Nick Gizzo and Micah Morris both topped 1,000 yards this season. Penn-Trafford's defense, though, isn't just good — the Warriors led Class 5A in scoring defense, giving up under 10 points per game. As the saying goes, defense wins championships.

Penn-Trafford, 28-14

Freeport (7-2) at Seton LaSalle (8-1)

Seems like just yesterday we saw these teams go at it — or maybe more like four weeks ago. Freeport led the Rebels in the fourth quarter before a couple of costly turnovers led to a Seton LaSalle win. Seton LaSalle still has the “Train,” Lionel Deanes, but Freeport has plenty of motivation after seeing one slip away.

Freeport, 17-14

Springdale (5-5) at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (8-2)

Springdale finds itself back in familiar territory as a playoff underdog, and the Dynamos overcame that by posting a first-round victory last season. Springdale will lean on its powerful running game, but OLSH has a passing attack that can pile up yards and points. The Chargers won their last eight regular-season games, and Springdale will be hard-pressed to keep them from making it nine.

OLSH, 35-20

Tags: Fox Chapel, Freeport, Springdale