I had a bad week last week, going just 4-4, but honestly who cares! There were some great games last week, and some really exciting finishes! My picks are just for fun, and last week was fun, despite my record. Overall, I’m 27-15 on the season. I expect to bounce back this week, but not because I have gained any more knowledge. Honestly, it’s not a great week of matchups, and we could see a lot of blowouts. Below are my picks. Good Luck to all the teams!
All games at 7 PM on Friday, October 3rd, unless noted.
Maple Lake (4-1) @ Upsala (4-1), 2 PM.
The Irish have earned the game of the week! With three straight wins, including a big comeback over Belgrade BB last week, the Irish are rolling! Danny Reilly has been unstoppable at running back, including 175 and a touchdown last week. For Upsala, they have won four straight by an avg. score of 49-7. Upsala had serious weapons in QB Franky Meagher, RB Ethan Barthel, and 6’4 WR Brady Kircher.
The Pick: This should be a great game. I’m giving Upsala the slight edge, due to experience, they were in state last year, and just a few too many playmakers. 34-22, Upsala.
Above, Upsala celebrating their third win in a row last week.
Howard Lake WW (3-2) @ New London Spicer (3-2).
Finally, a break for the Lakers after one of the toughest schedules in the state…..NO! Last week the Lakers went on the road and upset Litch behind RB Jaxon Ewert who rushed for 101 and two TD’s, while also returning a kickoff 91 yards for a TD for the game winning points. The Wildcats won’t be an easy out, as NLS has won three straight. The Wildcats, since an 0-2 start are only giving up 14 ppg in their last three and feature a solid QB in Liam Macik.
The Pick: The Wildcats are playing well, and Macik has some big-time targets to throw at a suspect secondary for the Lakers, but HLWW has proven they can win the close games against good teams. Lakers, 21-18.
Weston Steele, above in black, is big threat at WR for NLS.
Monticello (4-1) @ Brainerd (3-2).
After losing to Alex, 7-0 in week two, the Magic offense has taken off! The Magic have avg. 43 ppg since that loss and put up 52 on their rivals from Buffalo last week. The defense has always been there for Monti this season, led by Garrett Bauer. The Warriors have lost two straight to Sartell, and Bemidji. Jayden Barnum avg. 118 yards per game for Brainerd and has scored 12 TD’s this season. The Warriors have been inconsistent this season and need to find a little bit more of a passing game.
The Pick: On paper this looks like a good game. Games aren’t played on paper, and Monticello will be able to slow the Warriors running game, while their own running game is humming. Magic, 34-14.
Jayden Barnum, above, leads the Warriors with 12 TD’s this season.
Irondale (2-3) @ Buffalo (3-2). You can hear this game on AM1360 KRWC, krwc1360.com and on our app. Pregame starts at 6:30 PM.
Let’s be honest this game is more about the Bison vs. the Bison then Irondale. The Bison were blown out by their rival last week from Monti, 52-14 and nothing went well. Coach Litterer in his third year has been building something, but the Bison haven’t broken through yet, and they will get their chance again next week against Spring Lake Park, but they have to start that momentum tonight. The Knights just aren’t very consistent at anything. Despite their 2-3 record, they just got blown out by Cooper, 49-14, and have not looked good against even avg. competition.
The Pick: It’s homecoming, the Bison should be ornery after last week and should take out their frustration on Irondale. Bison, 35-7.
Irondale, above in maroon and gold, will need its offense to step up tonight if they want to upset the Bison.
Delano (3-2) @ Mound (2-3)
Delano was limited too only 136 total yards in their loss to Marshall last week, but you can throw that out the window, because Marshall is an elite team. Overall, the Tigers have had a nice turnaround this season behind a stellar defense led by Davin Clare, and a dominant running game. Mound meanwhile finally found its offense last week in a 32-30 win over Big Lake. Before last week the Whitehawk’s only avg. 7 ppg! Cade Newell will be a challenge for Delano as he threw for 187 yards and 2 TD’s last week for Mound.
The Pick: Revenge! Don’t think Delano has forgotten last season’s 47-0 loss in the first round of the playoffs to Mound. At some point Delano will have to find a little bit of a passing game, but not this week. Delano, 27-6.
Last week, Mound above in red, got its offense going in a win over Big Lake.
STMA (1-4) @ Maple Grove (5-0).
The Knights are getting better, I swear, it’s just not showing in their record. STMA was in both of their last two games against ranked teams Eden Prairie and Edina, before running out of gas in the fourth quarter. Wyatt Mosher has been solid at RB the last two weeks, and So. QB Lucas Bryan came off the bench to go 9-15 for 69 yards last week for STMA. Maple Grove is a whole different beast! QB Kaden Harney is one of the top players in the state, and RB James Engle went wild last week, rushing for 176 yards and five TDs in the Crimson win.
The Pick: The Crimson is one of the most dominant teams I have ever seen at the Class AAAAAA level. The Knights could play the game of the year, and I still don’t think it would be enough. Crimson, 49-14.
Kaden Harney, above, is one of the top ranked QBs in the state and is getting offers from many D1 programs.
Rockford (1-4) @ Annandale (5-0).
Annandale had their first challenge of the season against #4AAA Holy Family, trailing 10-9 at the half. How did they respond? Well, the Cards outscored the Fire, 21-0 in the second half and rolled, 30-10. Michael Kovall was outstanding throwing the ball for Annandale last Friday and their D line was dominant. For Rockford, they have a solid defense, led by Bradley Graunke, who has 54 tackles and four TFL’s this season for Rockford. Sean Aswangwe is a threat at WR also for Rockford, and the Cards struggled in the first half covering Holy Family, before adjusting and shutting them down in the second half.
The Pick: Rockford does have a solid defense, but the Cards might have the best offense in AAA. The big difference is the Rockets struggle moving the ball and Annandale is elite on defense. Cards roll, 48-6.
Above, Annandale talks over a timeout in their road win at Holy Family.
Montevideo (0-5) @ Dassel-Cokato (3-2).
DC found its running game last week, racking up 396 yards of rushing, an avg. of 8.1 yards per carry. Elijah Torola (117), Isaac Salmen (103) and Jake Nyquist (96) all rushed for over 90 yards in the Chargers win. Salmen also had two picks in the Chargers win. One thing to keep an eye on is DC allowed 231 yards rushing last week, that will need to get better. For the Eagles, not good. The Eagles have scored 24 points all season and have been shut out twice. There last two games, the Eagles have been outscored, 99-6. Besides that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln.
The Pick: DC has had a very tough schedule, not tonight, this should be and will be a laugher. Chargers, 56-0.
Montevideo, above in purple, has had a hard time stopping anyone this season.
