I thought you were supposed to get better at picks as the season goes on? Well for some reason I’ve been going in the wrong direction. This is the week I turn it around! Now let’s get into the picks for week 5.

Record this season: 7-5 in week 4, 38-14 overall

Lake vs Fostoria - Both teams have had some rough games this year. I think they are pretty even. I’ll take Fostoria in a close one.

Liberty-Benton vs Van Buren - I feel like this could go either way. Last week Van Buren was a little banged up and lost to Riverdale. Because of that I will go with LB getting the win. 

Arcadia vs Leipsic - Leipsic is really good. Leipsic will win by a lot. 

Crestline vs Arlington - After back-to-back tough losses to Liberty-Benton and McComb I see Arlington getting back on track against Crestline. 

Riverdale vs Cory-Rawson - If the Riverdale team that took it to Van Buren shows up for the second week in a row then I see the Falcons winning big. Riverdale will have their handsful trying to stop Deontae' Davis and Tommy Stauffer though. Give me the Falcons over the Hornets. 

North Baltimore vs Vanlue - It will be closer than it was a season ago, but I gotta take the Tigers in this one. Vanlue isn’t gonna be able to stop Levi Gazarek.

Mohawk vs Seneca East - Mohawk is coming off two straight losses while Seneca East is rolling to start the season. Taking the Tigers over the Warriors.

Tiffin Columbian vs Vermillion - Similar to last week, Columbian is 4-0 and Vermillion is 0-4. Vermillion has scored 35 points this season. Columbian scored more than that last week alone. Give me the Tornadoes over the Sailors. 

Tiffin Calvert vs Fremont St. Joe’s - Calvert has to right the ship after a 1-3 start to stay in playoff contention. Give me the Senecas.

Hopewell-Loudon vs Margaretta - Hopewell-Loudon won in a shootout against Lakota last week for their first win. Meanwhile Margaretta has played some stiff competition in Seneca East and Western Reserve. Going with Margaretta in this one. 

Fremont Ross vs Findlay - Big rivalry matchup here. Both teams come in at 1-3. It’s been super close over the last few seasons too. Gotta go with the Trojans getting the win after how they lost to Ross a season ago. 

Hardin Northern vs Perry - Hardin Northern is gonna be 4 and 1 after this Friday night. How about that?!

Northwood vs Stryker - Stryker is in their second season of Football after not having it for 87 years. Northwood could probably put up 87 points if they really wanted to, but Ken James doesn’t do that unless he wants to prove a point. The Rangers will score at least 60 though.

Pandora-Gilboa vs McComb - I won’t pick this game since it’s the game I’m calling. Join Matt Cotman and I live on Mix 96.7 WBVI

Week 3 was a wash in more ways than one with the weather across the area on Friday night. I’m sure the weather affected all or almost all of the games, but you know what they say. Both teams had to deal with the elements. Now let’s get into the picks for week 4.

Record this season: 10-4 in week 3, 31-9 overall

Fostoria vs Eastwood - Fostoria might keep it close for a quarter or so, but Eastwood is just too talented. Give me the Eagles.

Vanlue vs Arcadia - I have Vanlue getting to 3-1 on the season. How about that?!

Liberty-Benton vs Cory-Rawson - Liberty-Benton grinded out a win last week against Arlington. They won’t need to do that this week. I’m going with LB.

Riverdale vs Van Buren - Van Buren rebounds after a tough loss to Pandora-Gilboa. 

North Baltimore vs Crestline - Crestline is playing a whole bunch of BVC teams, and they’re going to lose to a whole bunch of BVC teams. Going with the Tigers.

Leipsic vs Pandora-Gilboa - Easily the best game in the area. Especially considering these two didn’t get to play last year because of how the schedule worked out. Gonna go with Leipsic though in this one.

Mohawk vs Carey - I really didn’t think Carey was going to start the season 0-3. Yet here they are about to be 0-4. Gotta take Mohawk coming off their first regular season loss since 2017.

Findlay vs Whitmer - Riley Keller is gonna have himself a game. Going with the Panthers.

Tiffin Calvert vs Gibsonburg - Calvert is 1-2 but those losses came to Wynford and Norwalk St. Paul. Two teams that will make the playoffs. But Gibsonburg is 3-0 coming off a good win against Mohawk. Steve Reser lost to his former team last season, and I don’t think he will lose to them two seasons in a row. Going with the Senecas.

Tiffin Columbian vs Start - Columbian is 3-0. Start is 0-3. Give me Columbian.

Edon vs Northwood - As per tradition the Rangers will open up TAAC play against the Bombers. Edon is on the right track on building their program up, but Northwood’s program has been rolling basically as long as I’ve been alive. Give me my Rangers.

Hardin Northern vs Upper Scioto Valley - I think it’ll be a tight one. Both teams come in at 2-1. I’ll take the Polar Bears. (How about that Potter?!) (How about that Colin?!)

Arlington vs McComb - Won’t pick this one since it’ll be the game I’m calling tonight. You can join Matt Cotman and I for that tonight on Mix 96.7 WBVI

Well week 2 might not have been my best, but in week 3 we know a lot more than we did before. Conference play is starting for some leagues. And boy (or girl) do we have some fun games this weekend!

Record this season: 9-4 in week 2, 21-5 overall

Fostoria vs Hopewell-Loudon - Such a big game tonight between neighboring schools that have never met on the football field. Fostoria struggled against Oak Harbor and got back on track with a win over Scott. While Hopewell-Loudon struggled against Van Buren and was more competitive in their loss to Mohawk. I think Hopewell will look much better than they did week one, but I have Fostoria finding a way to get the win in Bascom tonight. You can listen to that game tonight on WFOB.

Cory-Rawson vs North Baltimore - North Baltimore will have the two best athletes on the field a good amount of times this season. They narrowly lost to Cory-Rawson a season ago. I have North Baltimore getting the win.

McComb vs Riverdale - McComb. Huge.

Crestline vs Arcadia - Crestline has won a game this season. Arcadia has not. Because of this I will go with Crestline.

Leipsic vs Vanlue - It’s awesome for Vanlue to start 2-0 for the first time in about a decade. They are going to feel a little less than awesome after tonight. Leipsic by a lot.

Van Buren vs Pandora-Gilboa - A very interesting matchup. Both teams are in a good spot to be contenders in the BVC this season. I think it will be close, but I’m gonna go with Van Buren tonight by single digits. 

Mohawk vs Gibsonburg - Both teams made the postseason last season. Both teams come in 2-0. But Gibsonburg didn’t beat Woodmore by a whole lot. Because of that I will go with Mohawk.

Crestview vs Carey - I don’t see Carey starting 0-3. Give me the Blue Devils.

Norwalk St. Paul vs Calvert - Big playoff implications tonight. Last season Calvert gave St. Paul their only regular season loss. The win helped give Calvert a home playoff game in a stacked Division VII Region 26 last year. While St. Paul had to face a very good Edgerton squad. Calvert’s 1-1 record is somewhat deceiving because they played a Wynford team that will make the playoffs. St. Paul hasn’t played amazing teams to start the year, but they haven’t allowed any points yet. Calvert will score but they won’t win. Give me the Fliers. 

Columbian vs Ashland - Columbian is 2-0 while Ashland is 0-2. I’ll take the tornadoes. 

Northwood vs Elmwood - A surprisingly fun matchup with both teams being 2-0. Elmwood has beaten North Baltimore and Lakota. Northwood has beaten Woodmore and Lake. I will of course go with my Rangers, but I think it’ll be a fairly close game.

Woodmore vs Lakota - Lakota should take care of business against Woodmore, and I believe they will.

Findlay vs Marysville - Findlay is 0-2 and Marysville is 2-0, but Marysville is a good matchup for Findlay. Findlay’s defense is better equipped to stop the Marysville running attack. Give me the Trojans tonight.

Hardin Northern vs Danbury - Danbury lost to Vanlue so I have a hunch that means they won’t win many games this season. I’ll take the Polar Bears. 

Arlington vs Liberty-Benton - Won’t pick this one since it will be the game I’m calling. Join Matt Cotman and I live on Mix 96.7 WBVI

Back we are for week two! I had a nearly perfect week to start the season going 12-1. My one miss was Vanlue, and they got their first win in 19 games. I’m feeling confident this week. Will that matter? Who knows. Let’s get into the picks for this week.

Record this season: 12-1 

Fostoria vs Scott - Fostoria struggled last week against Oak Harbor. Scott isn’t as good as Oak Harbor but I still have them beating the Redmen tonight.

Hopewell-Loudon vs Mohawk - Hopewell-Loudon struggled against a Van Buren team that might make some noise in the BVC this season. Mohawk lost a ton from their 2018 team. I have the Warriors over the Chieftains. 

Arlington vs Ada - Arlington will go into the Liberty-Benton game next week 2-0 and looking for their first win over the Eagles in quite some time. 

Carey vs Gallion - Carey is going against a bigger school that defeated them a season ago. I’ll take Gallion tonight.

Elmwood vs Lakota - Elmwood started the season strong with a big win over North Baltimore. I think they ride that momentum and start 2-0.

Findlay vs Perrysburg - I just have a feeling the Trojans find a way in this one. Their offense won’t be as bad as it was last week.

Hardin Northern vs Riverdale - I have Hardin Northern starting 2-0. How about that?!

Lake vs Northwood - The score surprised me a bit against Woodmore. I thought it would be a lot more lopsided than it was. Nonetheless Northwood has struggled to start the season multiple times over the last decade plus. The 2008 team just collectively shook their heads. That being said I’m taking my Rangers in the Battle of Lemoyne Road. 

Leipsic vs Columbus Grove - Another PCL battle this week for Columbus Grove. This is probably one of the best games of the week. I’ll go with Leipsic but this game feels like it will be super close.

Liberty-Benton vs Archbold - Watching Liberty-Benton last week I can safely say they are a much better team than last season. They struggled a bit in the second half, but were able to get the win over Wynford. Archbold though dominated Hicksville. I’ll say LB finds a way on the road to get the win. 

Pandora-Gilboa vs Bluffton - Not gonna overthink this one and just follow my instincts. Give me PG.

Tiffin Columbian vs Waite  - Columbian had a good win last week against Fremont Ross. I think they continue that trend with a win over Waite.

Tiffin Calvert vs Wynford - Huge game. Calvert had a good win over Monroeville. Wynford had a tough loss to Liberty-Benton. Wynford is a really tough team that will compete for the NTAC Title this season. I’ve got the Royals getting back to .500.

McComb vs Troy Christain - McComb. Huge.

Van Buren vs Otsego - Both teams replace big parts of their teams from 2018. Give me the Black Knights over the Knights.

Ayersville vs North Baltimore - Won’t pick this one since it will be the game I’m calling Friday night. You can listen live on Mix 96.7 WBVI starting at 6:50 on Friday!