Mercury staff Pigskin Pick'em: Week 5

FOOTBALL: The Poopster's Week 5 Picks

The Poopster foresees a defensive struggle in the Spring-Ford/Pottsgrove showdown.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com
Twitter: @MercSmokinD

The Poopster started knocking off wins like they were cans of Fancy Feast last week, failing only to correctly predict Upper Perkiomen's 37-14 upset victory over Pope John Paul II that snapped a 14-game losing streak dating back to the 2011 season. He will try to carry that momentum over to this week's action:

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Pottsgrove (3-0, 4-0) at Spring-Ford (2-0, 3-1)
In what looks to be a showdown dictated by strong defense, the Poopster is at odds with his owner, who believes the Falcons (who've won 17 straight PAC-10 regular season games) get the benefit of the doubt until someone knocks them off. But the Poopster is going to go with the home squad at what should be a packed house at Coach McNelly Stadium ... Spring-Ford 14-13.

Boyertown (1-2, 2-2) at Owen J. Roberts (0-2, 0-4)
The Poopster feels this could be a game in which workhorse OJR running back Wyatt Scott finally sees some daylight. Problem is, the Wildcats will be hard-pressed to stop a Bears infantry led by Cody Richmond ... Boyertown 38-21.

Perkiomen Valley (2-1, 3-1) at Pottstown (0-2, 0-4)
This is a battle of two of the PAC-10's most entertaining quarterbacks, PV's Rasaan Stewart and the Trojans' Gary Wise, but the Poopster feels the Vikings are too strong in all three phases of the game ... Perkiomen Valley 42-12.

Pope John Paul II (1-2, 1-3) at Phoenixville (2-0, 2-2)
The Poopster has an inkling PJP will come out fired up after last week's stinging loss to Upper Perkiomen, but it might not be enough against the Phantoms, who have won two straight in dramatic fashion ... Phoenixville 26-21.

Daniel Boone (0-1, 1-3) at Conrad Weiser (0-1, 3-1)
After scoring 35 points in a Week 2 victory over Owen J. Roberts, the Blazers have been shut out in back-to-back weeks. The Scouts, coached by the Poopster's owner's old Lebanon Valley League baseball teammate Alan Moyer, are smarting after a 17-16 loss to Exeter ... Conrad Weiser 35-14.

Perkiomen School (2-1) at Pottsville Nativity (1-3)
The Panthers' improving line has keyed a strong ground attack, and the Poopster believes as long as nothing shady happens up in the Coal Region, they should bring home a victory ... Perkiomen School 25-14.

SATURDAY'S GAMES

Upper Perkiomen (1-2, 1-3) at Methacton (1-2, 1-3)
The Indians got a phenomenal 392-yard, six-TD  performance from RB Aidan Schaffer last week in snapping a 14-game losing streak, but the Poopster doesn't think Mike Cassidy, Lucas Hepp and the Warriors defense will be so generous this week ... Methacton 28-13.

Springside Chestnut Hill (3-1) at Hill School (0-2)
Rams QB Matt Foltz and WR Grant Smith have been making like Montana-to-Rice over the first two weeks, but the Hill needs to be more consistent defensively and improve in the ground game to get in the victory column ... Springside Chestnut Hill 30-20.

Last week's record 7-1 (87.5 percent)
Season record: 25-10 (71.4 percent)

FOOTBALL: The Poopster's Week 4 picks

Like several PAC-10 teams, the Poopster is looking to bounce back in Week 4.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com
Twitter: @MercSmokinD

Coming off a shameful 4-4 showing last week, the Poopster is looking to redeem himself in a big way this week. Here's his take on the Week 4 area high school football action:

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Spring-Ford (1-0, 2-1) at Boyertown (1-1, 2-1)
The Rams served noticed they are a legit league title contender by taking down Perkiomen Valley last week, though the Poopster wonders if this could be a trap game. After a 2-0 start, Boyertown suffered a surprising 48-10 loss to Methacton ... Spring-Ford 31-20.

Methacton (1-1, 1-2) at  Pottsgrove (2-0, 3-0)
The Poopster is ready to put on his camo and fatigues and get in the spirit for Military Appreciation Night at the 'Grove. Methacton took a huge step forward in last week's win over Boyertown and has played the Falcons tough in the past ... Pottsgrove 35-13.

Pottstown (0-1, 0-3) at Phoenixville (1-0, 1-2)
It will be the speed and big-play ability of the Trojans against the physicality and blue-collar mentality of the Phantoms. The Poopster says ... Phoenixville 18-13.

Owen J. Roberts  (0-1, 0-3) at Perkiomen Valley (1-1, 2-1)
The Poopster would really like to see his friends in the Cat Pack be able to cheer on a Wildcats victory, but he doesn't see it happening this week against a Vikings squad smarting from last week's loss at Spring-Ford ... Perkiomen Valley 42-14.

Governor Mifflin (0-0, 1-2) at Daniel Boone (0-0, 1-2)
The Mustangs have won 18 straight Berks League Section 1 games and will likely be in a foul mood after suffering non-league beatdowns to Wilson and Cocalico in the first three weeks ... Governor Mifflin 35-17.

Hill School (0-1) at Episcopal Academy (3-0)
The Rams suffered a couple of key injuries on defense in last week's season-opening 43-14 loss to Germantown Academy, which is bad news against the Churchmen, who have won 13 straight dating back to the 2011 season ... Episcopal Academy 42-7.

George School (0-2) vs. Perkiomen School (1-1), at Upper Perkiomen
The Poopster expects the Panthers will shine under the Friday Night Lights against a Cougars squad that is just 19-64 over the past 11 seasons ... Perkiomen School 28-13.

SATURDAY'S GAME

Upper Perkiomen (0-2, 0-3) at Pope John Paul II (1-1, 1-2)
The Golden Panthers have some spring in their steps thanks to a renewed effort on defense and a running game led by Nick Howarth, Johnnie Bildstein and Kirk Cherneskie that spearheaded a 24-0 win over Pottstown last week. The Poopster thinks they'll make it two in a row against the Indians, who have allowed 60-plus points in each of the past two games ... Pope John Paul II 30-12.

Last week: 4-4 (50.0 pct.)
Season record: 18-9 (66.7 pct.)

FOOTBALL: The Poopster's Week 3 picks

The Poopster is looking forward to the big Perkiomen Valley/Spring-Ford game in Week 3.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com
Twitter: @MercSmokinD

Friday night's Perkiomen Valley at Spring-Ford PAC-10 showdown highlights the area's Week 3 slate. Here's what The Poopster thinks will happen:

THURSDAY'S GAMES

Hill School (0-0) at Germantown Academy (0-1)
Coach Grey Simpson and the Rams have suffered a couple of tough beats to GA over the past two years (23-20 in 2011 and 7-6 last year). The Poopster has an inkling that might change this time around ... Hill School 14-13.

Phoenixville (0-2) at Owen J. Roberts (0-2)
This is a tough one for the Poopster to figure out, though someone is going to pick up a much-needed win. He's going to flip the coin and say ... Phoenixville 20-14.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Tower Hill (Del.) Academy (1-0) at Perkiomen School (1-0)
The Panthers opened their season in successful fashion with a 40-8 thumping of Carson Long (The Poopster had 41-7 in that game, btw). This one will be a lot tougher ... Tower Hill 27-21.

Perkiomen Valley (2-0) at Spring-Ford (1-1)
The Rasaan Stewart-led Vikings have been unstoppable on offense and downright stingy on defense, while the Rams righted the ship last week with a 34-0 win over Southern (Philadelphia). The Poopster thinks the S-F DL duo of Robby Varner and Mason Romano will cause some mayhem, but PV still has too many weapons ... Perkiomen Valley 34-21.

Pope John Paul II (0-2) at Pottstown (0-2)
In another battle of teams searching for a much-needed win, the Poopster expects the scoreboard at Grigg Memorial Field to get a workout. ... Pottstown 40-35.

Pottsgrove (2-0) at Upper Perkiomen (0-2)
The Falcons' first-team defense hasn't given up a point, while RB Marquis Barefield leads a potent group of skill players against a Tribe defense that has struggled thus far ... Pottsgrove 42-6.

Manheim Central (2-0) at Daniel Boone (1-1)
The Barons have won all three previous meetings with the Blazers, who opened some eyes with a 35-7 win over Owen J. Roberts last week ... Manheim Central 35-14.

SATURDAY'S GAME

Boyertown (2-0) at Methacton (0-2)
Through two weeks, the Bears are putting up the kinds of offensive numbers that would make even Chip Kelly do a double take. The Poopster expects that trend to continue ... Boyertown 41-13.

Last week's record: 6-2 (75.0 percent)
Season: record: 14-5 (73.7 percent)

Mercury staff Pigskin Pick'em: Week 2

FOOTBALL: The Poopster's Week 2 picks

Poppy, aka The Poopster, is ready for Week 2 of high school football.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com

Twitter: @MercSmokinD

The Poopster had an OK start to the picking season, though he couldn't quite pull the trigger on one PAC-10 team (Boyertown) team and got a couple of other road squads wrong (Spring-Ford, Pottstown). Here's his take on the Week 2 area action:

THURSDAY'S GAME

Southern Philadelphia (0-1) at Spring-Ford (0-1)
Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker was likely as angry after the Rams were down 28 points right out of the chute in last week's 37-21 loss at Whitehall as the Poopster gets when his owner feeds the outside cats first. He says S-F will right the ship tonight. ... Spring-Ford 38-18.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Daniel Boone (0-1) at Owen J. Roberts (0-1)
The Blazers and Wildcats hunger for a win like the Poopster hungers for a can of Fancy Feast. Boone has lost four straight; OJR has dropped seven in a row ... Owen J. Roberts 23-14.

Hatboro-Horsham (1-0) at Pottstown (0-1)
The Hatters equaled last year's victory total in last week's 21-14 win over Norristown. The Poopster expects some offensive fireworks in this one, and is going to give the nod to Gary Wise, Dayon Mohler and the Trojans to give first-year coach Don Grinstead his first win ... Pottstown 35-28.

Methacton (0-1) at Perkiomen Valley (1-0)
Even the Poopster was impressed with the Vikings' Week 1 effort in all three phases of the game as they hammered P-W 33-0. He thinks the Warriors will be up against it in the Battle for the Battle Ax ... Perkiomen Valley 35-13.

Perkiomen School (0-0) at Carson Long (0-1)
Carson Long has lost 45 straight games dating back to 2008 and the Poopster doesn't see the streak ending against coach Tom Calvario's squad, led by QB turned RB Isaiah Smith ... Perkiomen School 41-7.

Phoenixville (0-1) at Exeter (1-0)
Tough one for the Poopster, especially after the way the Phantoms handled the Eagles 28-20 last year. He senses a tight one either way ... Exeter 17-16.

Upper Perkiomen (0-1) at Boyertown (1-0)
The Poopster has a feeling the Bears will be a handful in the PAC-10 if they can shore up their defense a bit. The offense put up 46 points last week, and he envisions more of the same ... Boyertown 42-6.

SATURDAY'S GAME

Pottsgrove (1-0) at Pope John Paul II (0-1)
The Falcons gave up a TD to Souderton on the opening kickoff last week, then answered with 41 straight points. The Poopster is expecting some ground-and-pound against the Golden Panthers, who showed better balance in their opener ... Pottsgrove 40-14.

Last week's record: 8-3 (73 percent).
Season record: 8-3 (73 percent).