FANOFFOOTBALL WEEK 10 PICKS
Rankings
DI
1. Salesianum 8-1
2. William Penn 8-1
3. Smyrna 8-1
4. Middletown 7-2
5. Mount Pleasant 6-3
DII
1. St. Georges 8-1
2. Lake Forest 7-2
3. Friends 8-0
4. DMA 8-1
5. Howard 6-3
Salesianum 35 St. Mark’s 7……………I always try and keep my picks non partial but being a graduate of St. Mark’s and a former player there I would like to see them do well but the reality is the Spartans aren’t on the same level as Salesianum this year. Sallies is the top team in the state and St. Mark’s is a program on the decline. By decline I mean enrollment and participation numbers. St. Mark’s doesn’t have a freshman team for the 1st time that I can remember and the total number of players in the program is somewhere around 50. The bottom line is that you may have seen the end of the St. Mark’s vs. Sallies rivalry at least for the foreseeable future and that is disappointing. The Spartans did upset Salesianum last year 28-21 but the Sals have won 10 out of the last 15. Colby Reeder should have a big night and maybe the game stays close for a half but in the end the Sals should win handily.
Laurel 40 Seaford 6…………….Laurel hasn’t had a good season but they have dominated Seaford since 2004 winning all 11 match-ups in that span. Bulldogs finish with a win. This game is Delaware's oldest high school football rivalry and is said to be the third oldest rivalry in the nation as the 2 towns are separated by only 6½ miles.
Mount Pleasant 32 Appo 28……….Mount Pleasant broke a 2 game losing streak with a solid 21-6 defeat of Howard last Saturday. The Mount Pleasant defense essentially pitched a shutout against Howard limiting the Howard offense to 0 points. The lone Howard score was on a kickoff return. Appo allowed 40 points in the 2nd quarter to AI and still won the game 55-52 scoring the game winning TD with 27 seconds left in the game to get the win. Both of these teams have had surprisingly good seasons and this game should go down to the wire. Mount has an edge defensively which wins the game for them.
Howard 36 Dickinson 8………Howard might need this game to get in the playoffs and they won't let 1-8 Dickinson get in their way. Howard has 3 losses this season to St. Georges, Smyrna and Mount Pleasant.
McKean 28 Christiana 6………Can’t pick Christiana after forfeiting last week. McKean finishes with a 3rd win.
Newark 31 AI 30…………End of an era this week as coach Butch Simpson ends his coaching career at home against AI. Newark will have their hands full in this one against an explosive AI offense that scored 52 points last week in a 55-52 loss to Appo. Andrew James-Gaymon has 18 total TD this season for AI. Not going to pick against Coach Simpson in this one.
Charter 35 Red Lion 16………..Charter gets a well-deserved rest from their Flight A schedule, ending the season with a much more manageable game against Red Lion.
Friends 30 Tower Hill 14……….These teams have split their last 10 meetings with both winning 5 times each. Friends is the better team this year and could possibly make a deep run in the playoffs.
Dover 28 Caesar Rodney 12………CR has won 5 out of the last 7 in this rivalry but Dover wins this one.
Woodbridge 27 Delmar 26………What a crazy season for Delmar. They have has lost their last 2 games by 1 point each. Last week to Milford 20-19 and the previous week to Indian River 21-20. In all Delmar has 8 losses on the season of which 6 are by 10 points or less. That includes a last second loss to Henlopen South Champ Lake Forest 19-14. It just hasn’t been Delmar's year. Woodbridge looks to be headed to the playoffs but they better be ready for a battle from Delmar. Delmar is 11-0 against Woodbridge since 2004.
Sussex Central 30 Indian River 18………Sussex Central has won 4 out of their last 5 games and with a win would finish at 6-4 after finishing 5-5 the previous 2 seasons. The Golden Knights defeated Indian River 42-28 last season. Indian River last defeated Sussex Central in 2011 (47-17) the same year they were DII State Champions.
Lake Forest 27 Milford 16……….Lake Forest has already clinched the Henlopen South title but the annual “Battle of the Bell” game is still an important game for playoff seeding and more importantly bragging rights. Milford finished 1-9 the last 2 seasons and regardless of what happens Friday night they are the most improved team in the state this season. Lake defeated Milford 40-13 last season and hasn’t lost to Milford since 2010.
Smyrna 56 Polytech 7…………Smyrna finishes with a win and gets ready for the playoffs in a record setting regular season for the Eagles. 9 wins, Henlopen North Champs, 484 points scored.
Sussex Tech 27 Cape Henlopen 21……….These teams are very evenly matched and this should be one of the most competitive games of the weekend. Both teams average 27 to 28 points per game and allow under 21 per game. The Ravens defense is a tad better and RB Patrick Griffin gives Sussex Tech the slight edge in this game.
Middletown 28 Concord 13…… …………Middletown wasn’t sharp last Friday night against Newark committing too many penalties and turning the ball over way too much. The good news is they still won 27-14 and are in a good position for a top 4 seed in the playoffs. Concord RB Grahm Roberts has 7 TD in the last 2 weeks in victories against Delcastle (55-12) and Charter (44-28). Both of these teams have feasted on the lesser competition this season. Middletown has 7 wins but those wins come against competition sporting a 23-40 record. Concord is about the same with 6 wins coming against competition with an 18-36 record. The Middletown defense is allowing 7.6 points per game and in my opinion makes all the difference in this game. Middletown has won 7 out of 8 versus Concord and Concord last defeated Middletown in 2009 17-13.
St. Georges 26 Glasgow 18…………..St. Georges is already in the playoffs and seeding is still up in the air but somehow I think Glasgow shows up and gives them a battle. Glasgow still has an outside chance at the playoffs and the Dragons seem to step up their play based on the level of competition.
DMA 36 Conrad 20………………..Great win last week by Conrad rallying for 23 points in the 4th quarter to defeat Tatnall 29-23. On the flip side DMA and their undefeated season came to a crashing end losing to Archmere 17-2. Both teams need a win. Conrad to have a chance for postseason and DMA for playoff seeding and to get the bad taste of that Archmere defeat out of their mouths. DMA has won all 6 prior meetings by an average of 38 points including a 42-13 win last season. Conrad will finish with a winning record and should be proud of their accomplishments but DMA finishes the regular season with a victory.
Hodgson 32 Brandywine 16……….A down year for Hodgson but finishing 6-4 is something to build on. Wins against Lake Forest and Caravel are highlights of an up and down season for the Silver Eagles.
Archmere 23 St. Elizabeth 21…………Both teams had huge wins last week but I’m going with Archmere in a close one. These teams have split their last 12 meetings with both teams having 6 wins against each other in that span. The Auks defense is better and Archmere enters the game on a 4 game win streak. They’ll have to stop St. E RB Chris Cropper though if they want to win. With only 6 seniors St. Elizabeth’s looks to be a real contender next year.
Tatnall 35 St. Andrews 6……………Tatnall will finish 6-4 and have a winning season for the 1st time since 2010 when they also finished 6-4.
William Penn 44 Delcastle 7…………William Penn finishes with another win and a 9-1 regular season record. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Colonials fare in the playoffs. I like to see how teams bounce back after losses and it’s hard to judge William Penn because they have only faced Charter and now Delcastle after losing to Sallies. Basically just show up and win games. William Penn has the talent to beat anyone in the state in my opinion.
*********I don’t add up playoff points and there are still so many scenarios in each division***********
Last week 14-7
Season 143-43
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