Week 1 is in the books and what a week it was. We went 7-3 and had some great picks (Austin Westlake) and some not so great picks (Central Catholic) although we are still in shock that St. Thomas Aquinas didn’t win considering the end of game situation. While this week’s slate of games isn’t nearly as loaded as last week there are still plenty of really good games including 3 matchups of ranked teams.
#24 Cocoa at #1 Bishop Gorman – Bishop Gorman made us looked bad last week but we can admit when we are wrong and they are much better than we thought. The second half of last week’s game was pure dominance and showed how great the Gaels are. They would be in a let down spot this week if they weren’t at home or facing another ranked team. They probably won’t look quite as good but it is hard to see them losing this game. Cocoa is also coming off a huge win and we are excited to see how Bruce Judson does against the Gorman defense.
Bishop Gorman 31 – Cocoa 14
#2 IMG at #14 Centennial – This is a classic case of the immovable object (IMG defense) vs the unstoppable force (Centennial offense). Usually in battles of great offense vs great defense the defense comes out on top and we think that is the case here. 2018 QB Tanner McKee started the season off great for the Huskies throwing for 6 TDs but he is in for a huge challenge against the IMG secondary. He will not have a lot of time to throw and 3 TDs this week would be great. Coach Kevin Wright showed in week 1 that he will do whatever it takes to win even if that includes call 35 QB runs. The second long road trip and a possible letdown coming off the big win over Grayson could keep this game close.
IMG 27 – Centennial 21
Liberty (NV) at #15 Westlake – We are highlighting this game because we wanted to pick it as our upset of the week. There is disagreement around the office on how this game will play out. Westlake lost their starting QB Texas commit Sam Ehlinger in the huge opening win over Katy. Matthew Gense will fill in for him and while he is solid he is not the QB that Ehlinger is. Liberty is the second best team in Nevada and can win this game. In fact if this game was in Nevada it would be an easy choice for us to pick Liberty. Thankfully for the Chaparrals the game is in Austin and they should be able to pull out a close defensive win.
Westlake 19 – Liberty 17
#6 Colerain 24 at St. Xavier 21
Lake Travis 13 at #9 Steele 24
#12 Grayson 31 at McEachern 28
Byrnes 17 at #13 Mallard Creek 35
#25 Don Bosco 13 at #16 American Heritage 21
Evangel Christian Academy 20 at #21 Allen 31
Guyer 24 at Desoto 37
Image from USAToday.com