I’m glad to say I had a pretty fair week last time around going 7-1 in my prep picks. If I had followed my gut instincts and stayed with Walton I would have been perfect, but…

This week we have a slightly abbreviated slate of prep games with Choctawhatchee and Niceville getting the night off so here I go.

The first game on the panel is Baylor of Chattanooga, Tenn., at Fort Walton Beach. This is a hard game to pick because we don’t see much of East Tennessee teams in Northwest Florida. To be honest, I took the Baylor Raiders based on their reputation during the years I spent in Knoxville. Baylor plays in what amounts to a private school classification and generally plays one of the tougher schedules in Tennessee. Last week the Raiders got waxed by Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville. Two of MBA players have committed to Tennessee.

The Vikings looked very good against Rutherford last Friday. Luke Barnes had a breakout game throwing for more than 230 yards. And I’m really impressed with freshman running back Charlie Lott.

Although the Raiders will be traveling some 400 miles, I’m taking Baylor in a close one 31-27.

Bozeman at South Walton is an intersting game. The Bucks are a much improved team from a year ago as seen in their win over Baker in Week One.

The Seahawks got off to a nice start winning their opener at Franklin County, but lost las week to Wewa.

I’m taking the Bucks over the Seahawks because I think Bozeman has too many athletes for South Walton to contain. Bozeman 33-14.

West Gadsden at Crestview is a game where the two teams have at least one thing in common, they both lost to Niceville this year.

Crestview is young and growing up. I think the Bulldogs are better than the Panthers. A Crestview defense led by Brett Moore will rise to the challenge. And the Bulldog offense will grow up a little more.

My biggest concern is that Crestview won’t be looking ahead to next week’s game with Pace. I know Matt Brunson well enough to say that won’t happen.

I’m taking the Bulldogs 28-7.

Baker at Arnold presents an interesting question. Can Gator quarterback Cameron Domangue run wild against the Marlins the same way he did last week when he ran for 391 yards and four touchdowns.

If Domangue is on the Gators stand a chance, but with Billy Whatmough and Anthony Thompson hampered by shoulder injuries I just don’t know if Baker has enough weapons to assist Domangue.

That’s why I’m going with the Marlins 24-14.

Catholic at Navarre seems like dejavu all over again. For the third straight season the Raiders enter the game undefeated. Two years ago Navarre won at home. Last year it was the Crusaders turn to take a home win.

The Raides have scored almost 80 points in wins over Rutherford and West Florida. Catholic’s once potent offense has managed just 38 in losses to Chipley at Tate.

Navarre is in the second year of its spread offense and quarterback Austin Grimm has plenty of weapons with which to keep the scoreboard operator busy.

Catholic quartback David Kooi is a good one, but most of his weapons from the past two years have graduated. I think Navarre has way too much fire power for the Crusaders.

I’m picking the home standing Raiders 34-10.

Last but not least is Northview at Walton. Mark my words, you’ll be seeing both of the teams in the playoffs in their respective classifications.

The Braves are showing that they could be the class of District 1-2A, and the Chiefs are a good bet to win District 1-2B. There will be plenty of athletes on the field for both teams.

I don’t know if the Chiefs will have an answer for Walton quarterback Tarrell Bramlet and running back Issac Jackson.

I like Walton in this one 33-24.

And, while I know this is a high school site, I’m throwing in my rare bonus college pick as my beloved Volunteers head to the Swamp to take on the Gators.

Will Tim Tebow lead Florida to another impressive win, or will it be Erik Ainge’s turn to shine in the big game? If Tebow could play defense I might pick the Gators, but defensive tackle is a concern for Florida and I think the Vols will be able to run the ball. If they do, Tennessee wins a high-scoring affair 45-38.

So there you have it. Tell me what you think. Let me hear how you see who you like and why.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 13th, 2007 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.