These weeks with five or six wins and two or three losses are starting to agitate me, but, I'm a pro, so I'll forge ahead, confident that my keen football mind will soon deliver a perfect round of picks. Last week, Harford Tech and Edgewood tripped me up, though I'm used to the former giving me trouble. I tell you, over the last three or four seasons, Harford Tech has caused me more trouble than any team in the county. In any case, here's what I see brewing in week-five action:
North Harford at Aberdeen. Here is the game of the week, folks. You have the undefeated Aberdeen Eagles, who have been killing it offensively, averaging 40.25 points per game, and the 3-1 North Harford Hawks, whose only loss came at the hands of a strong St. Paul's squad in week three. The Aberdeen offense will not be able to run wild tonight, as it will be facing the county's strongest defense. The pick: North Harford wins, 28-21.
Havre de Grace at Fallston. The River City boys got another win last week despite scoring just eight points, as they were able to shut down the C. Milton Wright offense entirely in an 8-0 victory. Tonight, however, they're up against the undefeated Fallston Cougars, and eight points will not cut it. It could be a close one, but I'm going with Fallston. The pick: Cougars win, 21-19.
Perryville at North East. The 4-0 Panthers brought the wood in Monday's victory over Patterson Mill, holding the visiting Huskies scoreless in a 20-0 win. Bearing in mind that this is the strongest North East team we have seen in long while, one that has been giving the Chesapeake (upper) Division opponents plenty of trouble, Perryville will not come through with some ridiculous, 500-yard offensive performance, but the Panthers will remain undefeated. The pick: Perryville wins, 14-10.
Bel Air at Joppatowne. A tricky one to pick, as both teams have had some strange results, but my money would go on the Mariners to walk out of this matchup as the winners. The pick: Joppatowne wins, 32-21.
Bo Manor at Patterson Mill. The Huskies are definitely smarting from Monday's shutout loss to Perryville, so they will have some fire in their bellies tonight. The pick: Huskies win, 14-6.
Harford Tech at Edgewood. The two teams that kept me from a perfect record last week are playing each other, how strange is that? The pick: Edgewood wins, 28-8.
Last week's record, 5-2.
Shad's all-time record 1,707-673, 71.7 percent.