This is a strange week.

Our four WPIAL football friends are beginning the playoffs and experiencing the intensity that goes along with the possible sudden death of a season.

For Seneca Valley, Mars, Freeport and Knoch, this is what the first nine weeks were all about: getting to Week 10 and the playoffs.

Then we have our brothers in District 9 and District 10 — Moniteau, Karns City, Slippery Rock and Grove City — that are closing out the regular season with some intriguing matchups.

Surely, anything can happen this week. That's what makes things so darn fun.

I went 7-1 last week, nearly predicting a Union upset of Clarion-Limestone. I can live with that.

Unlike Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, I'm ready for this season to continue.

On to the picks:

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Pittsburgh Central Catholic 32, Seneca Valley 16 — The Raiders' reward for making the WPIAL playoffs? A loaded Vikings team.Still, there is something to be said about the power of the underdog. Seneca Valley could make this game interesting, but Central Catholic has too many guns.•

Mars 31, Trinity 13 — The Planets get a home game to start the playoffs and are poised to run away with a big win — as long as Austin Miele's hammy holds out.•

Greensburg Central Catholic 16, Freeport 15 — Last year, the Yellowjackets went down 42-6 to GCC in the first round of the playoffs.This year, the game is at Swartz Field and Freeport hopes the Swartz will be with it Friday night.This game is too close to call. A break here or a great individual effort there could make the difference.•

West Allegheny 35, Knoch 15 — The Knights are the feel-good story of the season so far. An 0-5 start turned into a three-game winning streak and a chance for a section title.Reality might bite Knoch this week, but it won't diminish what this young team was able to accomplish.•

Wilmington 31, Karns City 19 — This will be like a playoff game, even though it is little more than a postseason tuneup.Wilmington remembers what happened last year when the Gremlins came to its stadium and handed the host the only loss in a season that ended with a state title.Karns City doesn't play any game at half speed, so this one should be another classic.•

Grove City 22, Moniteau 21 — Can there be a tie? This game is so intriguing because it's so unpredictable.It depends on how the coaches treat this game, but it should go down to the wire.•

Greenville 33, Slippery Rock 16 — The Rockets have a chance to be the spoilers as the Trojans are still clinging to slim playoff hopes.Scoop is 76-22 this season, which would have been good enough for a No. 2 seed in the WPIAL playoffs.