Almost. So close. Missed it by that much.

The Ol' Scoopster went 8-1 last week — by far the best week I've had this season.

Still not perfect, however.

I'm still chasing that clean week.

Let's see if I can catch it with these prognostications.

On to the picks:

Butler 27, Slippery Rock 17 — The Golden Tornado snapped a 24-game losing streak last week in a big way, rolling up 55 points against Blackhawk.This week, Butler takes on Slippery Rock in an intriguing game. It's the first meeting between the two teams and Butler head coach Eric Christy will be going up against his brother, Eli, who is the defensive coordinator for the Rockets.Slippery Rock has had trouble containing quarterbacks like Butler's Cooper Baxter this season and Baxter could be the difference.

Mt. Lebanon 20, Seneca Valley 13 — The Raiders have suffered crippling injuries on offense and have been getting it done on defense and special teams, like they did Saturday against Baldwin.Mt. Lebo may have just enough offense to eke this one out.

Hampton 28, Knoch 12 — It's been one of those seasons for the Knights where nothing much has gone right.Injuries and tough breaks have torpedoed Knoch.The Knights should play inspired this week in their final game, but it won't be enough to topple the Talbots.

Mars 36, Indiana 11 — Teddy Ruffner is making a mockery of the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy race, doubling up on the closest player to him.He's also been making a mockery of opposing defenses this season.He'll run wild against Indiana.

North Catholic 34, Freeport 20 — This is the marquee matchup of the week.Both teams have electric quarterbacks — Joey Prentice at North Catholic and Ben Lane at Freeport.Last year, these two teams played an entertaining tilt and this year should be more of the same.The Trojans, though, have a bit more firepower.

Karns City 30, Central Clarion 28 — Playoff time in D9!The Gremlins are still smarting after squandering a 20-point lead against Central Clarion two weeks ago in a wild 43-41 loss.Neither team did much to slow the other team's offense down. This could be another shootout.This time, though, I think KC gets the two-point win.

Moniteau 24, Punxsutawney 10 — The Warriors can run the ball, despite everyone and the groundhogs knowing they are going to run the ball.Moniteau should be able to grind out this win.

Smethport 16, Union/A-C Valley 14 — Another D9 playoff game!How deep is Class A in District 9 when the Falcon Knights have just one loss and are a No. 4 seed?That's what happened and Union/A-C Valley has to make the long trek to Smethport to play an undefeated team that has given up just 18 points all season.Tough test. Union/A-C Valley comes up just short.

Scoop is 36-17 on the season and is shooting for 8-0 this week.