This is the time of the year in high school football in which the champs separate themselves from the chumps.

Sadly, I'm still a chump.

Picking high school games used to be so simple. Then teams started throwing in wrinkles on offense and defense and special teams.

Squads started winning games they shouldn't win — and my record suffers.

Still, I went 9-3 last week, but, boy, I had some letdowns.

Let's hope the letdowns are kept at a minimum this week.

On to the picks:

•

Moniteau 39, Brookville 17 — They can pass. They can run. They can play defense.The Warriors are for real.Moniteau's biggest challenge this week might be not looking ahead to the Oct. 17 game against Karns City.The Warriors won't.•

North Hills 33, Butler 16 — Those poor, poor Golden Tornado. Two tough section losses hurt enough. Losing quarterback Cole Harvey, who might not play Friday, hurts even more.Butler, sans Harvey, equals a loss to a surging North Hills team.•

Knoch 16, Indiana 12 — Talk about skids. Indiana is on a big one after starting the season 4-0. But that spotless record has turned cruddy in the section, where it is 0-2.Knoch got a big win last week. A win this week will put the Knights back in the race.•

Mars 31, Hampton 11 — The Planets will apply the John "Brake" on Hampton.•

Karns City 34, Clarion 14 — Can anyone stop the Gremlins?Karns City has won 26 straight Keystone ShortwayAthletic Conference games and counting.Make it 27. You can't stop Anthony Stimac. You can only hope to contain him.Another win on the road to the Game of the Century next week againstMoniteau.•

Meadville 17, Slippery Rock 13 — It appears Rockets quarterback Jono Powell is sidelined for at least this game with a shoulder injury.That spells trouble for a team with no proven backup, even though Ayron Gallagher played well in relief last week.•

Freeport 28, West Shamokin 6 — The only question in this one is will the Wolves score?•

Union 22, A-C Valley 12 — Finally, the Golden Knights get rewarded for being scrappy.•

Corry 22, Grove City 17 — Talk about complete opposites. Corry goes to the air more than United Airlines, throwing an average of 25 passes a game. Grove City, on the other hand, throws the ball only when the moon is full.Corry's explosiveness on offense gives it the edge.•

Seneca Valley 32, Shaler 23 — The Raiders looked like world beaters until coughing up 50-plus points in back to back weeks.Shaler, though, doesn't have a 50-point offense.•

Summit Academy 21, Deer Lakes 20 — Two wins in a row for the Knights? Believe it.

Scoop is 49-19 this season.