It’s rivalry week.

This is one of my most favorite weeks of the high school football season in Butler County because area schools actually play each other for a change.

There are four such games on the docket this week: Seneca Valley vs. Butler, Knoch vs. Mars, Union vs. A-C Valley and Freeport vs. Summit Academy.

It’s so refreshing to see these matchups.

Butler County needs more intermingling of teams.

On to the picks:

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Seneca Valley 43, Butler 9 — The Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy really hasn’t traveled that much lately.The Raiders have housed the hardware in a case at the school for four straight years.A fifth-straight year seems like a near certainty.Sure, you never know in these types of games and Butler coach Clyde Conti has shown a knack over the years with completely shocking and unexpected victories in games in which his teams are clearly outgunned (think a 3-0 win over powerhouse Wilmington when he was at Slippery Rock in 2005).But this isn’t Slippery Rock and Butler is far behind where the Rockets were then.•

Knoch 30, Mars 14 — In another rivarly game, the Knights’ offense was finally slowed last week by Highlands.Knoch still won convincingly, but struggled unlike it had all season.Mars also has a solid defense, but the Knights bounce back with some yards and some points.•

Karns City 26, St. Marys 21 — The Gremlins are on a roll now and St. Marys got slammed by Union last week.•

Moniteau 34, Kennedy Catholic 11 — The Warriors’ offense gets all the love. Kyle Armagost this. Dustin Geagan that. Ethan Pry this and that.But the defense has been the unsung hero for Moniteau this season.Consider this: Moniteau has given up 200 yards per game this season.•

Union 40, A-C Valley 12 — Kudos all around for these two teams.Kudos for Union, which appears destined for its first playoff berth ever.Kudos to A-C Valley for making the trek to Maryland and beating Hancock County for the second season in a row.The Golden Knights, though, should roll against their rival.•

Slippery Rock 32, Oil City 14 — The Rockets have been gashed on the ground the last two weeks after having been pretty stout against the run.The Rockets should get back on the right path at home, where they are unbeate.•

Grove City 44, DuBois 10 — News flash: The Eagles are pretty good.DuBois is pretty good, too, but not Grove City good.Few teams are.•

Freeport 25, Summit Academy 19 — The Yellowjackets always seem to have a tough time with the Knights.That should be the case again this season, but Freeport will find a way to win.Scoop is 77-14 this season, which makes him way more accurate than Tim Tebow.