My beak has been burned.

Still pursuing pigskin prognostication perfection, I am coming off an 8-3 week, particularly humbled by Slippery Rock’s 28-0 shutout of Mercyhurst Prep.

Karns City’s near-miss at Clearfield and Freeport’s loss to Valley last week ruffled my feathers as well.

Nothing left to do but leave the nest and attempt to soar once more.

It’s officially playoff season and I’ve got six cracks at this.

So here we go:

Seneca Valley 32, Mt. Lebanon 28 — The Raiders have to go on the road for this one, but this is a question of North vs. South.

History states the north wins, but that has nothing to do with this game.

What has a lot to do with this game is the strength of the Northern Seven and the high caliber of competition Seneca Valley faces week in and week out. That will make a difference.

This should be the best game of the weekend.

Mars 29, Ringgold 20 — The Planets are at home and the visiting Rams remember well the 35-0 pasting they took at the hands of Mars in postseason play last year.

Ringgold has a more balanced attack this time around, but the Planets have Isaiah Johnson and Garrett Reinke running the ball. They also threw for more than 100 yards last week.

Closer game this time, but the same winner.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic 33, Burgettstown 14 — The Trojans took a tougher path to the playoffs this season than they normally do.

Now that they’re in, look for this team to do some damage.

Despite the long bus ride, CW North Catholic will outman the Blue Devils.

Kane 38, Moniteau 13 — The Wolves are undefeated and averaging 41 points per game. The Warriors have won three games and have been prone to the turnover.

In addition, Moniteau has a long way to travel to play this game.

It looks like a mismatch on paper, but the Warriors will stay close early. Eventually, Kane will wear them down.

Hickory 38, Slippery Rock 18 — After that performance against Mercyhurst Prep last week, don’t put anything past these Rockets.

A hard-hitting, physical defense that can clog up the line of scrimmage can go a long way.

The Hornets are explosive, however, and Slippery Rock’s offense won’t be able to keep up.

Grove City 34, Fort LeBoeuf 24 — Speaking of keeping up, few teams can keep up with the Eagles and their high-flying offense.

Fort LeBoeuf will become the latest victim of the team with the perfect nickname.

Kameron Patterson will be tossing up footballs for his receivers to chase — and they will secure enough of them to win and move on.

That’s from my bird’s eye view, at least.

Scoop is 79-28 on the season.