Scoop! Scoop! Scoop!

I can hear the chants now.

Scoop! Scoop! Scoop!

Like many Butler County high school football teams, I am making my late-season push toward the playoffs.

I’m sort of guaranteed a spot, but some local teams are discovering nothing is guaranteed.

This is another pivotal week for area gridders and especially for me. I am oh so close to getting back on pace for my goal of 110 wins.

Let’s see how Week 8 plays out (wow, it’s Week 8 already?)

Time flies when you are having fun.

On to the picks:

Butler 27, Fox Chapel 23 — The Golden Tornado get their first win of the season.

Seneca Valley 36, Penn Hills 15 — This could be a shoot out as both teams have offenses that can score points in bunches.

But the Raiders should be able to slow down Penn Hills just enough in this one.

Knoch 17, Indiana 10 — Knights’ quarterback Cole Shinsky is out with a separated throwing shoulder. Indians’ quarterback Mark Zilinskas is also out.

This game is going to come down to defense and Knoch has a better one.

Mars 28, Hollidaysburg 23 — It’ll be no holiday for Hollidaysburg.

CWNC 28, Bishop Canevin 19 — There’s one thing you can count on each week: a Cardinal Wuerl victory.

Freeport 33, Burrell 19 — The Yellowjackets are riding high after sending Swartz Field off (maybe) with a thrilling win last week.

This could be a trap game for Freeport, but the Jackets prevail.

Karns City 42, Keystone 10 — The Gremlins’ offense is scary good. The Gremlins have rushed for more than 2,300 yards with no one player owning even 500 of those.

Add to that fact another: Keystone has not defeated KC since 1995.

Looks like a long night for the visitors.

Redbank Valley 27, Moniteau 12 — The Warriors have figured something out on defense, surrendering just six points in the last two weeks.

But Redbank Valley is balanced and can be a handful for any team.

Sharon 37, Slippery Rock 17 — The Rockets are still trying to get healthy and Sharon is rolling behind quarterback Andrew Tomko.

This is a tough week for Slippery Rock.

Hickory 35, Grove City 6 — The Eagles got their running game going a little bit last week, but defense is still a concern. Hickory has enough firepower to make any defense pay.

West Shamokin 40, Summit Academy 14 — The Knights continue to struggle.

Brookville 29, A-C Valley 14 — The Falcons have been pesky this season and a tough out.

Union 19, Ridgway 8 — Union is playing some good football right now and is making another playoff push.

Scoop was 11-1 last week and is 67-16 on the season.