What a comeback!

Yes, after a rough week, the Scoopster bounced back with an 11-1 record. The only blemish was when A-C Valley couldn't rally to topple Clarion-Limestone.

But as any coach worth his weight in whistles and clipboards will say, you are only as good as your last game.

This week, there are a lot of compelling matchups.

On to the picks:

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Seneca Valley 42, Knoch 16 — In a battle of two Butler County, the big question is how will Knoch stop the machine that is the Raiders' offense?•

Canon-McMillan 28, Butler 15 — I love the Golden Tornado. Really. I do.But I have to be pragmatic. No one said the prognostication business was easy — or clean. Sometimes, it's ugly.Butler is an up-and-coming team. I would love to pick them against Canon-Mac, but the BigMac's have too much special sauce for the Tornado.•

Fox Chapel 22, Mars 15 — The Planets face another big boy this week in the quad-A Foxes.Mars won't have the same success it had against Plum last week.•

Karns City 47, Clarion-Limestone 7 — This isn't even a fair fight.•

Moniteau 46, A-C Valley 8 — Neither is this one.•

Burrell 22, Freeport 13 — The Yellowjackets made a statement by stifling Apollo-Ridge last week. Freeport's defense is for real.This should be another brawl, but the Yellowjackets fall a little short.•

Keystone 29, Union 9 — You have to root for a team like Union.Quarterback Matt Gagliano is solid. Colby Davis is a dependable runner, but the Golden Knights are overmatched in nearly every game.Keystone is struggling, too, so Union should keep this one close. And, who knows? Maybe the Golden Knights can pull one out and prove me wrong.•

Grove City 32, Franklin 10 — These two teams lost last week by a combined score of 90-15. Both are mad.The Eagles are madder — and more talented.•

Ford City 39, Summit Academy 12 — Another tough one for the Knights.•

Slippery Rock 28, Sharon 12 — This Saturday game is a battle of unbeatens.Both the Rockets and the Tigers are off to their best starts since the two battled for the District 10 title.This game will go a long way in determining the course of the season for both teams.Slippery Rock, though, has Jono Powell, who is one of the most dynamic players in District 10 and who has thrown six touchdown passes, rushed for six scores and added another on defense for good measure.As long as Powell stays healthy and the Rockets' defense continues to force opportune turnovers,SlipperyRock will leave this game still undefeated.Scoop is 27-8 on the season and has a Jeff McAnallen poster hanging on his wall.