Week 2 PIAA football picks: Will Butler, Knoch and Karns City start 2-0 after impressive starts?
After spending Week 1 playing close to home, Butler County teams are hitting the road.
Most of them, anyway.
We’ve got our first Thursday game of the year when Seneca Valley hits the road to play North Hills, then 10 more games Friday after last week’s “rivalry week.” Butler hosts Taylor Allderdice looking to start the year 2-0, as does Knoch.
We’ve got our picks for all of this week’s games below, including analysis for a handful of the matchups. Follow along at butlereagle.com Friday for live updates, scores and highlights from every game.
Derek Pyda — 8-0
Brendan Howe — 6-2
Scoop — 6-2
Jake Merda Adams — 5-3
All games are Friday night unless otherwise indicated.
Taylor Allderdice at Butler, 7
Merda Adams — Even against these smaller schools, the Tornado can’t get into the habit of falling behind in big holes and making Herculean comebacks. Getting a run game going (24 carries for 68 yards last week) will be critical. Butler 24-14
Pyda — Butler slays the Dragons with a late score and defensive stand. Butler 24-17
Howe — Not sure who we’ll see at quarterback for the Golden Tornado, but I like what I’ve seen out of Will Dunaway. We know Nicco Baggetta’s going to get the ball, too. Butler 35-14
Scoop — Allderdice did little to impress me in a close loss to Fox Chapel last week. Butler 22-7
Keystone at Karns City, 7
Merda Adams — This matchup has not been close very often for the past 20 years, and with the way Cole Johnston and that Gremlins offense ran roughshod on Moniteau last week, I don’t see this being a tight one either. Karns City 42-14
Pyda — The Panthers’ QB/DB Dom Corcetti is a legit star on both sides of the ball, but the Gremlins’ roster outnumbers Keystone in that kind of ability. Karns City 32-20
Howe — Johnston by himself is a force, on both sides of the ball. I’m not betting against him here. Karns City 35-13
Scoop — KC’s first home game of the season yields an instant classic. Karns City 37-28
McGuffey at Knoch, 7
Merda Adams — Both teams ended long losing streaks in Week 1, with McGuffey having gone 0-10 each of the past two years. I think the Highlanders give the Knights more of a test than Summit Academy did, but Knoch starts 2-0 regardless. Knoch 34-10
Pyda — The Knights have too many skill players for the Highlanders to contend with. Knoch 35-9
Howe — I’m buying what T.J. Wiley is selling, especially after hanging 71 up on the scoreboard in the Knights’ opener. Knoch 32-13
Scoop — McGuffey just ended a long losing streak, but the Highlanders will have to wait for win No. 2. Knoch 30-12
Moniteau at Saint Marys, 7
Merda Adams — Two blowout losses for both teams heading into this one. Can the Warriors generate more than the 77 total yards (all rushing) they mustered last week? Saint Marys 27-14
Pyda — If the Warriors are going to improve on last year’s 3-7 effort, they will have to do so after a 0-2 start. Saint Marys 30-14
Howe — Clay Kohlmeyer has worked on team pride, even down to giving the locker room with a fresh coat of paint. That can-do attitude will show here. Moniteau 23-12
Scoop — Coming off a blowout loss, the Warriors now face a program considerably bigger than they are. Saint Marys 25-13
Seneca Valley at North Hills, 7 p.m. Thursday
Merda Adams — The Raiders will have to take care of the ball against a North Hills defense that forced three interceptions in an upset win over North Allegheny. Two road games in a row for SV, two wins. Seneca Valley 27-14
Pyda — Former Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz is now leading his alma mater at North Hills, and the Indians allowed just three points to rival North Allegheny last week. North Hills 21-10
Howe — Coach Don Barclay, this is for you. Also, having a weapon like Jake Donesec doesn’t hurt either. Seneca Valley 28-27
Scoop — I don’t see much scoring in this one, but I do see the Raiders improving to 2-0. Seneca Valley 14-10
Freeport at Ellwood City, 7
Merda Adams — Freeport 35-6
Pyda — Freeport 37-13
Howe — Freeport 34-13
Scoop — Freeport 41-14
Mars at Aliquippa, 7
Merda Adams — Aliquippa 35-20
Pyda — Aliquippa 40-18
Howe — Mars 30-29
Scoop — Aliquippa 27-10
Elizabeth Forward at North Catholic, 7
Merda Adams — Elizabeth Forward 38-28
Pyda — Elizabeth Forward 43-21
Howe — North Catholic 34-23
Scoop — Elizabeth Forward 33-21
Slippery Rock at Conneaut, 7
Merda Adams — Conneaut 34-20
Pyda — Conneaut 33-17
Howe — Conneaut 34-15
Scoop — Conneaut 22-17
Union/A-C Valley at Central Clarion, 7
Merda Adams — Central Clarion 24-20
Pyda — Central Clarion 31-28
Howe — Central Clarion 23-3
Scoop — Central Clarion 24-23
Springdale at Summit Academy, 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Merda Adams — Springdale 45-6
Pyda — Summit Academy 22-20
Howe — Springdale 13-6
Scoop — Springdale 13-12
