It's been awhile since the ol' Scoopster has had a poor week like the one I turned in to begin the season.

I went 5-4.

To put that in perspective, I only lost 14 games all of last season.

That means I better get my act in gear or I'll be back on the endangered list.

On to the picks:

Baldwin at Butler — The Golden Tornado led North Hills 14-12 at one point and were only a score down late in the third quarter before wearing down.

Butler may be in for the same against Baldwin, which has the horses up front to grind the Golden Tornado down. Baldwin, 34-16.

Central Catholic at Seneca Valley — The Raiders got off to a bad start in their opener, regrouped, but faded down the stretch at McDowell.

Seneca Valley does get Central Catholic at home this week. But the Raiders will find themselves in an 0-2 hole. Central Catholic, 30-17.

Mars at Moon — (Insert planetary pun here).

Mars is bigger and has more gravity — and Teddy Ruffner. Mars 18-12.

Blackhawk at Knoch — All aboard the Knoch bandwagon! It's standing-room only these days.

For good reason.

The Knights have an offense that is difficult to play against and now a defense no one wants to face to boot. Knoch 32-14.

Freeport at Derry — The Yellowjackets get to play for reals. They'll be looking to avenge a season-opening loss last year. Freeport 15-14.

Burrell at North Catholic — The Trojans get to play a game for reals, too. They'll get off to a fine start. North Catholic 39-14.

Moniteau at Clarion — The Warriors got off on the wrong foot last week at home against Kane and they get the task of trying to right the ship by facing a very strong Clarion team.

On the road.

Moniteau will play better. It may not show in the final result, however. Clarion 39-16.

Punxsutawney at Karns City — The Gremlins are back. They unleased their usual formula last week at Brockway: lots of rushing yards from lots of rushers.

The one constant in life is Karns City piles up points against Punxsy. Karns City 48-12.

Slippery Rock at Reynolds — The Rockets rebounded after a slow start and rolled in the second half against General McLane.

Rockets will wrap up a win against Reynolds. Slippery Rock 28-13.

Summit Academy at Apollo-Ridge — The Knights measure success more than just by wins and final scores. Just playing football as a team and fighting to the end, as they did against Western Beaver last week, is success for Summit Academy. Apollo-Ridge 32-14.

Union/A-C Valley at Sheffield — A Saturday Night Special. The Falcon Knights get a chance to rebound from a opening loss. Union/A-C Valley 32-8.

Scoop promises not to retire and leave his owners in Fantasy Mascot Prognostication Leagues hanging.