Finally!

I did it.

A perfect week.

It took longer than I had hoped for me to notch my first unbeaten slate, but I went 8-0 last week to raise my record to 44-17.

That's a little better.

With nine games on the docket this week, I have my work cut out for me if I want to keep my streak alive.

Weird week with regular season games overlapping with playoff tilts.

On to the picks:

<b>Butler 32, Erie 27 —</b> The Golden Tornado are gunning for their first (sort of) three-game winning streak since 1998. Butler had a three-game winning streak in 2002, but that was because of a forfeit in a game it lost on the field.The Golden Tornado will get it. They should have beaten Erie the first time around. They will get it done this time.<b>Warren 26, Moniteau 17 —</b> This is the first of two regular season matchups the Warriors added to their schedule after being eliminated from District 9 playoff contention.Moniteau makes the long journey to Warren and falls just short.

<b>Thomas Jefferson 30, Mars 16 —</b> The Planets' reward for losing just one game this season? A seventh seed and a trip to TJ.Yikes.Mars will keep this one close, but Thomas Jefferson will be too much to handle in the end.<b>Elizabeth Forward 22, Freeport 20 —</b> The Yellowjackets got a wildcard after overcoming so much this season.There may not be a grittier team in all of the commonwealth.That grit is what will keep this game close. But ...<b>North Catholic 35, Mt. Pleasant 8 —</b> Nothing will keep this game close. The Trojans didn't play their best last week against Freeport. Expect North Catholic to clean things up and roll.<b>North Allegheny 21, Seneca Valley 14 —</b> These two teams were supposed to meet all the way back in Week 1.COVID had other plans.Now, they will meet in the first round of the playoffs.Seneca Valley's defense will keep the Raiders in it, but too many injuries on offense will doom SV.<b>Brookville 36, Karns City 20 —</b> The Gremlins would like to forget the first meeting between these two schools this season, a 44-0 loss.Karns City won't let that happen again, but Brookville's vaunted passing attack is tough for anyone to stop.<b>Hickory 33, Slippery Rock 17 —</b> The third meeting between these teams is set to take place in the playoffs.Slippery Rock played Hickory much tougher in the second meeting and I have to believe this will be an even tighter game the third time around.Scoop is gunning for 8-0 this week.