Last week: 8-2 (80%)<\/p>\n
Season: 74-20 (78.7%)<\/p>\n
The Birdie walked into the office Monday with a stern look on his face and purpose in his stride.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know people have come to expect witty banter from me before I make my picks, but bro, this is Week 10,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s crunch time. No more fooling around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a whole routine worked up about those jagoffs at GetGo deciding to charge three bucks for air for your tires, but that\u2019s going on the shelf. We have serious business to attend to this week. I want to talk about the player of the year in the A-K Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg is the favorite. The Birdie isn\u2019t blind. Ever watch this kid\u2019s highlight reel? It\u2019s a defensive coordinator\u2019s worst nightmare.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what impresses me most \u2014 besides his 2,300 yards and 30 touchdowns, of course? His instincts. On his long touchdown runs, he\u2019s not usually beating guys to the edge or hitting them with the truck stick (though he can do both of those things). He understands pursuit angles instinctively and leaves defenders grasping at air.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be watching him play on Saturdays, that much I can guarantee.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019ll probably be named player of the year, and rightfully so, but here\u2019s the thing. Man, there are some other great candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cRun TOC leads the WPIAL in rushing yards? Cool. Plum\u2019s John Nonnenberg leads the district in passing yards (2,404) and Semaj Robinson leads in receiving yards (1,077). In most years, either would be a great POY award winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cBirdie\u2019s got another candidate, too. Chris Dailey\u2019s got Apollo-Ridge on the brink of a conference title. He\u2019s listed at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds. They must be using Darnell Washington\u2019s scale. He\u2019s a big dude with a big arm and a big resume filled with big plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo peep that top four, but remember this. None of those guys play on the best team in the A-K Valley. That\u2019s Freeport. Want to argue the point? Guess who Apollo-Ridge\u2019s one loss was to? Guess who one of Highlands\u2019 two losses was to.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you wanted to make an MVP case for Danny King, The Birdie would think you know ball, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cBottom line: That\u2019s what the 2026 football season in the A-K Valley will be remembered for. It\u2019s the year of star power.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow let\u2019s get to the Week 10 picks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connellsville (4-5) at Fox Chapel (1-8): Connellsville\u2019s return to the WPIAL has been pretty successful. Foxes got their hands full. Connellsville, 34-17<\/p>\n
Ligonier Valley (8-1) at Apollo-Ridge (8-1): The Rams are a great rags-to-riches tale, but the Vikings aren\u2019t here for storytime. Apollo-Ridge, 21-6<\/p>\n
Pine-Richland (8-1) at Plum (6-3): The Mustangs\u2019 schedule has increased in difficulty pretty much every week. The Rams are the final boss. Pine-Richland, 40-20<\/p>\n
Kiski Area (2-7) at Indiana (3-6): It\u2019s hard to picture the Cavaliers sneaking into a wild-card spot, but they can go into the offseason on a positive note. Kiski Area, 23-21<\/p>\n
Burrell (6-3) at Freeport (8-1): Burrell is a strong wild-card contender even with a loss, especially if it\u2019s a close game, which is what The Birdie expects. Freeport, 28-21<\/p>\n
Knoch (5-4) at Deer Lakes (2-7): Lancers almost pulled off the upset The Birdie predicted last week. They\u2019ll get a \u2018W\u2019 this time. Deer Lakes, 34-27<\/p>\n
North Catholic (6-3) at Highlands (6-2): A perennially powerful pass game against the WPIAL\u2019s top rusher. Birdie\u2019s old school. Highlands, 27-24<\/p>\n
Leechburg (0-8) at Springdale (1-6): Remember that stretch early in the season when the teams that needed a win got one? Now it\u2019s the Blue Devils\u2019 turn. Leechburg, 27-6<\/p>\n
Riverview (2-7) at Brentwood (3-6): A tough call, but the Spartans have the best win on either team\u2019s resume, a victory over Monessen. Brentwood, 21-20<\/p>\n
Waynesburg Central (7-2) at Valley (2-7): A tough nonconference draw for the Vikings. The Raiders are legit. Waynesburg Central, 34-14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week: 8-2 (80%) Season: 74-20 (78.7%) The Birdie walked into the office Monday with a stern look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-898301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}