• Last week: 4-3 (.572)
• Season: 27-9 (.750)
Professor Pigskin's attempts to catch the bird that has been harassing him the past two weeks were about as successful as his football picks last week.
One day after suffering through his worst Friday night of the season, the professor crouched behind a tree in his backyard, holding a string that was attached to a stick. The stick was holding up a box that had a large pile of birdseed under it. Professor Pigskin had even made a trail of birdseed from the woods at the end of his property to the trap.
"It's only a matter of time now," Professor Pigskin said to himself.
Little did the professor know, his nosey, 8-year-old neighbor, Dennis, was standing behind him.
"Hey, Mister Pigskin!" screamed Dennis, scaring the professor half to death.
"What do you want, Dennis?" the professor said after he stopped hyperventilating.
"Nothing," Dennis said. A slingshot was hanging out of the back pocket of his overalls. "I was just wondering why you're trying to catch a rabbit with birdseed."
"For your information," Professor Pigskin said, "I'm trying to catch a bird with a rabbit trap."
"Oh, that makes much more sense, Mister Pigskin," Dennis said.
Professor Pigskin ignored this last comment and went back to watching his trap.
"Hey, Mister Pigskin," Dennis said, breaking the silence. "My dad said you really messed up your picks for last night. What happened?"
Steam suddenly shot out of Professor Pigskin's ears, and he jumped into the air and yelled, "Dennis!"
Dennis ran away, and Professor Pigskin sat behind that tree until sunset. He did not catch a rabbit or a bird.
Perhaps he will have better luck this week.
Tonight
Redbank Valley (4-1) at Titusville (4-1): Redbank Valley is not the kind of team that loses two games in a row. Redbank Valley 28, Titusville 20
Friday
Burrell (3-2, 3-1) at Ford City (4-1, 4-0): Burrell has been on a roll lately, but Ford City's running game should steamroll the Bucs' defense. Ford City 33, Burrell 13
Valley (4-1, 4-1) at Kittanning (4-1, 3-1): If Shady Side Academy can almost do it, then Kittanning certainly can. Kittanning 28, Valley 21
West Shamokin (1-4, 0-3) at Freeport (2-3, 2-3): Even though Freeport is banged up, West Shamokin has its hands full. Freeport 45, West Shamokin 21
Apollo-Ridge (0-5, 0-2) at Springdale (2-3, 2-1): Springdale hung with Clairton and probably will be looking to take that loss out on Apollo-Ridge. Springdale 34, Apollo-Ridge 17
Karns City (5-0, 3-0) at Clarion (3-2, 2-2): Karns City is clicking right now, especially on defense and special teams. Karns City 33, Clarion 14
Saturday
Leechburg (1-4, 0-3) at Wilkinsburg (1-4, 0-2): Leechburg has been showing improvement, but Wilkinsburg has a lot of team speed. Wilkinsburg 16, Leechburg 12
