Brian's look at Week8 - already here?

Week7 picks went from great to good to mediocre as the school sizes became smaller. A perfect 8-0 in picking the 11AA games last week, 21-3 for the 11A/B games, but down to a 28-10 mark for the 9-man games. I mentioned last week that the games that get scheduled in the last two weeks seem to get a lot more interesting, not to mention more difficult to pick, so that's my excuse for slipping a little off the pace. Some teams are hard to figure, too, but my biggest downfall last week was picking games featuring teams that started with the letter 'W'. That's 'W' as in "What were you thinking?" Wall, Wilmot, Warner, Waubay/Summit, Waverly/South Shore, and the double-whammy - Wessington Springs/Woonsocket - I picked against 'em all and lost 'em all.

Still, 57-13 overall on the week, and 438-97 (.819) overall on the season, which includes percentages of .828 in 11AA, .830 in 11A/B, and .807 in 9-man, with just one week of the regular season to go - are you kidding me?

Well, here we go into the final week of the regular season:

AREA GAMES:
Todd Co. at CHAMBERLAIN -- Cubs in the playoffs with a win
Cheyenne-Eagle Buttes at LEAD-DEADWOOD -- Braves win could shut Chamberlain out of playoffs
Pine Ridge at CROW CREEK
Bison at DUPREE
New Underwood at JONES CO. -- 4-4 will be a great season for Coyotes
PHILIP at Kadoka
Lower Brule at OELRICHS
Wall at LYMAN -- good test for Raiders pre-postseason
GETTYSBURG at McLaughlin
Northwestern at FAULKTON -- Trojans with a playoff push, but in toughest 9B region
Hoven/Edmunds at SULLY BUTTES
SUNSHINE BIBLE at Highmore-Harrold -- Pirates out of playoffs, but Crusaders should be safe
FAITH at Timber Lake
Colome at WHITE RIVER

MARQUEE MATCHUPS (or any with major playoff implications):
*Miller at STANLEY CO. -- Buffs should be in regardless, but Miller could be in with a win, too!
*Eureka/Bowdle at HERREID/SELBY -- E/B should get a playoff game, but maybe not in Reg. 4
Elk Point-Jefferson at BON HOMME -- the loser probably is out of the playoffs
HARRISBURG at Dell Rapids -- who's the bigger threat to West Central in 11A?
Lemmon/McIntosh at HARDING CO. -- both teams 7-0, but HC far superior
Belle Fourche at ST. THOMAS MORE -- BH conference title on line
Platte at WAGNER -- SESD bragging rights and 11B Reg. 3 top seed on the line

11AA:
ABERDEEN CENTRAL at Pierre -- this is Aberdeen's year, but this one will need all 48 minutes
BRANDON VALLEY at Watertown -- last home game for a sad season in Arrowville
Huron at MITCHELL -- this one could be ugly
YANKTON at Brookings -- Bucks could cause some problems in postseason yet
RC STEVENS vs. RC Central
STURGIS at Spearfish -- Spartans finish as #17 seed in 16-team playoff race
SF Lincoln vs SF ROOSEVELT
SF O'Gorman vs. SF WASHINGTON -- O'G usually steps up in these marquee games, though

A word of advice for the players: play like it's your last game tomorrow - because for some of you, it will be. :o) Just kidding - actually, just being a student-athlete is enough to make us all winners. Be proud of all you've accomplished this season, and good luck in the second season for all qualifiers! Enjoy the games, folks!
- Radiooo