Pick 'em Week 6 recap

Well it wasn't a great week for picks. The final game of the week was played last night up in Morganton with the expected outcome: another loss for the Freedom Patriots. That improved my results to 6-3 for the week. For the second week in a row I had trouble with South Caldwell and Alexander Central. The Spartans shutout McDowell in Marion and improved their record to 3-3 after a 1-3 start. Suddenly South is a contender in the NW4A? Meanwhile, Watauga beat Alexander Central in Taylorsville using a ball-control passing attack. The Northwestern Conference race should be an interesting one.

I also whiffed on my upset special, Fred T. Foard vs. Newton-Conover. I thought that Foard's "double e" (experience + efficiency) would be just enough to turn back the Red Devils. But Newton came out and applied their usual 2nd-half sleeper hold on the opposition. Boom, boom, out went the lights. How lucky is Hickory to be able to play these two teams in back-to-back weeks? Never a dull moment around here!

The biggest surprise in my opinion was how easily Hibriten rolled over St. Stephens out on Trailer Park Road. Makeup games can be tricky (Hickory's 2005 Homecoming game with Newton being a prime example) but I thought Saint would give the Panthers a much harder time than that! Coming a week after Hickory failed to beat the Indians and suddenly St. Stephens morphs into the French Army and waves the white flag in the first quarter? WTF? Hopefully the lopsided margin had more to do with St. Stephens suffering an emotional letdown after the natural high of finally beating Hickory than with the raw power of the Panthers! I guess we'll all find out in a few weeks...