Week 7 High School Picks: No need to talk me off the ledge just yet

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I received the graphic below from about five different people this week. It seems to me many people are taking pleasure from the misery the Philly fans are experiencing this week. And many of them are New York fans, Yankee fans in particular.

But me, I am not going to pile on. I've got my own troubles with the Cardinals-Brewers series.

When Randy Wolf shuts you down, as he did on Thursday night, you start to wonder if a slump is brewing -- no pun intended.

I still feel as though St. Louis is playing with house money.

I never thought they'd make the playoffs, much less beat the Phillies.

So, it's still a little surreal to me for them to even be in this NLCS. Now that they're here, however, and it's tied 2-2, obviously, I don't want them to blow the opportunity.

I went from age 6 to age 21 (1967 to 1982) and then from age 21 to 45 (1982 to 2006) without the Cardinals winning a World Series, so you never know when you're going to get back to this position and goodness knows I'd like to see them win it all again before I get too old to realize what's going on.

As for the Philly scene, it's amazing to me how everybody is suddenly a hockey fan. In October, no less.

I actually am one of the few who still believe the Eagles can turn it around and get themselves back into playoff position. I see no one running away with the NFC East. I still think the Eagles can get themselves on a six-game win streak, maybe win nine of their last 11 and get in the playoffs at 10-6. And once in, as the Cardinals have proven, anything can happen.

I still have much more faith in another group of Eagles, the Nazareth Blue Eagles.

My personal top 10 remains virtually the same:

1. Nazareth; 2. Freedom; 3. Whitehall; 4. Easton; 5. Liberty; 6. Parkland; 7. CCHS; 8. Pen Argyl; 9. Northern Lehigh; 10. Emmaus.

As for last week's picks, I went 16-5 (again) and now stand at 102-30 on the season (77.3 percent).

Now on to the Week 7 picks:

FRIDAY NIGHT

Northampton 22, Bethlehem Catholic 14 -- Tough stretch run begins for Becahi. The Konkrete Kids will have Central Catholic rooting for them in this one because a Northampton win would really help the Vikings playoff chances.

Liberty 49, Dieruff 0 --- The Little Huskies, the middle school program, is 5-0. A story on the team is coming up soon.

Easton 21, Emmaus 14 -- I will be at this one. My first visit to Cottingham this season, and while the accomodations in the visitor's side press box are not exactly luxurious, it will be nice to see Ed McIntyre and also nice to see Steve Shiffert honored before the game. Follow my tweets on Twitter@KeithGroller.

Nazareth 42, Freedom 37 -- If I win the Groller-Zambelli Challenge this year, I will dedicate it to the Blue Eagles, who have come through in close ones about five times to give me successful picks. All signs point to Freedom winning this game. The Freedom defense is good, and from reading the newspaper, very confident. But if it's not broke, don't fix it. I will go with Nazareth one more time and the Weave is picking his alma mater, 55-42.

Whitehall 56, Allen 0 -- Special thanks to Andrew Harris' mother, who took good care of my mother when she was in Sacred Heart Hospital last weekend.

Bangor 28, Palmerton 13 -- The Blue Bombers have been a surprise, but things get much tougher from here.

Northern Lehigh 42, Northwestern 14 -- Since they no longer are doing the flag football fundraiser, it's nice that the Brett Snyder and Bo Tkach organizations can use this game to bring awareness to some very valuable, very worthwhile causes.

Saucon Valley 20, Notre Dame 14 -- They're still looking for their first win, but the Crusaders are definitely making progress.

Palisades 21, Salisbury 7 -- Pirates have a chance to get on a little win streak. Didn't hear, but hope things are going well for AD Becky George on the birth of her first child.

Pen Argyl 28, Catasauqua 7 -- Green Knights may encounter a bit of a letdown after big Northern Lehigh win.

Pleasant Valley 20, ES North 13 -- Central Catholic fans will appreciate the revival of the Bears offense.

ES South 21, Pocono Mt. East 14 -- The Cavaliers are gearing up for a strong second-half run.

Stroudsburg 40, Lehighton 20 -- Bennie, Agosto and Nalesnik should make this one entertaining. At least the Indians won't have to worry about losing another close one.

Pocono Mountain West 14, Tunkhannock 7 -- I can't say that I've ever had the pleasure of visiting Tunkhannock.

Minersville 21, Marian Catholic 14 -- The Battlin' Miners cement position as a District 11 Class A playoff entry.

Shenandoah Valley 21, Panther Valley 7 -- Another night to drown sorrows at Kelly's Irish Pub.

Tamaqua 19, Schuylkill Haven 14 -- A 12-7 loss to North Schuylkill shows me Blue Raiders are better than 2-4 record may indicate.

North Penn 42, Quakertown 20 -- North Penn's only two losses are to La Salle and St. Joe's Prep.

SATURDAY

Central Catholic 40, Parkland 34 -- Vikings desperately need this one, and are definitely due to win a close one. But it could come down to last possession -- again.

Southern Lehigh 33, Wilson 7 -- Check out Mike Feifel's book "Rise to Prominence: The History of Colonial League Football In The Lehigh Valley." Feifel is a Spartans assistant coach.

Pius X 41, Columbia Montour Vo-Tech 13 -- Apologies to the Hildabrant family for not getting John Hildabrant's name spelled correctly in today's paper. No matter how you spell his name, this was a special person who was obviously beloved in Roseto. I have no doubt the Royals will bounce back in a big way to honor Pappy Hildabrant.

Mahanoy Area 34, Jim Thorpe 13 -- The Olympians scored 42 points last week and still lost by 24.

There you go; 22 games to fill the void left by the Phillies. Stay dry, Lehigh Valley.

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/2011/10/week-7-high-school-picks-no-need-to-talk-me-off-the-ledge-just-yet.html