Matsinko all business as picks race winds down
No frills. Let’s get down to business.
Only two weeks remain and I’m tied for second with the venerable Bob Ford and one game behind the vaunted Rod Heckman.Ford, along with Brad Hurley and Andy Steinmetz, posted 13-2 marks last week, while Heckman and myself each went 12-3. Hurley and Steinmetz round out the top five and have a chance to make a move toward the top of the standings in the final two weeks of the season.The stakes are high, so let’s see what we can do in the penultimate week of the season.BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC AT SAUCON VALLEY – This should be a dandy. The Golden Hawks scored a 39-33 win over Allentown Central Catholic in last week’s District 11 Class 4A semifinal while the Panthers edged Pottsville 27-26 in the other district semifinal. Saucon Valley defeated Becahi in last season’s Class 3A semifinals. … Bethlehem Catholic 24-21.FREEDOM AT EMMAUS – Emmaus might not have a ton of postseason experience, but the Green Hornets, the top seed in Class 6A, look primed to advance to their first ever District 11 championship game … Emmaus 28-10.EASTON AT PARKLAND – Third-seeded Parkland is a regular in the postseason and gets rival Easton in the other Class 6A semifinal. The seventh-seeded Red Rovers knocked out No. 2 seed Pleasant Valley last Friday but their run ends here … Parkland 21-7.MARIAN AT WILLIAMS VALLEY – Marian scored a resounding win over Tri-Valley in the Class 1A semifinals. Williams Valley blasted Nativity 45-6 in the other district semifinal and features do-everything tailback Dylan Rabuck, who is closing in on 2,000 yards rushing and has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season … Williams Valley 24-13.SOUTHERN LEHIGH AT WHITEHALL – Interesting matchup here. Zephyrs come in as the top seed in the Class 5A bracket and enter the title tilt having just steamrolled East Stroudsburg North 55-20. The second-seeded Spartans reeled off 42 straight points in the second half to oust East Stroudsburg South 42-7 in the other semi. Let’s hope the scoreboard operator is ready … Whitehall 34-31.NORTH SCHUYLKILL AT NOTRE DAME – North Schuylkill posted an impressive 34-13 win over Jim Thorpe in last week’s District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal contest. Notre Dame was just as dominant in a 63-13 quarterfinal win over Lehighton. Crusaders keep it rolling this week … Notre Dame 28-14.PEN ARGYL AT PALISADES – Pen Argyl used a second half surge to pull away from Taamqua and claim a 31-21 win in last week’s District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal. Palisades was dominant in a 28-13 win over the Green Knights in October and topped Northern Lehigh 35-7 in last week’s quarterfinal .... Palisades 20-7.PALMERTON AT SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – Palmerton is looking to make history with its first district title since 1993. But the Hurricanes get the edge in the Class 2A title game … Schuylkill Haven 28-17.ABINGTON HEIGHTS AT WYOMING VALLEY WEST – Second seed Abington Heights cruised past Wallenpaupack 35-0 in last week’s District 2 Class 5A semifinal, while top seed Wyoming Valley West had a bye. The Spartans have won six in a row, outscoring opponents 233-64 ...Wyoming Valley West 31-13.BERWICK AT WYOMING AREA – This is a rematch from Week 3 when Wyoming earned a 34-20 win. No. 4 Berwick posted a 35-7 victory over No. 5 West Scranton in their District 2 Class 4A quarterfinals while the top-seeded Warriors avoided an upset to defeat Dallas, 13-12 ... Wyoming Area 28-24.DELAWARE VALLEY AT WILLIAMSPORT – The Week 7 meeting was a thriller, when Delaware Valley held off a late Williamsport rally to claim a 49-42 win. Williamsport now hosts Delaware Valley for the District 2 6A championship. The second-seeded Warriors (9-2) earned a 35-0 win over No. 3 Scranton last Friday in a District 2-4 Class 6A sub-regional semifinal, while the Millionaires (10-1) are trying to win the program’s first district title since 1995 ... Williamsport 28-24.LAKELAND AT DUNMORE – Second-seeded Lakeland picked up a 28-20 win over third-seeded Riverside in the District 2 Class 2A semis last week while Dunmore cruised to a 41-0 semifinal win over Mid Valley. Bucks stays unbeaten and takes the crown … Dunmore 21-18.HAMBURG AT CONRAD WEISER – The Eastern Conference South Division championship game features two teams struggling on defense. The Scouts are allowing 28.4 points per game, while the Hawks are giving up 28.2 PPG. Edge goes to the home team … Conrad Weiser 28-24.DANVILLE AT MONTOURSVILLE – Montoursville blanked Lewisburg 34-0 last week. Danville was as impressive in a 34-7 win over Loyalsock. Montoursville won the regular season meeting 42-30 and gets the nod in the District 4 Class 3A title game … Montourville 31-28.SELINSGROVE AT JERSEY SHORE – Jersey Shore is the top seed in the District 4 Class 4A playoffs and posted an impressive 31-7 win over Athens last week. No. 2 seed Selinsgrove topped Shikellamy 21-17, and the Seals won the regular season meeting 26-6. The Bulldogs have won five straight since that setback and seem to be playing their best football of the season. Jersey Shore wins the rematch and the title … Jersey Shore 20-14.