Egg on my face

By Staff
Justin Schuver, Sports Editor
Every so often, you run into a situation where there seems to be no way to win. For me personally, a tough situation such as this is when I have to come up with a prediction for the week’s games.
If I pick a home team to win, there will be a certain contingent of readers who say, “Well now you’re just being a homer.” If I pick the home team to lose, then there will be just as many readers who say, “Well, you obviously don’t respect us.”
This week, it was the latter. And unlike in the past when I’ve picked Hartselle to lose (like I did last year before the Decatur game), this time the Tigers won the game and made me look stupid.
I can understand the reaction of the Hartselle players and coaches when they read that their hometown paper’s sports editor picked them to lose their opening game this year. I can understand how much they wanted to go out there and prove that prediction wrong. And you know what? They succeeded. That is commendable for them, and I’ll gladly lick this egg off my face.
But at the same time, I’m not going to be a cheerleader. If I think Hartselle can win a game, I will predict them to win the game. If I think Hartselle can lose a game, I will predict them to lose the game. Of course deep in my heart I would love to see the Tigers (and Blue Devils, Hawks, Bulldogs and Patriots for that matter) win every game. It is much more fun and entertaining to cover a team that is winning and makes a long run in the playoffs.
Yet objectively, I’m not just going to pick Hartselle because it’s the name of the town on this newspaper’s masthead. Last week, I picked Austin for three primary reasons — it was a Class 6A school playing a Class 5A school, Austin was the home team and Austin’s coach is an alumnus of Hartselle High and I figured he would really want to beat his alma mater. I knew it would probably be a close game, but I gave Austin the slight nudge because of those three factors.
I got it wrong. It happens. If I were perfect at sports predictions, I’d be living in Vegas right now making my living off sports betting.
Actually, I don’t think I would be. I enjoy writing about sports, and I enjoy watching the young people in this area play well. Believe it or not, I enjoy getting to look dumb every now and then because my prediction was proven wrong.
Let’s see if I look dumb this week.
Decatur Red Raiders (1-0) at Hartselle Tigers (1-0): I’ve been waffling on this pick for a while now. For the longest time, Decatur has been the dominant team in Morgan County, but this year’s Red Raiders team showed some serious holes against Huntsville. The Crimson Panthers passed all over the Red Raiders for 333 yards and scored 27 points, losing on a late blocked extra point. Hartselle showed a vibrant passing game against Austin, and has already been through a tough battle. This one should be an absolute war, and I’m going to take the home team by the narrowest of victories…Tigers 24, Red Raiders 23.
Westbrook Christian Warriors (1-0) at Falkville Blue Devils (1-0): Falkville looked impressive at times in its opening game against Danville, particularly on defense. Westbrook is a senior-laden team that features a talented quarterback in Tyler James. The school also just happens to be the alma mater of your humble columnist. I’m going with the road team, but it should be a close game…Warriors 24, Blue Devils 20.
Holly Pond Broncos (0-1) at Danville Hawks (0-1): It might be hard to believe, but I think the Hawks actually played better in this season’s 13-12 loss to Falkville than they did in last year’s 6-0 win over the Blue Devils. The Hawks are already battle-tested, and will start their region schedule off with a solid win…Hawks 24, Broncos 17.
Russellville Golden Tigers (1-0) at Brewer Patriots (0-1): Brewer looked very competitive against Priceville, but Russellville is in a class by itself. The Golden Tigers shouldn’t have much trouble at all, although the Patriots will compete better than they have in previous seasons…Golden Tigers 45, Patriots 17.
East Limestone Indians (0-1) at Priceville Bulldogs (1-0): Athens dominated East Limestone to the tune of a 44-15 rout in a unique Saturday game last weekend. The Bulldogs looked solid in taking care of business against Class 5A Brewer, and they’ll run their record to 2-0 this weekend…Bulldogs 28, Indians 17.
Vanderbilt Commodores (0-1) at Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0): Hawaii put a scare in the Tide faithful late, but Alabama had the game in hand from the beginning. The Tide has some holes, but they won’t be exposed by the punchless Vandy team…Crimson Tide 28, Commodores 13.
Auburn Tigers (1-0) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (0-1): Hoo boy. This one could get really really ugly. Starkville used to be a tough road venue, but the Bulldogs haven’t shown bite in ages and after their 15-0 loss to South Carolina in the opener, this looks like it will be a long season for the Mississippi State faithful…Tigers 42, Bulldogs 7.
Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0): Notre Dame’s offense sputtered in its road opener against Georgia Tech, and the Nittany Lions have a defense that is certainly comparable to the Yellow Jackets’ defense. Penn State was one of the dominant teams in the country last year, but they lost a lot to graduation. This is a hard one to pick, but I’m going with the home team in another close battle…Fighting Irish 28, Nittany Lions 20.