Local teams to win

The prognosticator is looking into a difficult slate of games. District play makes every contest much tougher to pick. Solid defense and few turnovers will make championship teams rise to the top.

Here are the selections for this week:

Scotus 29, Madison 23: The Shamrocks slay the Dragons on Thursday night. Both teams have outstanding quickness, but playing at Pawnee Park makes the Shamrocks a narrow choice at home.

Columbus 22, Norfolk 17: Discoverers rebound with a big win over the Panthers. CHS has solid offensive balance that makes the Discoverers difficult to defend. The Panthers will need to play very well to win.

Lakeview 24, Wisner-Pilger 20: Vikings go on the road to win another big game. Gators will try to match the power ground game of the Vikes, but will come up short.

Schuyler 33, South Sioux City 27: Warriors make it two in a row. Cardinals can put up points, but not enough to stop a Schuyler winning streak.

Boone Central 42, St. Paul 14: Cardinals stay on a roll with a big victory over the Wildcats. A diverse offense makes Boone Central a threat late in the season as well.

David City 36, Fillmore Central 26: Scouts win a high-scoring affair over the Panthers. David City is a team that will be tough to beat down the stretch.

North Bend 34, Twin River 14: Tigers topple the Titans. Twin River can make this close to the wire if it gets a few breaks. Special teams may be crucial in this game.

Aquinas 37, Scribner-Snyder 12: Monarchs are starting to roll in district play. Trojans fall to solid Aquinas rushing.

East Butler 24, Cross County 14: Tigers win a very entertaining game over the Cougars. Defense makes the difference for East Butler.

Kearney Catholic 45, Fullerton 16: Stars are definitely shining in this contest with the Warriors. Speed and quickness of the Stars keep Fullerton at bay.

Howells 30, West Point CC 22: Bobcats get a good test from the Bluejays. Howells will have to dig a little deeper if the Bobcats are to make one of their traditional runs into November.

Fremont Bergan 32, Osceola 7: Knights use a solid defense to shut down the Bulldogs. A young Osceola team has picked up wins that will prepare them for the stretch run after this.

Clarkson 36, High Plains 35: Red Devils win at the wire in this pick for Game of the Week. The Storm pulled off a big win last week, but come up just short this time around.

Humphrey 31, Leigh 25: Bulldogs win a close contest with the Panthers. Humphrey has a chance to have the finest season in many years in 2007.

St. Francis 22, Shelby 16: Flyers win over the Huskies. St. Francis was upset last week, but two losses in a row is rare for the Flyers. Shelby will keep this close to the end.

Newman Grove 36, Elkhorn Valley 8: Bluejays keep things rolling over the Falcons. Newman Grove has a tough defense.

Holy Family 48, St. Edward 15: Bulldogs run roughshod over the Beavers. Holy Family has played well after a loss in its opener.

Prague 47, Rising City 22: Panthers use big plays and a quick strike offense to defeat the Terriers.

Last week: 14-2 (.875)

Season: 60-10 (.857)

Until next week, I'll call 'em as I see 'em.