I've said it once and I'll say it again, I never claimed to be a fortuneteller.

I try to make logical guesses on which I believe will win football games and a lot of times, I'm wrong. But there have been times I've hit the nail right on the head.

I believe I'll predict all the Crenshaw area high school football games correctly two or three weeks this year, but I don't know when. I hope soon though because my average will plummet quickly.

I finished 2-2 last week and my pigskin picks average is 50 percent. If this were a test, my momma wouldn't be happy.

Fortunately for Crenshaw Christian I was wrong in predicting them to lose. I felt that Lakeside's quarterback transfer would be more of a factor than he was, but the Cougars' defense stood tough and didn't allow him to hurt them too much.

Unfortunately, I was correct when I predicted Highland Home would fall to Charles Henderson. The Trojans are ranked No. 7 in Class 5A and have several players that will play on Saturdays in the near future. The Flying Squadron would have had to play perfect if they planned to upset the powerhouse.

I had the opportunity to staff both the Luverne and Brantley games last week. Both were really excited on two different levels.

Luverne and Opp battled back-and-forth throughout their contest and eventually forced overtime. I was rooting for the Tigers to pull out the win, but they suffered a three-point loss. I also suffered a loss with my winning prediction.

Brantley ran all over Elba in the second half to claim a big win in the high-scoring affair.

This week, I hope to make wiser predictions.

Highland Home will host Beulah in Class 2A, Region 3 play Friday night. I'm sure the Flying Squadron is ready to take on a team in their classification to see how they can compete against a team their size.

The Class 1A Notasulga Blue Devils claimed a 10-point, 32-22 win over Beulah last week. This would be a good time for Highland Home to pick up an early region win.

Highland players need to forget about last week's loss because a new season has begun, region play.

As long as the Squadron will control the clock, take advantage of scoring opportunities and eliminate turnovers they should pick up a win.

Prestridge's Pick: Highland Home.

n

n

n

Crenshaw Christian will also play at home tomorrow night as the Cougars host Pike Liberal Arts School.

Pike is a Class AAA powerhouse that will be a very tough foe for the Class A Cougars to dispose of. Last season the home team suffered a 57-8 loss to Pike.

Since it's a non-region contest I would use this game as an opportunity to test out some younger skilled players and see how they can handle the pressure. They could be a lot of help later in region play.

Prestridge's Pick: Pike.

n

n

n

Luverne will hit the road

Friday as they travel to take on Class 2A, Region 3 rival Marbury.

The Tigers showed a lot of promise last Friday night despite a few mental errors. I believe without those errors, they would have avenged last season's opening loss to Opp.

Marbury, on the other hand, beat up on Class 1A Isabella last week. The Bulldogs bit the Mustangs 36-0.

Last season, Luverne defeated Marbury 25-15 with only a few games of its entirely new system under its belt. Since then they've grasp the new system and it's helped lead them to much success.

With that in mind, I can only assume that as long as the Tigers will play hard on every play and not give the Bulldogs any free points, they should pick up their first win of the year.

This one could be a close one.

Prestridge's Pick: Luverne.

n

n

n

Brantley will look to remain undefeated this week as they travel to Goshen.

Red Level handed Goshen a 35-6 loss in week one and they'll be hungry for a win.

The Bulldogs' running game proved to be really strong once again last Friday night and that's exactly what the coaching staff should rely on this week.

Mixing it up a little bit will help matters, but Brantley's ground game will prove to be the difference in the ballgame.

Prestridge's Pick: Brantley.

Adam Prestridge is editor of

The Luverne Journal. He can be reached at 334-335-3541 or by e-mail: adam.prestridge@luverne journal.com