Faceoff

College Hockey | Patterson earns more playing time for Gophers

Rochester Century grad Alex Kangas set the bar high for goaltenders at Minnesota as a freshman in 2007-08, when he set a single-season school record for save percentage.

Things haven't been quite as smooth since that season. It's been a combination of Kangas getting little help from his defense and him just not being able to duplicate the unbelievably high level of play he had as a WCHA rookie.

Now, as a senior alternate captain, Kangas is in a battle for playing time with his roommate, Kent Patterson.

Roman Augustoviz of the Star Tribune has the story here.

HS Football Picks: Section semifinals

PHERSY: Feldy, look out ... we comin!!!!!!!!!! The Phersy train is coming through. Get off the tracks Feldy. It's all square. I do my best work at crunch time. Feldy had an awful week, and I had a slightly less awful week. You knew there were going to be some crazy scores with weather like that. After a 4-3 week, I moved to 37-19. After going 2-5, Feldy drops to 37-19. It's a new season Feldy:

SECTION 1AAAAA

No. 5 Mayo (6-3) at No. 1 Century (8-0)

SECTION 1AAA

No. 5 Kasson-Mantorville (6-3) at No. 1 Lourdes (9-0)

No. 3 PEM (8-1) at No. 2 Cannon Falls (7-2)

SECTION 1AA

No. 6 Dover-Eyota (5-4) at No. 2 Zumbrota-Mazeppa (6-3)

SECTION 2AA

No. 3 Southland (7-2) at Triton (9-0)

SECTION 1A

No. 4 Rushford-Peterson (4-5) at No. 1 Goodhue (6-3)

SECTION ONE, NINE-MAN

No. 3 Lanesboro (7-2) at No. 2 Spring Grove (8-1)

***********

FELDY: Things have finally come full circle and I'm back to my normal atrocious picking. This feels much more comfortable. Of course, most years, if Phersy or me were 37-19 at this point, we'd have about a 10-game lead. Let's try this again ...

SECTION 1AAAAA
Century 31, Mayo 24: First, hats off to Mayo for its defensive effort against Owatonna on Tuesday. I hadn't seen that kind of effort from the Spartans this year. Now they have to try to duplicate it, which will be tough against Century's 4-headed RB monster. The keys to this one: For Mayo, its offensive line has to control the line of scrimmage. For Century, take advantage of big-play opportunities when they're there.

SECTION 1AAA
Lourdes 34, Kasson-Mantorville 20: No team has come within two TDs of the Eagles this year. They're at home, where they're comfortable, on a fast field.
PEM 26, Cannon Falls 12: Cannon's defense has been outstanding the past couple of weeks, with two consecutive shutouts. The offense has put up just 25 points in those games, though. PEM's only loss this season came to maybe the best AA team in the state, Caledonia, by one point in the season opener. The Bulldogs have won eight in a row by at least two TDs.

SECTION 1AA
Dover-Eyota 26, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 20 (OT): Since I clearly can't figure out this D-E team, I'll go with 'em this time after picking against them on Tuesday.

SECTION 2AA
Triton 34, Southland 21: Snakes scare the bejeebers out of me, especially Cobras. Cobras who haven't lost.

SECTION 1A
Goodhue 33, R-P 14: R-P gets to make a long roadie, then get off the bus and face a Goodhue defense that has allowed a total of 15 points in its past four games.

NINE-MAN
Lanesboro 23, Spring Grove 22: Spring Grove won the regular season meeting, but that was nearly seven weeks ago. Lanesboro is one of the hottest teams in the area. To me, this is the toughest game of the week to pick.

Junior Hockey | Ambroz named to Jr. Select team

FELDY: A former Section 1A star has made the United States roster for the upcoming World Junior A Challenge in Penticton, B.C.

New Prague native and Gophers recruit Seth Ambroz is one of 22 players to make the U.S. Jr. Select Team roster, announced Monday by USA Hockey. Ambroz is one of three players on the U.S. roster who also played on the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that competed in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament earlier this year in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Forward Carson Hohmann and defenseman Brian Cooper are the others.

USA Hockey's press release can be found here.

And here is a link to the roster.

All 22 players on the roster currently play in the USHL. Ambroz plays for the Lincoln Stars.

 

NHL | Mark 'Stewart' gets some love from Boston radio

FELDY: Rochester native Mark Stuart has earned enough respect in the Boston Bruins locker room over the past three seasons, that there's been talk of him eventually becoming a team captain.

Now, on a weekly basis, Bruins fans (and anyone who knows how to listen to a podcast) can find out a little more about the big defenseman's personality. Stuart will make a weekly appearance on WFNX (101.7 FM) in Boston. That podcast can be downloaded/listened to here.

As you may have noted on the title of this post, he is listed as Mark "Stewart" on the WFNX page. It's a rock station, so we'll cut them some slack! There are enough Bs fans listening in New England, that I'm sure the station will be informed of the spelling error!

Regardless, check out the podcast. Stuart talks this week about some of the new faces on the team this year, the loss of fellow defenseman Johnny Boychuk for about a month due to a broken arm, and Stuart tells us what his favorite band of all-time is.

Stuart doesn't have a point yet this season, but he is plus-1 and has 7 penalty minutes through six games for the 4-2-0 Bruins.

H.S. Football picks, Section quarterfinal round

FELDY: It was a push last week, Phersy, with both of us going 5-2, allowing me to maintain a slight two-game laed, at 35-14, while Phersy is 33-16. This week's games ...

SECTION 1AAAAA
No. 5 Mayo (5-3) at No. 4 Owatonna (5-3)

SECTION 1AAA
No. 5 Kasson-Mantorville (5-3) at No. 4 La Crescent (6-2)

SECTION 1AA
No. 5 Chatfield (4-4) at No. 4 Kingsland (4-4)
No. 6 Dover-Eyota (3-5) at No. 3 Lewiston-Altura (5-3)

SECTION 1A
No. 6 Faribault B.A. (3-5) at No. 3 Fillmore Central (3-5)

NINE-MAN
No. 5 Glenville-Emmons (3-5) at No. 4 Houston (4-4)
No. 6 Mabel-Canton (3-5) at No. 3 Lanesboro (6-2)

***********

PHERSY: Yeah Feldy, I had a prime chance to pull even with you last week, and I let you off the hook! Oh well. Seems like you picked some easy games this week, so you must be rocking some upsets. Here we go:

SECTION 1AAAAA
Owatonna 24, Mayo 13: Hmmm, passing team (Mayo) trying to play in 60-mph winds? I'll go with the running team.

SECTION 1AAA
Kasson-Mantorville 13, La Crescent 12: I think the KoMets bounce back after last week's loss to the Lancers.

SECTION 1AA
Chatfield 19, Kingsland 13: Toughest game to pick this week. But Kingsland is dinged up, and Chatfield has been a little more consistent. They'll erase their loss from Week 7.
Lewiston-Altura 30, Dover-Eyota 18: Jay Peoples will run wild tonight.

SECTION 1A
Fillmore Central 20, Faribault BA 14: Feldy, you wouldn't dare pick against one of our local clubs, would you?

NINE-MAN
Houston 20, Glenville-Emmons 12: Look at the weather outside. If that's not Hurricane season, I don't know what is.
Lanesboro 18, Mabel-Canton 6: The Burros will cruise into the semifinals.

***********

FELDY: Getting ready to go Owatonna way and stand out in this stuff for 3-plus hours. Can't wait. ... I'll  make these quick so I can hit the road and hopefully not get blown off it.

SECTION 1AAAAA
Owatonna 16, Mayo 13: Mayo's offense has a few tricks up its sleeves, but the Spartans' D has to prove it can get off the field consistently on third and fourth downs. Hasn't done that in recent weeks against ball-control teams.

SECTION 1AAA
La Crescent 24, K-M 20: Lancers defense was much improved last week against K-M. They'll have to be better again tonight.

SECTION 1AA
Kingsland 26, Chatfield 18: Knights top Chatty for a second time in 11 days.
L-A 28, D-E 14: Think the Cards don't remember the whuppin' D-E put on 'em four weeks ago?

SECTION 1A
Fillmore Central 33, FBA 17: No, Phersy, I'm not picking against an area team this time! Fillmore plays better competition and should handle FBA.

NINE-MAN
Houston 34, Glenville-Emmons 12: See Phersy's line about Hurricane season.
Lanesboro 29, Mabel-Canton 15: The Burros are playing as well as any team in this section right now.

Simons is MnJHL Goalie of the Month

PHERSY: It was announced this week that Rochester Ice Hawks goalie Cory Simons has been selected the Minnesota Junior Hockey League goalie of the month for September.

Simons helped the Ice Hawks to a perfect record in the season's opening month. The Ice Hawks were 3-0.

Simons, who is a native of Crystal Lake, Ill., started two of those three games, posting a 1.50 goals-against average. He had a .940 saves percentage.

For the season, Simons is now 5-0 with a .929 saves percentage. His goals-against average is 1.80.

On a side note, an Ice Hawks player was not selected for offensive player of the month. In my mind, that's a joke.

Instead, the league selected Edina Lakers  forward Jordan Coffey as the player of the month. I don't want to take anything against Coffey, because he's a good player. He played six games, helping the Lakers to a 4-2 start. Coffey scored eight goals and three assists for 11 points in those six games.

Meanwhile, the Ice Hawks top player, Shaun Walters, played in just three games yet had nine points, avering three points a game. He had three goals and six assists.

So Coffey avered just under two points per game, while Walters averaged three.

Now Walters leads the league in scoring with 21 points in nine games. He has 11 goals and 10 assists, while linemate George Jackson is second in the league with 17 points (3 goals, 14 assists). Coffey is fourth with 14 points in 10 games.

Maybe the MnJHL knew Walters would be recognized for October and many months in the future. But come on: give the award to the best player each month. Don't punish an Ice Hawks player, simply because of how the league's scheduled worked out, giving the Lakers six games and the Ice Hawks three.

FYI, your Ice Hawks return to action Saturday night in Edina against the Lakers. They aren't home again until Saturday, Oct. 29 against the Granite City Lumberjacks.

College Hockey | Looking at the WCHA

FELDY: Before we get into the WCHA stuff, I don't know why this even came to mind, but if you haven't seen the intro video for the University of Alaska men's hockey team, you need to check it out here. To say the least, I've never seen anything quite like it. I guess I'll just say, if you're going to Fairbanks anytime soon, beware of hockey stick-wielding Bears flying stealth fighters and dropping from the sky. Oddly, I can't stop watching it.

On to more pressing matters. Me and Phersy were supposed to have our WCHA picks/predictions out a week ago, before the first conference series. ... We must be overworked or something. Couldn't be that we're lazy, could it? ... Anyhow, I'm going to list my thoughts on college hockey's best conference as I had them written down last week. You'll know I'm not sandbagging when you hit No. 4.

(By the way, I hope the conference didn't pay a graphic artist too much to come up with that new logo, making the "W" in WCHA a little bit bigger than the other letters and calling it good. Nice. Big change).

1. North Dakota: Extremely deep at every position. The Sioux get a Hobey Baker contender back, in D Chay Genoway, and they add two first-round NHL draft picks, D Derek Forbort and F Brock Nelson. Last year's WCHA Rookie of the Year, Danny Kristo, has been a third-line winger to start the season. Only question is goaltending. Brad Eidsness won't lose many games himself, but he needs to steal some for UND to make a deep run in the NCAA tourney.
2. Minnesota-Duluth: The Bulldogs might have the best line in the conference -- maybe in the country -- with Jack Connolly centering Justin Fontaine and Mike Connolly. They have a big, strong defensive corps led by senior Mike Montgomery (6-3, 215) and sophomore Dylan Olsen (6-2, 210). Kenny Reiter has been a solid goalie; he'll be backed up by freshman Aaron Crandall, who led St. Thomas Academy to a Class A high school championship in 2006.
3. St. Cloud State: I was tempted to put the Huskies second, but losing stud F Ryan Lasch and stellar D Garrett Raboin won't be easy to overcome. SCSU still has the always-dangerous Garrett Roe up front, as well as the best one-two goalie combo in the league, Mike Lee and Dan Dunn, though not necessarily in that order.
4. Minnesota: Too much talent here to have another bottom-half finish. With the return of Jay Barriball from a serious knee injury, and with Jacob Cepis having established himself as a pest and a scoring threat, the Gophs need to take a big step forward. They have to veteran goalies -- Rochester's Alex Kangas, a senior, and junior Kent Patterson -- and some veteran D (Cade Fairchild, Kevin Wehrs, Aaron Ness). There can be no excuses this season if the Gophs don't reach the national tourney.
5. Denver: DU lost a ton of talent to graduation and early signings, specifically forwards Rhett Rakhshani and Tyler Ruegsegger, and goalie Mark Chevrie. The Pios could probably be a top-two or three team, though. They have a loaded freshman class this season and some solid vets back such as Anthony Maiani and Drew Shore. The big question is in goal, with soph. Adam Murray (8 games played last year) and freshman Sam Brittain carrying the load.
6. Wisconsin: Badgers lost three D who were first-round picks, but they should be OK on the blue line with Jake Gardiner and Justin Schultz leading the way. But who's going to score for Sconnie? It might have to rely on freshman to produce points, which isn't a good thing in this league.
7. Nebraska-Omaha: We'll see how long the Mavs can ride the emotion of joining a new league. They have 11 freshmen on the team (see the Wisconsin entry in regards to freshmen). Never count a Dean Blais-coached team out of anything, though. He can work wonders with college-age players. Who coached the gold medal-winning U.S. World Junior team last January?
8. Colorado College: The Tigers will be strong in goal, with Plymouth native Joe Howe entering his sophomore season. But CC has to find some scoring punch behind the Schwartz brothers (soph. Rylan and fr. Jaden).
9. Bemidji State: The Beavers have learned quickly that the WCHA isn't College Hockey America. BSU is always a physically tough team and they have one of the better forwards in the conference, senior Matt Read. They'll finish in the bottom half of the regular season standings, but they're not going to be a fun playoff matchup.
10. MSU Mankato: The Mavs have some talent, but not a lot of depth. Veteran forwards Justin Jokinen and Michael Dorr can score, but they'll need help. They could get that from freshmen Corey Leivermann and JP Burkemper. Senior D Ben Youds and Kurt Davis have been around the WCHA a long time and can provide leadership to the Mavs' young d-men. The loss of F Tyler Pitlick to the WHL really hurt MSU's offense.
11. Michigan Tech: Judging by their start, the Huskies just might climb out of the WCHA cellar this season. Tech's always played a style that allows them to hang with just about anyone, but it has also limited their offensive chances. That's clearly not the case so far this season. It's still early, though, and Tech hasn't faced a top-tier opponent yet.
12. Alaska-Anchorage: The Seawolves have a roster full of big, strong players. That doesn't mean they can score. Or stop other teams from scoring.

Player of the Year: Garrett Roe, SCSU. (Honorable mention: Jack Connolly, UMD; Jason Gregoire, UND)
Rookie of the Year: Jaden Schwartz, CC. (Honorable mention: Jason Zucker, DU; Nick Bjugstad, Minn; Derek Forbort, UND)
Coach of the Year: Scott Sandelin, UMD. (H.M.: Bob Motzko, SCSU)

••••••

PHERSY: Real shocker. Feldy picked UND to win the conference. I thought for sure you'd pick any other team in the league. But then again, you bleed that puke green.

So, I'll be a little less homer-ish. Especially since I'm way, way down on my club. The Mavericks (MSU, not Omaha) are garbage, and it pains me to see them keep Jutting on the bench. Ugh ... let's not get me going on that topic.

I'll just get right to the picks.

1. North Dakota. Even though I'd love to knock them down a peg, just to get under Feldy's skin, the Sioux are the league's most talented team. Goaltending was supposed to be an issue last year, but all of a sudden it's a strength? I'm still a little worried about their netminders, but their blue line is sick with guys like Chay Genoway, Ben Blood and Derrick LaPoint, and their forwards (see Jason Gregoire, Danny Kristo and Matt Frattin) will score in bunches. National title ... possible.

2. Minnesota-Duluth. Feldy, I like the pick. We cheated a bit and did these picks late, so we already got a brief preview of the Bulldogs. UMD has a nice, soft early-season schedule. They could put themselves in a great spot to make a run at the conference crown. I'm definitely worried about the goalies; nobody on the roster sticks out, and I'm not sure Kenny Reiter is a legit No. 1. But they might have the best line in the country in Justin Fontaine, Jack Connolly and Mike Connolly. And Mike Montgomery is a great leader on the blue line. Watch for the Bulldogs to make this a race, and even surprise some by winning the league.

3. St. Cloud State. It's impossible for me to drop the Huskies down any lower with that goalie combo of Mike Lee and Dan Dunn. But the Huskies are off to a rough start. The good news is they also have a soft early season schedule. Plus, man, I love Aaron Marvin. Garrett Roe's a nice little player, too. There's so much talent here, though the blue line is a question mark. In Motzko I trust.

4. Wisconsin. The Badgers are off to a hot start ... of course, it was against Huntsville. But they put up 12 points in those two games, and for a team that has scoring concerns, that could be a nice confidence booster. I don't have the scoring answer, though. I'm not sure who will step up on this team, but they'll find a way to put the puck in the net and earn a first-round home series. How about newcomer Jefferson Dahl? OK, I'm only saying that because I covered him when he was in high school in Eau Claire.

5. Denver. It's odd to see the two Colorado schools this far down the standings. But the Pioneers are simply reloading. Give this squad a year, and they'll be just fine. OK, maybe two years ... I love their recruiting class, but look at all the 90s and 91s on that roster. Those kids probably all needed another year of juniors, but instead they'll learn in the WCHA.

6. Nebraska-Omaha. Dean Blais. Do I need to say more? Gophers fans learned just how good this team is and can be last week as the Mavericks swept the Gophers, at Mariucci (yuck). There's talent here, and plenty of it. Blais' USHL connections have allowed him to put together a team that can compete with the top half of the league. Rich Purslow can score, and senior (from Minnesota) Matt Ambroz already has eight points this season, including five goals (he looked great against the Gophs).

7. Colorado College. Their young kids are a year older, and I think CC will start making its way back up the conference ladder. Jaden Schwartz was a big get for the Tigers. Newcomer of the year? It's possible. Give this team another year and they'll be back in the top half.

8. Minnesota. Ugh. Yeah, it could be a rough year in Minnesota. While I do like the talent of this freshmen class, Don Lucia needs to prove he can coach them up. Jay Barriball is still a stud. But the Gophers quickly were put in their place by Omaha, and if they don't get back on track against SCSU this weekend, the season could turn ugly. The season may depend on how quickly stud newcomers like Max Gardiner and Nick Bjugstad adjust to the WCHA. Oh yeah, and the Gophers have to receive better play between the pipes. We all know Kangas is capable of being a No. 1 in the WCHA.

9. Michigan Tech. Sadly, Tech looked pretty darn good against my Mavericks last weekend. I'd say that says more about the Mavericks being terrible than it does about Tech being good. Tech is improved, though.

10. Bemidji State. This isn't that Cinderella team that advanced to the Frozen Four. The Beavers are down, though they have a sweet new building. It's going to take a year or three for this team to be competitive in the WCHA.

11. Minnesota State, Mankato. It makes me sick to put my squad down this far. But look at the roster. It's filled with players from the NAHL. That's not good. The blue line, with guys like Kurt Davis and Ben Youds (love him) can score, but they still make WAY too many goal-allowing mistakes. Cam Cooper and Channing Boe will probably skate together, which should be an every weekend trainwreck. I love Justin Jokinen, but he has to be a better two-way player. He sure has the talent, though. Gophers transfer Mike Dorr could be a bright spot. He looks good so far. The Mavs could move up if Austin Lee actually steps up. But so far that hasn't happened. Can you tell how excited I am to watch my Mavs play this season?

12. Alaska-Anchorage. Ugh. Still ugly. Not much to talk about here.

AWARDS

Player of the Year: Jack Connolly, UMD. (Just pick a guy from that line.)

Rookie of the Year: Jaden Schwartz, CC. (This could be a runaway.)

Coach of the Year: Scott Sandelin, UMD. (Motzko always is in the running ... Feldy's boy at UND probably should be a contender, too.)

HS Football Picks: Week 8

PHERSY: Feldy, objects in the rear-view mirror!!!!!!!!!!! We comin'!!! OK, so I gained two games on Feldy last week and cut his lead to just two games entering the final week of the regular season. If Feldy blows this lead, it will be a monumental collapse. Hopefully he can hold on. I went 5-2 last week, improving my season record to 28-14. Feldy was 3-4 (yuck) and dropped to 30-12. Here are this week's Sizzling Seven:

NON-CONFERENCE (I'm skipping the Big Nine this week, to make Feldy angry)

Lewiston-Altura (5-2) at Le Center (6-1)

HIAWATHA VALLEY LEAGUE

Cannon Falls (5-2) at Byron (4-3)

Kasson-Mantorville (5-2) at La Crescent (5-2)

THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE

Fillmore Central (3-4) at Chatfield (3-4)

Southland (6-1) at Caledonia (7-0)

St. Charles (1-6) at Wabasha-Kellogg (1-6)

SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE

Lanesboro (5-2) at Mabel-Canton (3-4).

* * * * *

FELDY: Time to put some of that distance back between me and Phersy. This is getting way too close.

NON-CONFERENCE (I'm skipping the Big Nine this week, to make Feldy angry)
LeCenter 33, Lewiston-Altura 26: LeCenter's lone loss came against a very good Blooming Prairie team. L-A has been too up-and-down the past few weeks.

HIAWATHA VALLEY LEAGUE
Cannon Falls 31, Byron 20: Bombers are playing very well and riding high after beating La Crescent last week.
Kasson-Mantorville 35, La Crescent 21: Hard to bet against K-M this time of year. And La Crescent's defense has allowed a lot of points this season (185 in seven games).

THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE
Chatfield 23, Fillmore Central 19: Take the Gophers at home.
Caledonia 44, Southland 24: The Rebels are a nice team, but the Warriors might be the best Class AA team in the state.
Wabasha-Kellogg 18, St. Charles 8: St. Charles has scored just 33 points against TRC opponents, W-K has scored 70. Take the Falcons on their home turf.

SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
Lanesboro 38, Mabel-Canton 20: The Burros extend their winning streak to six. They're coming in hot, after ending Grand Meadow's quest for an unbeaten season last week.

•••••

PHERSY: Oh Feldy, I'm planning to pull into a tie heading into the postseason. Let's do this!

NON-CONFERENCE

Lewiston-Altura 33, Le Center 29: Feldy how dare you pick against our local club. Never, ever bet against Jay Peoples. That kid is averaging like 94 yards per carry. Le Center hasn't seen a player like Peoples ... trust me. Look at that schedule.

HIAWATHA VALLEY LEAGUE

Cannon Falls 28, Byron 27: Byron keeps getting better and better, but the Bombers are a solid squad.

Kasson-Mantorville 31, La Crescent 26: Both solid teams. K-M is riding a four-game winning streak, and LC is coming off of a tough loss to Cannon Falls. I'll go with the KoMets (I always pick the better wrestling team).

THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE

Chatfield 26, Fillmore Central 12: FC has given up 40, 52 and 70 the last three weeks, so I'll take the Gophers. They might be the best Gophers in the state.

Caledonia 39, Southland 26: Man, I'd love to pick the upset here, but the Rebels are dinged up, and Caledonia is cruising.

St. Charles 8, Wabasha-Kellogg 6: St. Charles will rally for a win. Nice way for the Saints to head into the postseason.

SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE

Lanesboro 28, Mabel-Canton 14: So, you're telling me M-C has three wins this season, but one of them is against the Burros? Could this be a letdown game for Lanesboro after that huge, huge victory last week? Nah. I'll stick with the Burros.

Ding dong, Brewster's dead. Who's next?

PHERSY: So Feldy, we got what we've been asking for. Tim Brewster finally is out as the Gophers head football coach. I wrote in the Faceoff print edition over a month ago that I wouldn't attend another Gophers game as long as Brewster was head coach. Of course, that came minutes after I walked out of TCF Bank Stadium the day the Gophers lost to USD.

So, Brewster's dead to us. And we can celebrate.

But instead of celebrating, it's time to find the right candidate to take over this program. We have an amazing stadium and a very dedicated fan base. The athletic budget isn't as bad as people say it is and the talent pool here in Minnesota is in the same boat ... no, we're not Texas or Florida, but there is enough talent here to compete.

Anyway, Joel Maturi is searching for a new coach, immediately. Of course, that's the big problem ... I'm not certain Maturi is capable of handling this task. He likely should have been fired the day Brewster was let go.

But it appears Maturi will have a big hand in this. So Feldy, we better give the guy help. There is no shortage of names out there right now. Scott Linehan, Marc Trestman, Lesie Frazier and Darrell Bevell are a few of the names out there now.

Who are you taking Feldy??? Give me a name and back it up. I'm pretty sure you'd be a better AD than Maturi, so you better prove me right.

H.S. Football picks -- Week 7

FELDY: Phersy and I both had solid weeks last week. I got back on a good path with a 6-1 week after a 3-4 embarrasment a week earlier. That leaves me at 27-8, while Phersy is 23-12 after a 5-2 week last week. Mayo's 14-9 loss at Owatonna was the only thing that kept me from a perfect week. But, nobody's perfect, unless you're the Mankato West football team. So we'll stay away from picking their games.

Phersy gets to pick first this week. This week's games:

BIG NINE
Mankato East (3-3) at Century (6-0)

HVL
La Crescent (5-1) at Cannon Falls (4-2)
Zumbrota-Mazeppa (4-2) at Triton (6-0)

THREE RIVERS
Chatfield (3-3) at Kingsland (3-3)

NON-CONFERENCE
Dover-Eyota (3-3) at Medford (3-3)

SEC
Glenville-Emmons (3-3) at Houston (3-3)
Grand Meadow (6-0) at Lanesboro (4-2)

********

PHERSY: Feldy, I have to stop pressing ... I should have stuck with my original picks last week. Instead, I tried to jump into a tie with a three-game swing, and it backfired. Live and learn. I'll be better this week.

BIG NINE
Century 45, Mankato East 13: Really with this game Feldy? You better be picking the upset, otherwise this was a silly gimme.

HVL
La Crescent 40, Cannon Falls 30: The Bombers had a setback last week, though they continue to prove they're a much-improved squad. This will be a shootout.
Triton 28, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 7: Wasn't this supposed to be a down year for Triton? Guess not!

THREE RIVERS
Kingsland 20, Chatfield 19: Toughest game of the week to pick. Kingsland was beat up last week by Caledonia, while Chatfield won big over R-P. No doubt Feldy will go the other way on this one.

NON-CONFERENCE
Dover-Eyota 20, Medford 16: I'll stick with the local squad on this one, though it's another tough pick.

SEC
Houston 30, G-E 20: IT'S HURRICANE SEASON!
Grand Meadow 40, Lanesboro 22: GM proves week after week it's the top team in the SEC.

* * *

BIG NINE
Century 40, East 22: Not a great matchup, but, Phersy, if you can find me a better one on the Big Nine schedule this week, let me know. East is 3-1 since starting the season with two straight losses. And the Cougars would be 4-0 in that stretch if they hadn't blown a 15-point lead with 7 1/2 minutes to go against Mayo.

HVL
La Crescent 34, Cannon Falls 27: Nice effort by the Bombers last week, but the Lancers will eke this one out.
Triton 33, Z-M 20: Cobras have too many weapons.

THREE RIVERS
Chatfield 23, Kingsland 21: Like Phersy said, tough game to pick and I'm going the opposite of him.

NON-CONFERENCE
Medford 26, D-E 19: Medford has won 3 of its last 4, with the lone loss coming to a very good Blooming Prairie team.

SEC
Houston 48, Glenville-Emmons 45: Hurricanes get home-field advantage.
Grand Meadow 33, Lanesboro 19: The Larks have proved they're the team to beat in the SEC, so have to stick with them until someone proves otherwise.