OLD KEV’S FOOTBALL PICKS – WEEK 4

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

JEFFERSONVILLE – Here are Old Kev’s football picks for Week 4. Remember these predictions are for recreational purposes:

FRIDAY’S GAMES

New Albany (2-1, 1-0 HHC) at Class 5A No. 9 Bedford North Lawrence (3-0, 1-0), 7 p.m.

Old Kev says: There should be plenty of points scored in this critical Hoosier Hills Conference matchup. The Stars are averaging 37.3 points per contest, while the Bulldogs are putting up 37 points per clip. BNL and New Albany rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in scoring in Class 5A.

This one is just going to come down to which squad’s defense is going to make the most key stops, especially on third down.

Also, in my experience covering the HHC, going to Bedford is like entering the Twilight Zone. If you are the visitors, you just don’t know what is going to happen.

This is a very difficult game to pick. I think it is going to be an extremely close and competitive game.

So, when in doubt, pick the home team.

Old Kev’s pick: BNL 40, New Albany 38.

Jeffersonville (1-2, 1-1 HHC) at Madison (1-2, 0-1), 7 p.m.

Old Kev says: This is a must-win contest for the Red Devils this week for a couple of reasons.

One, Jeff had a disappointing effort in last Friday’s loss at BNL after posting an impressive victory over Seymour in Week 2. The Red Devils need to regroup and attempt to gain some confidence.

Two, the trip to Cub Field is the Devils’ best chance for them to get a victory in the next several weeks.

The Madison game comes before Jeff embarks on a brutal four-game stretch in its schedule. The stretch consists of a home contest versus Floyd Central, back-to-back road games at Class 5A No. 5 Indianapolis Cathedral and New Albany and finally a home game with Class 5A No. 4 Columbus East.

To be more specific about the challenging nature of this stretch, the Red Devils will play their two main rivalry games versus the Highlanders and the Bulldogs, a perennial state power in the Fighting Irish and a team that has an unbelievable 71-game HHC winning streak in the Olympians.

Old Kev’s pick: Jeff 37, Madison 23.

Clarksville (0-3) at Providence (0-3), 7 p.m.

Old Kev says: If you take a lot of stock in past performances to make your picks, then you must feel that the Pioneers’ anemic offense will get well against their town rivals. In its last six games against the Generals, Providence has scored at least 40 points five times. The Pioneers’ point total broke 60 in three of those six contests, including both of their victories over Clarksville last year.

But you can never underestimate a rival and I am sure the Generals would love nothing more than to end their 28-game losing streak against Providence.

I expect Clarksville to be fired up for this one, but the Pioneers finally get off the schneid and earn their first win of 2017.

Old Kev’s pick: Providence 36, Clarksville 19.

OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST

Floyd Central 28, Seymour 26

Silver Creek 24, Eastern 10

North Harrison 34, Charlestown 13

Crawford County 23, Rock Creek 21

Corydon Central 20, Scottsburg 17

Columbus East 48, Jennings County 20

Brownstown Central 38, Salem 13

Mitchell 34, Eastern Greene 33

Paoli 29, Perry Central 24

West Washington 35, Springs Valley 14

Knightstown 34, Trinity Lutheran 6

OLD KEV’S RECORD LAST WEEK: 11-2.

OLD KEV’S SEASON RECORD: 28-9.