The Birdie has reason to celebrate with A-K Valley picks

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 | 5:24 PM

The Birdie finds himself enjoying the NFL's relaxation on celebrations, cackling as he watched JuJu Smith-Schuster and Le'Veon Bell execute a game of hide-and-seek after the former's touchdown against the Bengals.

“The only thing is, I feel Le'Veon could've done a better hiding job,” Birdie said. “There were 60,000 people at Heinz Field, and JuJu found him almost instantly. Next time, head for the stands or the tunnel!”

Past celebrations included a pair of Lions playing ping-pong, or, the Birdie's personal favorite, the Minnesota Vikings' game of duck-duck-goose.

“That one felt like an homage,” Birdie said.

The Birdie knows WPIAL referees likely wouldn't take as kindly to elaborate touchdown dances from high school players, but that didn't stop him from dreaming up some Alle-Kiski Valley-themed celebrations.

“I'd love to see Freeport swarm together like bees after Conor Selinger's next pick-6,” he said. “Heck, their defense already kind of does that anyway. Maybe Austin Romanchak could bring in a bottle of honey and produce it after scoring the way Terrell Owens did with his Sharpie.

“Or maybe Nick Gizzo and Micah Morris could recreate that ‘What Does the Fox Say?' music video. All they need is a microphone and a bunch of people willing to tolerate that song. Actually, that might be harder than I thought.”

Some local teams' potential celebrations gave The Birdie pause.

“Obviously, we can't have any Highlands players ram a goalpost or something of that nature,” he said. “Just ask one of our former stars Gus Frerotte how that can turn out. And what do you do if you're a Dynamo? It'd be so much easier if Springdale were the Dominoes.”

The Birdie may or may not have done some celebrating of his own after yet another 10-1 performance in Week 8. He's a scorching 48-3 over his past five weeks. Not that he's counting.

Fox Chapel and Freeport had their own reasons to celebrate in Week 8 after punching their playoff tickets, and Springdale could join them this week.

“Not too late to change your name to the Dominoes,” Birdie said. “Perfect celebration, and not that bad of a pizza, either.”

Friday

Armstrong (5-4) at Kiski Area (1-8)

It's been a difficult year for the Cavaliers in Sam Albert's first season at the helm. This could be the last game at Davis Field, but the home team might not have enough to close it out with a win. Armstrong, 28-14

Burrell (1-8, 0-6) at Deer Lakes (1-7, 0-6)

A season to forget for both of these teams, who will battle to get out of the basement of the Allegheny. Burrell will put a good bookend on its season: a win to open and a win to close. Burrell, 21-14

Fox Chapel (5-4) at Plum (3-6)

The Mustangs struggled to contain Latrobe's running game in a loss last week. That spells trouble against Fox Chapel's dynamic duo of Nick Gizzo and Micah Morris. Fox Chapel, 38-21

Freeport (6-2, 5-1) at Valley (3-5, 3-3)

Don't look now, but Valley might be peaking at the end of the season with two consecutive wins. Hard to see the Vikings being victorious this week against a Freeport team that's treating every week like the playoffs. Freeport, 28-7

Greensburg Central Catholic (3-6, 2-4) at Springdale (4-5, 3-3)

The Dynamos are looking to clinch their 15th playoff appearance in 16 seasons. No way they want to leave it up to the chance … or the WPIAL's tiebreaker mathematics. Springdale, 27-20

Indiana (1-7, 1-6) at Highlands (4-4, 3-4)

The record-setting Highlands passing attack will get a chance to make a final statement against the struggling Little Indians. Highlands, 34-14

South Allegheny (1-7) at Apollo-Ridge (4-5)

South Allegheny's nickname is the Gladiators, but Apollo-Ridge's season resembles the movie of that name with all of the Vikings' fallen players. Still, it feels as though the young players have one more win in them. Apollo-Ridge, 21-17

Saturday

Leechburg (0-9, 0-6) at Imani Christian (7-2, 5-1)

The Blue Devils and Saints seems an unholy mismatch, with Imani among the highest-scoring teams in Class A and Leechburg at the bottom. This'll be an all-Saints day. Imani Christian, 48-7

Bentworth (3-6) at Riverview (2-6)

The Raiders continue to battle through a roster shortage, making it especially difficult to compete against the top teams of the Eastern Conference. Bentworth might not be Clairton or Jeannette, but it still has the depth to win this nonconference game. Bentworth, 20-12

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski School, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, Valley