BUCYRUS — Conference play is here, and unfortunately for some area teams, the Fanatics seem to agree that many of the games may be fairly one-sided.
Five of the 10 games picked by the Fanatics came to a unanimous conclusion on who they think the winners will be.
The fans, unknowingly, sided with Friday Night Phoneboard host Davey Jones on every pick in Week 4. With the fans tied with Iconic Rock Q92.7 play-by-play announcer Josh Stallings for last place, maybe agreeing with Jones, who sits in a tie for fourth place, might gain them a few spots.
The most divisive game comes with Crestline’s second crack at the Blanchard Valley Conference after a Week 3 loss to Arcadia. The fans broke the tie between the fanatics, with North Baltimore gaining the advantage, 5-4.
The next split game features two teams looking to snag a desperately-needed victory for the win column. Ridgedale got a big win in Week 1 but have struggled since, and Fairfield still is looking for its first win of the season. The fans and the majority of the Fanatics believe Ridgedale will get back on track, while sports director Dan Messerschmidt, news director James Massara and Country Legends 1540/107.5 WBCO play-by-play announcer Jared Moore think the Knights will pull off the win.
Things become a bit more one sided as the picks continue, with most of the Fanatics and the fans thinking Mohawk will claim victory against rival Carey in the first game for the Tarhe Trophy, a trophy awarded to the top team among the Carey, Mohawk and Upper Sandusky rivalry in Wyandot County. Meanwhile, Massara and Coaches Corner East host Mike Sparks think Carey will avoid going 0-4 to start the season since it last did in 2015.
There also was a bit of division in the Firelands Conference, as Moore and Iconic Rock Q92.7 WQEL morning host Will Beard picked Plymouth to knock off 7-time defending conference champion Norwalk St. Paul.
There was one loner in Week 4, as Messerschmidt picked Bucyrus to get its first Northern 10 win of 2019 in what would most likely be an upset that would turn quite a few heads. The rest of the field picked Seneca East, with the Tigers being the media’s preseason pick to win the conference.
The rest of the games were unanimous as every agreed to the victors.
Wynford was picked to keep Buckeye Central’s winless streak alive, Colonel Crawford was picked to ruin Upper Sandusky’s fall sports parents night, Galion was picked to win the battle of high-powered but different offenses as the Tigers face off with River Valley in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, Northmor was picked to get a Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference win against Centerburg and Kenton was picked keep a winless Defiance team searching for the first win.
The Colonel Crawford at Upper Sandusky game may be heard on Iconic Rock Q92.7 WQEL and WQEL.com and the Buckeye Central at Wynford game may be heard on Country Legends 1540/107.5 WBCO.
Many of the Fanatics performed well in Week 3, but not without some hiccups as five of the nine finished with three losses. Sparks and Massara performed the best with 9-1 records, which put Sparks into first place and moved Massara into a tie for second with Country Legends 1540/107.5 WBCO color commentator Tim Birie. With a 6-4 record in Week 3, the fans fell down into a tie for last with Stallings and Messerschmidt. Hopefully conference play will be kind to them from now on.
STANDINGS (Week 3 record):
Mike Sparks – 26-4 (9-1)
James Massara – 25-5 (9-1)
Tim Birie – 25-5 (8-2)
Davey Jones – 24-6 (7-3)
Will Beard – 24-6 (7-3)
Jared Moore – 22-8 (7-3)
Josh Stallings – 21-9 (7-3)
Dan Messerschmidt – 21-9 (7-3)
The Fans – 21-9 (6-4)
The fan pick is made by the results of the majority of the voting.
FAN PICKS:
Wynford – 100%
Seneca East – 87%
Colonel Crawford – 100%
North Baltimore – 100%
Galion – 71%
Mohawk – 95%
Ridgedale – 94%
Northmor – 89%
Norwalk St. Paul – 72%
Kenton – 100%