(5) Foothill over Liberty
There is not one game among these 5 that I want to rank for 5 points. Did I pick against Liberty last week and get burned, yes. This week, I’ll take a guess that Foothill’s D improves.

(4) Monte Vista over Amador Valley
Will my mother kill me for picking against her alma mater? I wouldn’t put it past her. But, I’m taking a Monte Vista team that has served me in good stead all year.

(3) Alhambra over Acalanes
Maybe we should start treating the Brandons in the area with just one name, Pele style. In this game, all I need is one name: Rutley.

(2) Casa Grande over Pittsburg
Last week, I picked San Leandro to beat SRV based solely on the fact that the game was in San Leandro. This week, I’m applying that same logic to this game. No losses at home yet this year? While I do think Pitt will be fired up after last week’s loss, I think their intensity would be better matched by a home crowd, one they will not have this week.

(1) Pinole Valley over El Cerrito
Alright, the enigma that is the Gaucho football team burned me good last week. That’s not to take anything away from a gritty Encinal team, because they’ve proven they can hang with the big boys. But, I’m ranking this for one point because Pinole has a history of having some weird games with El Cerrito. Plus, this game is in EC where the field condition will less than pristine this afternoon after the rain and that may slow the Spartans a bit. Still, it’s hard to pick against a team that allows a guy to run for 400 yards on them and still wins.

(Swing) Berkeley over Encinal
Here I go picking against the Jets again. The Saturday afternoon start time means that the Berkeley turf will have had time to dry and that means that the going will be fast and to the players it’ll feel like their being tackled on concrete. Berkeley has roughed up a lot of teams this year and Encinal doesn’t have that many players to begin with. Still, this is going to be a barnburner if Antoine Young, Cyrus Grant, and Donovan Brown are able to dictate the game’s pace like they did last week. I’m playing the home team.