The Fearless Friday Football Forecast is back! (updated with results)
After months of grueling offseason training, camps, and strategizing they’re ready for kickoff — the Fearless Forecasters are, that is.
Many are still smarting from last season when Joe Mays pulled out a second straight championship — well, part of one at least. Sam Cavalieri made a Tiger-like closing run and tied for first, earning a share of his first championship.
Now all of the other Forecasters are gunning for them. It gets real Friday night when 12 Berks teams kick off their seasons, with Wilson and Wyomissing to follow on Saturday afternoon.
Week 1 seems pretty clear-cut among the Forecasters: There are seven clean sweeps among the 13 games. The toss-up game appears to be Gov. Mifflin vs. Pleasant Valley; the Mustangs are the slight favorite, 7-5.
Each week, MikeDragoSports.com staff writers, photographers and contributors, along with Mike Gross and Jeff Reinhart of football partner LNP/Lancasteronline, and Bruce Badgley of Mike Drago Sports Livestreaming, will pick all the Berks games, along with selected Lancaster-Lebanon League games.
We’ll keep standings and the Forecaster with the most points at the end of the season will get a big prize!
Each correct pick earns one point; if a Forecaster “doubles down” on a Berks team and is correct he gets two points. Each Fearless Forecaster can “down double” on a team only once during the regular season (and once again during the postseason).
Here’s the Week 1 schedule:
- Wilson vs. Cheltenham
- Phoenixville at Reading High
- Exeter at Daniel Boone
- Pleasant Valley at Gov. Mifflin
- Schuylkill Valley at Muhlenberg
- Abington at Conrad Weiser
- Fleetwood at Kutztown
- Twin Valley at Berks Catholic
- Octorara at Hamburg
- Southern Columbia at Wyomissing
- Manheim Township at Cumberland Valley
- Penn Manor at Conestoga Valley
- Elizabethtown at Cocalico
The Week 1 Picks
| Wilson Chelt. | Reading Phoenix. | Exeter Boone | Mifflin P. Valley | S. Valley Muhl. | Weiser Abington | Fleet. Kutztown | |
| Mike Drago | Wilson | Phoenix | Exeter | Mifflin | Sch. Valley | Weiser (DD) | Fleet. |
| Bruce Badgley | Wilson | Phoenix | Exeter (DD) | Mifflin | Sch. Valley | Weiser | Fleet. |
| Sam Cavalieri | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | P. Valley | Sch. Valley | Weiser (DD) | Fleet. |
| Chris Deantonio | Chelt. | Phoenix. | Exeter | Mifflin | Sch. Valley | Abington | Fleet. |
| Mike Gross | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | P. Valley | Sch. Valley (DD) | Weiser | Fleet. |
| Matt Hagy | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | Mifflin | Sch. Valley (DD) | Weiser | Fleet. |
| Joe Mays | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | P. Valley | Sch. Valley | Weiser | Fleet. |
| Sean McBryan | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | Mifflin | Sch. Valley | Weiser | Fleet. (DD) |
| Phil Marabella | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | Mifflin | Sch. Valley | Weiser | Fleet. (DD) |
| Logan Moyer | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | P. Valley | Sch. Valley | Weiser | Fleet. |
| Clay Oberholtzer | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter (DD) | P. Valley | Sch. Valley | Abington | Fleet. |
| Jeff Reinhart | Wilson | Phoenix. | Exeter | Mifflin | Sch. Valley | Weiser (DD) | Fleet. |
| Staff composite | Wilson 11-1 | Phoenix. 12-0 | Exeter 12-0 | Mifflin 7-5 | Sch Valley 12-0 | Weiser 10-2 | Fleet. 12-0 |
| T. Valley Berks Cath | Hamburg Octorara | Wyom. Southern | Man. Twp. Cumb. Val. | P. Manor Conestoga | Etown. Cocalico | Week 1 | |
| Mike Drago | T. Valley | Hamburg | Wyom. | Cumb. Val. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 11-3 |
| Bruce Badgley | T. Valley | Hamburg | Southern | Man. Twp. | Penn Manor | Cocalico | 10-4 |
| Sam Cavalieri | T. Valley | Hamburg | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 11-3 |
| Chris Deantonio | T. Valley (DD) | Hamburg | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 10-4 |
| Mike Gross | T. Valley | Hamburg | Southern | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 9-5 |
| Matt Hagy | T. Valley | Hamburg | Wyom. | Cumb. Val. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 10-4 |
| Joe Mays | T. Valley (DD) | Hamburg | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 11-3 |
| Phil Marabella | T. Valley | Hamburg | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Penn Manor | Cocalico | 11-3 |
| Sean McBryan | T. Valley | Hamburg | Southern | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 11-3 |
| Logan Moyer | T. Valley | Hamburg (DD) | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 10-4 |
| Clay Oberholtzer | T. Valley | Hamburg | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Penn Manor | Cocalico | 9-5 |
| Jeff Reinhart | T. Valley | Hamburg | Wyom. | Man. Twp. | Conestoga | Cocalico | 12-2 |
| Staff composite | T. Valley 12-0 | Hamburg 12-0 | Wyom. 9-3 | Man. Twp. 10-2 | Conestoga 9-3 | Cocalico 12-0 |