Week 3- What to Watch!

[ChickenNuggets]

After two weeks of 9-man football, there may be more questions than answers! That's a good thing! There have been some teams expected to be dominant that have been. A few that were expected to be very good (And still could be!) that are looking for their first wins, and a few teams who have been surprisingly competitive!

Here's my Week 3- What to Watch:

2-0 Central McLean @ 2-0 New Salem/Almont
There are FOUR 2-0 teams in Region 5 at this point. Two of them will meet on Friday night when Central McLean travels to New Salem/Almont. CM won going away in week 1, but gritted out a much closer win in week 2. NSA has won by at least 20 in each of their first two contests. I think NSA rolls in this game, but this could show us if Central McLean's 2-0 mark to this point is something to keep an eye on and if they can be contenders within the region to reach the playoffs. Final Score- NSA 44-0

1-1 Beach @ 0-2 Grant County/Flasher
I think there are four teams legitimately fighting it out for the three playoff spots in this region and these two teams are among them. Beach and GCF have both played New Salem/Almont in the first two weeks with Beach falling 44-20 and GC/F falling 44-22. If those similar scores are any indication, this could be a battle! I'm going to go with the home team in this one. GCF wins 22-8 Final Score- GC/F 44-8

I would also keep an eye on the entire Region 3 vs. Region 4 Crossover this weekend! All 5 of those games have some interesting/intriguing match-ups!

2-0 Cavalier @ 1-1 New Rockford-Sheyenne
Cavalier has played two 11-man games to start the season. This will be their first 9-man contest. NRS is 1-1 so far, having lost a close game with Nelson County and then knocking off the #5 ranked Eagles from North Border. I think Cavalier wins, but it will be interesting to see by how much! Final Score- Cavalier 32-0

2-0 Larimore vs. 1-1 Four Winds
Larimore is 2-0 and looking good, but they have not played high quality opponents to this point. Four Winds is 1-1 with a blowout win in week 1 and then they were 20 seconds away from being 2-0, but Nelson County scored in the closing moments to win a nail biter. These are both teams with high hopes of making the playoffs, although the result of this game will have no bearing on making the post-season, it will be a good test for both teams. I predict Four Winds passing game is too much to stop and they beat the Polar Bears 36-24 FInal Score- Four Winds 50-6

0-1 Midway-Minto @ 0-2 Benson County
This might not seem like a big-time matchup, but for these two teams it might be the best chance to get a tally in the win column this year. M-M just moved up from 6-man and will experience some growing pains. Benson has struggled the past few seasons in 9-man. It might not be a high-profile game, but should be evenly matched!

2-0 Nelson County vs. 2-0 Northstar *GAME OF THE WEEK*
This might be the game of the week! Nelson County has won a pair of competitive games, defeating NR-S by 10 and then winning with. go-ahead TD in the final minute of their game at Four Winds Friday night. Northstar won a tight game against St. John in week 1 but was not tested in a 48-0 blowout against TGU in week 2. Both teams have explosive offenses with big play makers. This game might come down to the team who can play the best defense and get a couple of stops. Flip a coin for this one.... Nelson County wins 42-38 Final Score- Nelson County 28-6

1-1 North Border @ 2-0 North Prairie
After a week 1 blowout win, North Border suffered a 36-26 loss to NR-S in week 2. North Prairie won in a big way in week 1 and then came out ahead 20-14 in week 2 over St. John. If North Border is going to win, I think it's going to have to be a high scoring game. If North Prairie can slow down the skill players from NB they have a good chance to win. My guess- North Prairie grinds it out on the ground and wins 36-20 Final Score- North Prairie 48-22

9B Predictions this week- 6-0; 9B Predictions on the season- 14-2

[OdessaAardvark]

I think you need to start a podcast. I look forward to reading this every week!

[Bison-Vikes #1]

I think you need to start a podcast. I look forward to reading this every week!

^^^^^Agreed

[OdessaAardvark]

"Nuggets on Nine-Man"