The only thing as certain as the start of the high school football season is the weekly return of the Prep Picks Panel. The same crew is back for another year — Tommy Hicks and Randy Kennedy, along with Pigskin Pete (Tim Taylor to those in the know) and Darron Patterson. As tradition holds, a guest picker joins the group each week.
This week’s guest is Gerhard Mathangani, fresh off his announcement that he is leaving sports broadcasting for the world of finance. The panel decided to ask for his input before he gets too far out the door.
With only last season’s results and a sense of returning contributors to go on, the panelists acknowledge the season-opening slate leaves plenty of room for guesswork. The first round of 12 games offers several intriguing matchups.
In six of the 12 games, every panelist agreed on the winner: McGill-Toolen over Foley, Saraland over Mary G. Montgomery, Vigor over Blount, Williamson over Baker, Theodore over Davidson and St. Paul’s over Alma Bryant. Three of those favored teams — Saraland, Theodore and Williamson — are on the road.
The remaining six games revealed more disagreement. Gerhard was the only panelist to pick Spanish Fort over Daphne and Orange Beach over T.R. Miller. Darron stood alone in taking LeFlore over Robertsdale and Chickasaw over Satsuma.
The two panelists then teamed up as the only ones picking St. Michael to beat Battle Ground Academy of Tennessee in Saturday’s nationally televised game from Fairhope. Randy and Pigskin were the lone voices selecting Jackson Prep over UMS-Wright.
With the first 12 games selected, the panel will track how everyone fares each week, sharing scores from the previous week and season-long standings, including a running tally for the guest pickers.