One disagreement in this week's picks

Zach Baker isn't planning a trip to Las Vegas in the near future.That might be best for his wallet and his well-being.Baker wasn't predicting a Browns win on Sunday. But he was ready to book a seat on the bandwagon."I was going around telling everyone the Browns were going to play well," he said this week."Like my Pigskin Picks this season, I guess that continues to reflect how I have my fingers on the pulse of what's happening."The sarcasm was not lost in the telling.Championship trophies will soon be handed out, and that includes the foam-fingered Norm Nutman Award that goes annually to the winner of the Pigskin Picks. A slow start to start to season put Baker behind the 8-ball early, and he's been trying to make up ground on fellow forecaster Dave Hanneman ever since. A perfect 15-0 record in Week 7 trimmed that deficit to just four games. When our pigskin prognosticators disagreed on four games last week, there was a chance for a major shift in the balance, but the guys split 2-2 on those games.That meant that Hanneman, with a 99-21 overall record, maintained a four-game lead over Baker (95-25). There might be some movement this week, but not much considering our gridiron gurus have disagreed on just one game, with Hanneman going with Columbus Grove and Baker taking Lima Central Catholic in a Northwest Conference matchup that looms large as far as the league title and playoff points are concerned. Hanneman's PicksLast week: 13-2; overall: 99-21FINDLAY over Sylvania Northview – Trojans played the two best teams in the league (Perrysburg, Whitmer) very tough. Can't afford a mental, physical, psychological or any other kind of letdown against 1-7 Northview, though.Pandora-Gilboa over ADA – Lot of playoff potential surrounding this one. Ada probably in a must-win situation if the Bulldogs want to make the playoffs. P-G could possibly lock up a first round home game with a win.Liberty-Benton over ARCADIA – L-B is already in the playoffs. That was never in doubt. What remains to be seen is if the Eagles, currently No. 4 in Region 18, can earn enough points in Weeks 9 and 10 to stay ahead of teams like Fredericktown, Fairview Park Fairview and Edison and get a first-round bye.LEIPSIC over Arlington – Don't know if the Vikings can rebound – mentally and physically – from last week's beatdown by Liberty-Benton. That could be the $64,000 question in this one.Van Buren over ELMWOOD – Knights come into this matchup riding a four-game winning streak and a wave of momentum that has gotten them to the brink of the playoffs.McComb over RIVERDALE – Panthers can finish 5-5 and playing Division VI opponents Riverdale and Elmwood in Weeks 9 and 10 might earn them an extra half a point or so in the Harbins. But even that might not keep McComb, sitting 17th in Region 26, from missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009.CAREY over Mohawk – Battle for Wyandot County bragging rights are on the line …. Oh, yeah, the N10 title, too.Colonel Crawford over UPPER SANDUSKY – Upper's in a tough spot, having the face a Colonel Crawford team looking to rebound in a big way from its first loss.Bluffton over ALLEN EAST – Allen East is ending the regular season against four teams that right now all have a 1 and a 7 in their record. Guess which of those four teams has the seven in the win column?Columbus Grove over LIMA CENTRAL CATHOLIC – Outright NWC lead on the line in this matchup at Spartan Stadium. Grove seems to have caught lightening in a bottle, at least the past five games anyway.GENOA over Fostoria – Rockets have won seven straight, including double-digit wins over very good Oak Harbor and Eastwood teams.RIDGEMONT over Cory-Rawson – Gophers will be "Golden" in this one.North Baltimore over CRESTLINE – The way these two teams can get up and down the field and score points, this might look more like a track meet than a football game.CELINA over Ottawa-Glandorf – Bulldogs beat two teams (Kenton and Van Wert) that O-G didn't.Manchester over VANLUE – Congrats to the 'Cats on their first win! Unfortunately, a 7-1 Manchester team will stop that winning streak at one.Home team in caps Baker's PicksLast week: 13-2; overall: 95-25FINDLAY over Sylvania Northview – Findlay gets a win this week and solidifies itself as a playoff team.Pandora-Gilboa over ADA – The Rockets are a big play team, and that should make a difference in this one.Liberty-Benton over ARCADIA – This is probably the best Liberty-Benton football team I've seen in my six seasons here.LEIPSIC over Arlington – This should be a really good one. I like Leipsic's offense a lot and I give the Vikings an ever so slight edge here.Van Buren at ELMWOOD – Van Buren has piled up some impressive wins in recent weeks as it makes a postseason push.McComb at RIVERDALE – McComb will get a victory this week after a couple heartbreakers.CAREY over Mohawk – Carey made a statement with its win last week against Colonel Crawford. Hard to bet against it now.Colonel Crawford over UPPER SANDUSKY – Upper Sandusky has yet to beat a team that's .500 or better. Colonel Crawford is the second-or-third best team in the N10.Bluffton over ALLEN EAST – Bluffton has to beat Allen East and root for Columbus Grove to beat LCC to make next week's clash with the Bulldogs for a piece of the NWC title.. That's a weird spot for the Pirates.LIMA CENTRAL CATHOLIC over Columbus Grove – No disrespect to the Bulldogs at all, but the Thunderbirds are the best DVI/DVII football team I've seen this season.GENOA over Fostoria – Genoa comes in on a seven game winning streak. Hard to see that ending.RIDGEMONT over Cory-Rawson – Even though the Gophers lost to North Baltimore by four touchdowns last week, they scored 21 points. They have a solid offense, and that will be the difference against the Hornets.North Baltimore over CRESTLINE – North Baltimore has clinched a playoff spot and clinched the NWCC title. The Tigers can shoot for a perfect regular season now.CELINA over Ottawa-Glandorf – It's very tempting to take the Titans, but the Bulldogs are at home and should probably win what figures to be a close game.Manchester at VANLUE – Manchester has seven wins this season; its only loss was to Crestline. Vanlue will have an uphill climb here.Home team in caps