First round playoff predictions

Paris (5-4) at St. Joseph-Ogden (7-2), 7 p.m. Friday.

Last meeting: St. Joseph-Ogden def. Paris, 66-0 (Oct. 21, 2005).

I've been researching this Paris teams for three days and I have to say, they look a lot better than your typical 5-4 team. The Tigers dropped their first three games this season to playoff teams, then responded by winning five of six to make the postseason. Paris plays in the 3A and 4A heavy Apollo Conference, and six of their nine games came against teams with enrollments of 750-plus students. The Tigers have been in a playoff-type atmosphere for two months; a 7-2 SJ-O team isn't going to intimidate them in the least.

The Spartans need to come to play defensively to beat Paris. The Tigers are averaging nearly 30 points per game since week four and have a multi-faceted run and pass attack. SJ-O hasn't defended the pass well at all in recent weeks. The Spartans were torched at Orion and gave up multiple long passes against PBL. I expect Paris to open up on the ground and try to ease its way into the passing attack. Once the Tigers get comfortable, they will probably throw the ball a lot. SJ-O will need to get pressure on their quarterback to avoid a shootout. The Spartans' run-heavy offense isn't designed for a shootout.

St. Joseph-Ogden 40, Paris 21.

Monticello (5-4) at Unity (8-1), 1 p.m. Saturday.

Last meeting: Unity def. Monticello, 24-21 OT (Oct. 8, 2010).

There isn't much to say about this game you don't already know. Monticello darn near beat the Rockets three weeks ago. Unity didn't play well during that game and when the Sages grabbed the momentum, they were tough to stop. It took a gut-wrenching fumble at the goal line by Monticello's Ryan Donohue to give Unity the overtime win. I expect Unity to play better this week than they did at Monticello, and having Saturday's game at home should be an advantage. 

The Rockets really don't need to do anything special to beat this Monticello team. The Sages don't throw the ball very well and their defense has been more than suspect this year. Unity simply has to play better on the line of scrimmage. The Rockets were abused in the trenches on both sides of the ball in week seven, and the Unity coaching staff responded by putting the Rockets' linemen through a grueling week of practice before week eight. Unity's first-string units have outscored  their opposition 84-0 since then. If the Rockets keep doing what they're doing, they'll be fine.

Unity 34, Monticello 14.