Week 7 Picks: Derek vs. Ryan vs. Trevor vs. Dusty

(KMAland) — It’s time for Week 7 of the KMA Sports crew pretending to know what they’re talking about with some weekly football picks.

Trevor surprisingly led the way last week with a 13-1 outing, while Dusty went 12-2. Ryan and Derek both went 11-4. Here are the season-long standings.

Dusty: 59-25 (.702)

Trevor: 58-27 (.682)

Derek: 61-29 (.678)

Ryan: 60-30 (.667)

Chariton at Clarinda (BC Moore Line: Clarinda by 10.12)

These two have met three times. Clarinda has won two of them, including a 50-14 win last year.

Dusty: Clarinda — Chariton came out of the gate hot this year, but Clarinda has found a stride. I just think its two teams heading in opposite directions.

Trevor: Clarinda — Clarinda seems to be as healthy as they’ve been all season. Plus, a home playoff game is within reach. I think Cards get another comfortable win in Krinda.

Derek: Clarinda — Some people might be scared off by the .12, but I am tougher than a two-dollar steak. Clarinda people know this.

Ryan: Clarinda — The Cardinals are starting to get healthy and that is a little scary. At full strength, Clarinda is a good team.

CAM at Fremont-Mills (BC Moore Line: CAM by 6.54)

These two have gotten to know each other quite well. They’ve met five times in the last four years, including postseason bouts in 2020 and 2021. CAM was a 37-20 winner last year and have won the last four.

Dusty: No Pick — Dusty has this one on the KMA Video Stream tonight.

Trevor: Fremont-Mills — Is there something to CAM’s recent scares? I dunno. And I wouldn’t be surprised for the Cougars to bounce back in a big way. However, I think it’s time to give F-M their flowers.

Derek: Fremont-Mills — Hey, what happens one week doesn’t always translate to the next. However, the Knights have put together back-to-back performances that are worthy of being the favorite here.

Ryan: Fremont-Mills — F-M had one of the more impressive performances against Exira/EHK this last week, while CAM has found ways to win close games. I’ll take the Knights to win a tight one.

Woodbine at Remsen, St. Mary’s (BC Moore Line: RSM by 5.26)

Fourth meeting between these two. RSM won 56-26 last year.

Dusty: Woodbine — I mostly just want this to happen to spice things up in 8-Man.

Trevor: Woodbine — Heart vs. brain here. I’m going with my heart. Go win this for my guy, Greg Kolpin. According to Snapchat, he’s spent plenty of time watching film on RSM this week. I think that’s the difference.

Derek: RSM — A battle between my head and my heart.

Ryan: RSM — Man, I really want to pick Woodbine in this game, but I’m a chicken and never go out on a limb.

Southeast Warren at Lenox (BC Moore Line: Lenox by 27.47)

Southeast Warren has won five of the meetings, while Lenox won four and there’s been one tie. The Tigers were a 60-18 victor last year for their first win since 2001.

Dusty: Lenox — Four TD’s is a steep number, but if I know a team that could do it…

Trevor: No Pick — Trevor and Jesse Cox have the call of this one on the KMA Video Stream.

Derek: Lenox — At this point, there really doesn’t seem to be a margin Lenox can’t cover.

Ryan: Lenox — Since their win over Bedford, Lenox has put on an absolute clinic each week. By the time we get to our first update on the Connection Show, they are usually up by five or six scores. I think they get pushed a lot harder this week, but I like them to win.

Exira/EHK at East Mills (BC Moore Line: East Mills by 11.34)

Exira/EHK has the 3-1 edge. They were a 58-6 winner last year.

Dusty: Exira/EHK — It will take EEHK taking care of the ball and time of possession, but 11 points seems like the Spartans can keep it that close.

Trevor: East Mills — I can’t figure out Exira/EHK. They nearly stunned CAM and then lost by a lot to F-M. F-M’s passing game gave them troubles, and Caleb Urban can sling it. I’ll take the Wolverines by 14.

Derek: Exira-EHK — I see this game being much closer than a an 11.34-point margin.

Ryan: Exira-EHK — I’m having a tough time figuring these two teams out this year, so I’ll take Exira/EHK to cover, but East Mills to win.

Earlham at Riverside (BC Moore Line: Earlham by 14.52)

Earlham has won eight of the nine. However, Riverside’s lone win was a memorable one as the Ukranian Ultimatum Val Andrusyshyn drilled a game-winning field goal back in 2018.

Dusty: Riverside — I wouldn’t chalk up last week’s game as anything concerning. Get out of Dodge with a W, move on. I think the tough Bulldogs keep it close.

Trevor: Riverside — I feel like the Bulldogs are really motivated after the scare of scares last week. I feel pretty comfortable they’ll at least keep it within 14.

Derek: Riverside — The Bulldogs escaped Corning despite not leading for the entirety of regulation. That was the wake-up call they needed heading into this one.

Ryan: Riverside — Something in my gut tells me that Riverside and Darrell Frain will use last week’s scare against Southwest Valley as a wake-up call. I will take them to unleash the beast this week.

Woodbury Central at Tri-Center (BC Moore Line: Tri-Center by 9.65)

These two have played some bangers. Woodbury Central has the 3-2 edge and won 41-21 last year. The 2021 and 2022 games were doozies with Tri-Center winning 26-23 in 2021 and Woodbury Central claiming a 36-34 win in 2022.

Dusty: Tri-Center — I was about as impressed with Tri-Center last week as I have been with anybody all season. AJ Harder makes big boy throws, while Zach Nelson runs great routes. Oh, and Carter Kunze does some fun stuff too.

Trevor: Tri-Center — This always seems to be a favorable matchup for T-C. There’s a part of me that thinks this is another nail-biter, but this is also the best Tri-Center team I’ve seen. I’ll take a big game from Carter Kunze in 14-point Trojan win.

Derek: Tri-Center — I’ve officially learned my lesson and will never pick against Tri-Center again.

Ryan: Tri-Center — Tri-Center has their formula down and that includes a heavy dose of Carter Kunze. I like the Trojans to win the battle up front and get a win

St. Albert at Logan-Magnolia (BC Moore Line: St. Albert by 18.47)

Twenty-fourth meeting between these two storied programs. Lo-Ma won 43-18 last year. St. Albert’s last win was a 24-0 victory in a 2020 state quarterfinal.

Dusty: St. Albert — This one means a lot in that distinct, I still feel the Falcons are playing pretty decent ball. Maybe a late FG gets this done.

Trevor: Logan-Magnolia — Logan-Magnolia is another team I’ve had a tough time figuring out. I’ll take the Falcons to win, but Lo-Ma covers

Derek: St. Albert — The Falcons are getting closer to the St. Albert I knew for about my first decade at KMA.

Ryan: Logan-Magnolia — St. Albert took one on the chin last week, but part of what Donnie Woods is building should help them bounce back this week. I think this one is a one-score game.

Mount Ayr at ACGC (BC Moore Line: ACGC by 4.77)

Fifth meeting. Mount Ayr won in 2018 and 2019, but ACGC won both games last year — 42-18 in the regular season and 34-18 in the postseason.

Dusty: ACGC — Man, Mount Ayr could throw a wrench in Class A if they pull this off. However, a long road game against a stiff running attack is going to be hard to take down.

Trevor: ACGC — Another heart vs. brain pick. Brain wins here. I don’t know how you stop ACGC’s option attack.

Derek: ACGC — I could see this one being another high-scoring bout, but nobody has really proven they can stop ACGC at this point.

Ryan: ACGC — The Chargers have been putting up some big numbers on the offensive side of the ledger. Mount Ayr should keep it close, but I’ll take ACGC to get the win.

Fort Dodge at LeMars (BC Moore Line: LeMars by 3.92)

This game was last night. LeMars won 44-37. Here’s what the guys said prior to the game:

Dusty: Fort Dodge — Fort Dodge with the win outright on the road.

Trevor: Fort Dodge — It’s KMA’s town against the town I went to college in for a semester. This is tough. I’ll take the Dodgers.

Derek: Fort Dodge — My old town versus our town. Tough choice.

Ryan: Fort Dodge — #ourtown against my guy Josh Porter? This one has me torn to my core. I’ll take the Dodgers and their prolific passing attack.

King City at St. Joseph Christian

St. Joseph Christian won 58-26 last year.

Dusty: King City — I’m still on board with this Wildkats with a K thing

Trevor: King City — The WildKats run wild tonight & run their win streak to five in a row.

Derek: King City — Make it five in a row!

Ryan: King City — The Wildkats have won four-straight after starting 0-2, and they’ve done it by running the ball at a nearly 7 yard-per-carry clip. I’ll take them to keep this streak rolling.

South Holt at Nodaway Valley

South Holt won a 61-42 shootout last year.

Dusty: Nodaway Valley — Just a smidge more fire power at the moment. Rebound win for NV

Trevor: Nodaway Valley — This would have been a top five matchup two weeks ago, but the injury bug had other ideas. I’ll take the Thunder to bounce back.

Derek: Nodaway Valley — Both teams are a bit banged up, but the Thunder rolls.

Ryan: Nodaway Valley — South Holt is going to be a hard team to peg until we know if/when Cole Medsker is coming back. I think Nodaway Valley responds from their first loss of the season with a big win.

Lourdes Central Catholic at Johnson County Central

Lourdes was a 44-28 victor in 2023.

Dusty: Lourdes Central Catholic — Blow out win last week. Lourdes keeps the ball rolling on a strong year.

Trevor: Lourdes Central Catholic — Schnitzel was my favorite meal when I went to Germany. Lourdes has players with the last names Schnitzer. That reminds me of schnitzel. And for that reason, I’ll take Lourdes.

Derek: Lourdes Central Catholic — The Knights were super impressive in knocking off Weeping Water last week. They keep it going.

Ryan: Lourdes Central Catholic — Lourdes dismantling previously unbeaten Weeping Water this last week was up their on the impressing me scale. I think they get it done again this week.

Syracuse at Falls City

Last year’s game was a 48-26 Syracuse win.

Dusty: Falls City — Big loss last week, but they rebound and get back to their winning ways.

Trevor: Syracuse — I don’t have really explanation for this, but I’ve heard it’s tough to prepare for Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense.

Derek: Syracuse — Da Cuse is in the house. Oh my God!

Ryan: Syracuse — After starting 1-3, the Rockets have rattled off two-straight to start district play. I think they keep it rolling with their rushing attack.

GTRA at Bishop Garrigan (Garrigan by 0.62)

Garrigan won 48-20 last year.

Dusty: Bishop Garrigan — Give me the champs until they go down….unless GTRA wants to be Buster Douglas…Let’s get Matheny up to Algona twice in a year to cover this great game!

Trevor: Bishop Garrigan — Never sleep on Garrigan. Trust me. I learned this the hard way when I didn’t rank them all year & then they won a state title. I’m big fan of Marty Wadle and the Golden Bears. I think the champs take care of business tonight.

Derek: Bishop Garrigan — Buckets.

Ryan: Bishop Garrigan — Garrigan will have their work cut out for them slowing down GTRA’s lethal combo of Kasey Hough and Jaxson Schnell, but I think Marty Wadle and company are up to the task.