Two weeks ago, a couple of black cats must have crossed my path in a Halloween edition of picking area high school football games. The tricks were on me as I went a mere 3-2 for the week.

I regained a little of my picking mojo last week by going 4-1 in the first round of the state playoffs, but now I’ve got to deal with Friday the 13th.

The good news is there are only three games to pick. The bad news is they’re all quality matchups that in my opinion could go either way.

Will road teams Spring Garden, Collinsville and Cherokee County come home happy? Or will the road, the opponents and Friday the 13th all be too much to overcome?
Here’s ‘What in the World Is Shannon Fagan Thinking?’ for the second week of the state football playoffs.

Spring Garden (6-5) at Winterboro (11-0)

The one game I missed on last week was Spring Garden and South Lamar. And Panther head coach Barrett Ragsdale kidded me about it too.

I felt the Panthers might’ve been coming in a bit beat up following their losses at Woodville and to Ranburne, but they had a great game plan directed by field general Brady Ruark.

Ruark ran for 180 yards on 23 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. He also returned a punt 56 yards in the second quarter which led to a Panther touchdown, and guided the Panthers on a 17-play, 92-yard drive, which was capped off by his 9-yard touchdown run that put Spring Garden up two scores early in the fourth quarter of a 20-15 victory.

This week the Panthers take a trip down to Talladega County to take on third-ranked and undefeated Winterboro.

The Panthers have had a lot of success against the Bulldogs. They’re 4-0 in their history against them, including a 15-6 victory in their last meeting back in 2023.

I feel like it’s going to take a similar low-scoring game in order for the Panthers to have a chance. Winterboro’s offense has is averaging almost 42 points per game, and they’re coming off a 34-12 victory over Red Bay.

Me picking against Spring Garden worked well for the Panthers last week. Let’s see if they can prove me wrong again in this Friday’s Foothills Tractor Game of the Week.

The pick: Winterboro.

Collinsville (9-2) at Piedmont (10-1)

Plenty of offense in this one, led by two of the state’s best quarterbacks in Class 2A in Collinsville senior Mason McAteer and Piedmont junior Cole Austin.

McAteer has thrown for 2,375 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. Austin has thrown for 1,797 yards and 19 TDs.

Both signal callers are surrounded by plenty of weapons too, so both defenses will have to be on their toes.

These two teams met two years ago in the first round of the state playoffs. The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for a 46-28 victory.

I kind of see the same thing happening here, with the same result.

The pick: Piedmont.

Cherokee County (8-3) at Leeds (9-1)

The Warriors can ill afford to have a start like last week. They spotted Shades Valley a touchdown lead in the second quarter before rallying for a 19-7 victory.

Cherokee County has to set the tone early against Leeds. The fourth-ranked Green Wave has won nine in a row since a season-opening14-13 home loss to St. Clair County, including last week’s 45-7 washout of Brooks.

In that game, Jacarrious Davis ran for 82 yards on 11 carries and scored three touchdowns. Brennen Archer had 116 yards on 14 totes with a TD. Bennett Schorfhaar completed 11-of-15 pass attempts for 120 yards and a touchdown.

The Warriors have the potential to match up well against Leeds with the talent they have, including quarterback Tatum Perry, but I’m afraid their season will come to an end on Friday.

The pick: Leeds.