The state high school playoffs are coming up fast.

We’re now into the second week of October, with just three more weeks of regular season games following Friday night’s action.

Several of our area teams are in the thick of the playoff hunt, while others are on the outside looking in. It’s the time of year for some intense games, and there’s potential for a few on this week’s schedule.

But before we tackle those, yours truly went 6-1 picking last week to improve to 31-9 overall this season. It isn’t an 80- or 90-percent clip, but picking three out of every four games correctly isn’t too shabby, especially considering where I was at the beginning of the season.

Let’s see ‘What In The World Is Shannon Fagan Thinking?’ for this week.

Pisgah (4-2, 3-0) at Cedar Bluff (2-5, 1-3)

Following losses at Fyffe and at Plainview, the Eagles are soaring. Meanwhile the Tigers have hit a four-game losing skid. I’m afraid it will be five following Friday night.

The pick: Pisgah.

Sylvania (1-5, 1-3) at Collinsville (4-2, 2-2)

Sylvania has won the last seven meetings with the Panthers, including last year’s game 41-7. I look for the Panthers to rebound from their loss last week to Geraldine, end their losing streak to the Rams, and stay in the thick of the Class 3A, Region 8 playoff race.

The pick: Collinsville.

Piedmont (6-0, 4-0) at J.B. Pennington (5-2, 3-2)

The Bulldogs are 8-0 lifetime against J.B. Pennington, including last year’s 41-21 decision. They’ll be 9-0 following Friday night and a step closer to winning their second straight region championship and third in the past four years.

The pick: Piedmont.

Hokes Bluff (4-2, 2-2) at Cherokee County (5-2, 3-1)

The Warriors’ 20-game region winning streak was snapped Friday at Anniston, and now they face a Hokes Bluff team that’s given them a tough time of late.

Cherokee County won last year’s game 35-21, but the Eagles have won three of the last four meetings

I look for the Warriors to rebound from last week’s loss behind the running of Keyshawn Woods to start a new region winning streak.

The pick: Cherokee County.

Gaylesville (3-3, 1-2) at Spring Garden (4-3, 2-2)

How crucial of a battle is this week’s Foothills Tractor Game of the Week?

As of right now, Spring Garden is tied with Valley Head in the Class 1A, Region 8 standings, but the Panthers would be the three seed in the playoffs by virtue of their head-to-head win against the Tigers.

Meanwhile, Gaylesville is currently on the outside looking in. The Trojans are tied for fifth place with Ragland, but a win over the Panthers would put them firmly in the playoff mix, with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Spring Garden.

I expect this game to be the grind-it-out type like we saw last season. The Panthers pulled away for a 27-12 victory in that one, and I think they’ll have a similar result on Friday.

The pick: Spring Garden.