High school football Week 1 picks: Does Butler win opener? Moniteau or Karns City?
It’s Week 1 of the PIAA high school football season. That can only mean one thing (or many things): it’s time for the Butler Eagle sports staff and Scoop to predict who will win each game this season.
The first week of the 2024 season brings a unique twist, as the annual Moniteau-Karns City rivalry game takes center stage in August to open the season rather than its customary October slot.
This year, the Eagle sports staff of editor Jake Adams, reporters Derek Pyda and Brendan Howe, and Scoop will make their picks for each Butler County game each week. You can hear us break down these games each week, as well, on the new Alter Eagle’s “Eye On Sports” podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.
The format of this will be the following: the Eagle staff will select five games each week to break down with some detail and predict a winner and score. The staff will predict winners and scores from the remaining games each week.
Everyone starts the season undefeated. Let’s see who stays that way the longest.
Shaler at Butler, 7
Adams — Shaler lost a lot on both sides of the ball and has a new QB to break in. Butler, with question marks of its own, at least has a QB it knows. Butler 27, Shaler 23
Pyda — The Titans bring back just two starters on offense and four on defense. It may take Shaler a while to find its stride. Butler 21, Shaler 17
Howe — The Golden Tornado will have the benefit of an excited home crowd to boost a new-look crew. Butler 24, Shaler 22
Scoop — With the Golden Tornado playing as an independent this season, they are treating every game as a playoff contest. That mentality will prevail over a Shaler team with many holes to fill. Butler 16, Shaler 10
Moniteau at Karns City, 7
Adams — The Gremlins have won six straight by blowout in this series. They have the stronger run game and two defensive ends who can wreck a game. Karns City 45, Moniteau 14
Pyda — The Warriors have a number of question marks, especially on offense. They may find answers as the season plays out, but this week will be a grind. Karns City 28, Moniteau 16
Howe — The Gremlins will grind their visiting arch rival down with handoff after handoff. It’s hard to mess up run plays. Karns City 31, Moniteau 14
Scoop — Moniteau has not won a season opener since 2018. The Warriors will come painfully close to ending that streak. Karns City 23, Moniteau 18
Kiski Area at Knoch, 7
Adams — Not sure how many points to expect Knoch to score in this one with a pretty deep, but restructured, offense. Kiski has a lot of question marks to start. Knoch 37, Kiski Area 20
Pyda — The Knights may have to iron out some wrinkles on offense, but they’ll be too much for the visiting Cavaliers. Knoch 30, Kiski Area 22
Howe — Knoch coach Tim Burchett’s goal is for his offense to climb over 30 points per game. The Knights will make strides toward that objective here. Knoch 31, Kiski Area 17
Scoop — The Knights moved up to Class 4A this year and will kick off the season with a win over the Class 5A Cavaliers. Knoch 27, Kiski Area 12
Bethel Park at Seneca Valley, 7
Adams — I think better defenses will keep this lower scoring than the past few meetings. BP seems to have more returning talent on both sides and snaps a four-game series skid. Bethel Park 28, Seneca Valley 21
Pyda — Bethel Park’s standout wide receiver Ryan Petras is out with an injury. SV’s offense has a lot of new faces, but will score enough. Seneca Valley 20, Bethel Park 13
Howe — Seneca Valley is breaking in a new quarterback It’ll take a game or two for the offense to get up to speed. Bethel Park 21, Seneca Valley 19
Scoop — SV has a lot of offensive players moving into new roles. It could take a while for them to get comfortable. Bethel Park 21, Seneca Valley 15
Freeport at Indiana, 7
Adams — Indiana looks like Freeport a year ago, very young, probably raw, going to take some lumps. The Yellowjackets are on the other side of that, they hope. Freeport 28, Indiana 13
Pyda — Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons, but the Yellowjackets have a rising star in quarterback Drew Ross. Freeport 27, Indiana 7
Howe — Freeport learned a lot of lessons last fall. The Yellowjackets make good use of them in the opener. Freeport 28, Indiana 20
Scoop — I have a lot more confidence in Freeport’s offense than that of Indiana. Freeport 26, Indiana 8
Mars at Boone, 7
Adams — Boone 34, Mars 21
Pyda — Boone 30, Mars 21
Howe — Mars 35, Boone 13
Scoop — Boone 25, Mars 20
North Catholic at Seton-LaSalle, 7
Adams — North Catholic 28, Seton-LaSalle 20
Pyda — Seton-LaSalle 24, North Catholic 10
Howe — North Catholic 24, Seton-LaSalle 17
Scoop — North Catholic 17, Seton-LaSalle 14
Slippery Rock at Fairview, 7
Adams — Fairview 23, Slippery Rock 14
Pyda — Fairview 30, Slippery Rock 10
Howe — Fairview 14, Slippery Rock 7
Scoop — Fairview 23, Slippery Rock 9
Union/A-C Valley at Redbank Valley, 7
Adams — Redbank Valley 34, Union/A-C Valley 28
Pyda — Redbank Valley 28, Union/A-C Valley 24
Howe — Redbank Valley 42, Union/A-C Valley 17
Scoop — Redbank Valley 22, Union/A-C Valley 21
Frazier at Summit Academy, 12:30
Adams — Frazier 35, Summit Academy 7
Pyda — Frazier 18, Summit Academy 16
Howe — Summit Academy 21, Frazier 20
Scoop — Frazier 28, Summit Academy 18
