Bayside South football predictions: Will Decatur win battle of unbeatens?

There are only three more weeks of football games left in the Bayside Conference before the MPSSAA playoffs start, and the stakes for this week are high as undefeated records, city rivalries and playoff standings are on the line for Bayside South teams.

Wi-Hi and Parkside will start things off in a Salisbury City Championship battle, while Washington looks for its first win of the season, Bennett travels to Kent Island and Snow Hill looks to bounce back against Cambridge-South Dorchester. And the biggest game of the week will see Stephen Decatur play in another showdown between two undefeated teams, as it hosts North Caroline Friday night.

Here are previews and predictions for this week's slate of Bayside South football games:

Wicomico (1-5) vs Parkside (2-4)

Oct. 12 | 6 p.m. | Wicomico County Stadium

NEW LEADERSHIP: Snow Hill football squad surging with 'great leaders' under new head coach Hammond

VOTE FOR THE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Soccer and Field Hockey stars highlight this week's Player of the Week nominees.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Big Bayside South fall sports matchups to watch for with a month left in the regular season

The second installment in this year's edition of Salisbury's football City Championship will take place Thursday night, with Parkside and Wicomico facing off.

Parkside is coming off its second win of the season, bouncing back from a loss to Bennett to beat Easton 14-9 at home Friday night. Wi-Hi, on the other hand, lost another to Cambridge-South Dorchester on the road last week, 28-14. Wi-Hi is currently on a four-game losing streak and will look to snap it Thursday night against the Rams.

Parkside continues to get solid production from playmakers like Nasir Holden, Cameron Johnson, Kerontez Bratten, Elijah Donaldson and others this season, as they carry the way for the offense on the ground and in the air. This has all the makings of a tough, low-score game, but Parkside has been more capable of finding the end zone and putting together some explosive plays offensively this year, and that will be the difference as the Rams defeat Wi-Hi on Thursday night.

Pick: Parkside

North Caroline (6-0) at Stephen Decatur (6-0)

Oct. 13 | 6 p.m. | Stephen Decatur High School

In back-to-back weeks in the Bayside Conference, Stephen Decatur will be at the center of the week's biggest game as the undefeated Seahawks look to follow up last week's massive road win over Kent Island with another win over an undefeated North Caroline team.

The Seahawks handed Kent Island its first loss of the season last year in convincing fashion, with their trio of senior stars Brycen Coleman, Gavin Solito and Careen Bolden leading the way. The Seahawks only put up 33 points against the Kent Island defense, and if 33 points is considered a "slow" night for an offense, then that tells you just how good this team has been this year.

Decatur will have to work hard to keep North Caroline quarterback Nasai Bell and receiver Zymear Smith in check if it wants to win this game. While the offensive output tends to get a lot of attention for the Seahawks, their defense has been just as impressive this year in shutting down opposing offenses. This Decatur team looks like one that is on a mission and knows how to take care of business on the field each week. Decatur grabs the home win and moves to 7-0 on the year.

Pick: Stephen Decatur

Cambridge-South Dorchester (4-2) at Snow Hill (4-2)

Oct. 13 | 6 p.m. | Snow Hill High School

Snow Hill lost a tough one to Colonel Richardson last week, falling 55-28 on the road to the Colonels to drop their record to 4-2. The Eagles will be back in action at home, as they have another big 1A Bayside game on the docket, this time against Cambridge-South Dorchester.

Cambridge has picked up some very impressive wins this year, defeating Parkside in the final minutes on the road earlier this year, and beating Wi-Hi 28-14 at home last week. This will be another important game for playoff seeding in the 1A East Region, as both teams have lost to Colonel and will try to climb past each other in the standings. Snow Hill has the offensive capabilities but will have to sharpen things up on defense if it wants to pull this one out. Cambridge-South Dorchester will leave Snow Hill with a win and move to 5-2.

Pick: Cambridge-South Dorchester

More: Snow Hill football squad surging with 'great leaders' under new head coach Hammond

More: Stephen Decatur football beats Kent Island in battle of Bayside undefeated teams

Kent County (0-6) at Washington (0-5)

Oct. 13 | 6 p.m. | Washington High School

Two teams that have struggled to grab their first win of the season will face each other in Princess Anne this Friday, as the Washington Jaguars host Kent County.

Washington lost to Arcadia last week, but managed to get on the scoreboard for the first time this season, courtesy of a touchdown pass from quarterback Braden Corbin to Develle Morgan. The Arcadia loss was Washington's closest game all year, and it'll be interesting to see if they can keep some momentum going into this week.

Kent County is also winless and has similarly been on the wrong end of a lot of blowouts this season. It's tough to pick a game like this, but Kent County has shown itself to be slightly more capable of scoring points, so the Trojans get the win on the road Friday night.

Pick: Kent County

James M. Bennett (2-4) at Kent Island (5-1)

Oct. 14 | 1 p.m.

After its thrilling last-second victory over Parkside two weeks ago, James M. Bennett had to travel to face North Caroline last week, and hung around in that game for a little bit before ultimately falling 57-20. The Clippers will look to rebound this week, but they'll have to do so against another one of the Bayside's best teams, Kent Island, in another tough road matchup.

The Clippers have shown great toughness throughout this year, pulling out those two wins and remaining competitive for long stretches in their losses against teams that were more talented. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Clippers keep the game closer than expected in the first half much like they did when they faced Decatur and North Caroline. But Kent Island will be too much for Bennett, as the Buccaneers grab the home win.

Pick: Kent Island

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Bayside South football picks: Decatur North Caroline Wi-Hi Parkside