WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS: How one football player affected a young fan, and this week's picks

Instead of a random “Fave Five” ranking, I want to share an uplifting story involving a local athlete — one I found myself relating to.

I’ll let Mandy Montgomery, mother of Tripp Montgomery, tell the story about how Graham sophomore Tripp Mahaney impacted her son.

Here are my own words of encouragement for little Tripp.

My middle name is Burrell. Some 30 years ago, I was already getting bullied regularly, then someone found out my middle name.

It was not a fun time in my life, and I told my dad how much I hated the name.

I’ve looked back on that moment more times than I can count, ashamed of how I let these people affect me.

I share my middle name with my grandad. His name was Milton “Pete” Burrell Hull, and he is one of my heroes.

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My grandad shaped my love for sports more than anyone else. But that’s a story for another day.

Kids can be cruel. Nearly all of us are guilty of making someone else feel bad for one reason or another, but I find teasing someone for their name to be particularly shameful.

Tripp is a cool name.

Burrell isn’t nearly as cool, but it’s a name I’m proud to carry.

Tripp, your parents took pride in naming you, and just from reading this one Facebook post, they didn’t do so carelessly.

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Don’t allow people who don’t truly matter in your life dictate your feelings. It’s easier said than done, especially for a kid.

Thank God for a teenager like Tripp Mahaney. You got an opportunity to impact a kid in need of a boost in confidence, and it sounds like you knocked it out of the park.

We need more Tripps in the world.

On to the picks…

I fell another game behind Cory Hogue.

And for this shortcoming, and all others in my life, I blame Zach Duncan.

(On a side note, since I just wrote about bullying, this is a friendly joke. One I’ll probably continue to use throughout the season.)

You can find picks from the entire “expert panel” below, along with our college football and NFL picks against the spread at the bottom of this story. Don’t use our picks for gambling purposes, although I have been on a bit of a heater with college football the last two weeks.

WFISD

Graham 42, WFHS 23 – The Coyotes got a nice win against Iowa Park last week, pulling away in the second half. Graham didn’t have to pull away late for IP. The Steers dominated them from the start. Old High can push for a District 4-4A Division I title, but it likely enters district play with a 1-5 record. Graham is on another level right now.

Decatur 33, Hirschi 29 – The Eagles get the edge even though they should be without star running back Nate Palmer in the first half. Palmer was ejected last week after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Decatur has been on the wrong end of three close games this season, losing two by a single point. Hirschi had two weeks to prepare, but one half of Palmer may be just enough to give Decatur a close win this time around.

CLASS 4A

Alvarado 46, Burkburnett 18 – Alvarado is an impressive 4-1 with the one loss coming to Rusk. The Indians are emerging as a Region II-4A Division I threat, ready to contend in a very tough district that includes Stephenville, China Spring and Waco La Vega.

CLASS 3A

Holliday 26, Snyder 13 – Holliday’s dominant defensive performances continue. Snyder is 3-2 but doesn’t have a win against a quality opponent. And that includes last week’s 56-13 victory against my alma mater, Big Spring. The Tigers ruined Big Spring’s homecoming. They won’t be able to do the same against Holliday.

CLASS 2A

Stamford 23, Olney 12 – Olney should give Stamford its first real challenge of the season, but can the Cubs score enough to win? That’s where I lack faith in the Cubs.

Seymour 40, Archer City 14 – Seymour ends a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats, and the Panthers’ offense keeps rolling. The Wildcats don’t have the firepower to slow Seymour down this year.

Electra 49, Munday 6 – The Tigers can erase the memory of last week’s disappointing performance against Petrolia by cruising to a win against Munday.

Petrolia 13, Haskell 12 – These two head coaches know each other well, considering Haskell’s Mitch McLemore hired Byron West as his defensive coordinator while at Petrolia. There’s something about the fight in these Pirates. And Jordan DeMoss is separating himself as one of the best players in the district.

Windthorst 24, Bremond 23 – This is the hardest game to pick for Week 6. For starters, it’s hard for me to gauge Bremond when I don’t know much about their opponents. Windthorst is coming off its best game of the season, but the scoring in this one should remain moderate. Bremond’s players who took part in this game last season are playing different positions. And the Tigers appear to be younger than Windthorst at several spots.

SIX-MAN

Knox City 45, Saint Jo 0 – No offense to Saint Jo, but the Panthers may be the easiest opponent Knox City has played so far this season.

Northside 46, Forestburg 34 – Based on opponent records, Forestburg has played a tougher schedule, but three of the Longhorns’ opponents have been private schools. Outside of Wichita Christian, which beat Forestburg, 46-22, it’s difficult to know how good those programs actually are. This pushes me to favor Northside.

Hermleigh 46, Throckmorton 42 – Another tough game for Throck. No one can fault the Greyhounds for their schedule. They can win this game but may end up being the best 1-4 team in Class A Division II.

Crowell 66, Turkey Valley 32 – Ever since scoring 74 points in its opener against Motley County, Valley has struggled to light up the scoreboard. That tells me something is missing from that team. Only Knox City has shut down Crowell, and there’s no shame in that.

Benjamin 45, Loraine 0 – This was once a highly-anticipated rematch of last year’s Class A Division II state title game. But Loraine is 0-5 with a few lopsided losses. The Bulldogs aren’t a threat to Benjamin this year.

Chillicothe 52, Paint Creek 36 – Chillicothe has played a tougher schedule, which is why I’m picking the Eagles in a minor upset.

Wichita Christian 50, Harrold 48 – This is a tough game to predict in a battle of surprising unbeatens, but WCS is the toughest test to date for Harrold.

Newcastle 64, Aspermont 18 – It may take more than two quarters but Newcastle gets its fifth win by the mercy rule.

Gold-Burg 56, Motley County 42 – Gold-Burg passed a big test by beating Montague County rival Saint Jo last week. Motley County projects similarly to Saint Jo.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Week 6 Wichita Falls area high school football predictions