Another week of high school football has passed us by, and tonight will be the fifth playing date in a season that seems like it started yesterday.

    This year will be the last year that all seven teams from Catawba County will be in the same conference, that is, until another statewide realignment comes along and changes everything again. And while no one can seem to find gas for their vehicles, for those of you who have some of the now-precious commodity, there are plenty of games tonight around town that will have you on the edge of your seat.

    This week, I'm taking a different approach in bringing to you, readers of The Observer News Enterprise, a sneak peek into the games and who should — and I use that term loosely — win.

    For the past four weeks, I've given you my thoughts on what to expect when the final horn sounds. To someone who doesn't understand the premise of or what it takes to make those predictions, it would appear that I have no idea what I am talking about. After all, we've had 20 games to choose in the county this season, and I'm dead last in The O-N-E's forecast at an even .500 (10-10).

    But contrary to popular belief, I do know what I am talking about.

    You see, those of us who follow sports, not only as a way to make a living but to also make a livelihood, see numbers, statistics, trends and history when we look at matchups. It's in our blood to notice that St. Stephens hasn't defeated Hickory since 1993, or that Fred T. Foard hasn't won at Maiden since 1982. Those things can't be ignored.

    What's happened this season can't be ignored, either.

    Fred T. Foard, Hibriten and Newton-Conover are all undefeated going into tonight's games, and only two of them have a shot at coming out unbeaten still because the Red Devils visit the Tigers. The Indians are 3-1, including a win last week at Hickory — a win I said wouldn't happen, because their offense was sputtering and simply because it hadn't happened since 1993. Bunker Hill snapped its 22-game winning streak, on the road of all places, and Maiden is 1-3 for the first time since 1985. There's an age-old saying that goes something like this — those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

    Maybe us sportswriters ought to take heed to that saying, instead of assuming it will keep repeating itself. After all, streaks are meant to be broken, just ask Cal Ripken Jr. He couldn't continue to play forever, and once he finally stopped, he owned baseball's consecutive games played streak at 2,632 games. No one thought Lou Gehrig's former record of 2,130 straight games would be broken. No one, that is, but the Iron Man himself.

    Just as Ripken and Gehrig before him, and the Bears' losing streak, among other things high school football, all things must come to an end. And it's for this reason that I am letting the other three involved in The O-N-E's forecast tell you who is going to win tonight and why. Thursday night was my last night at The O-N-E, and although I still had to write a column predicting the winners, I wanted to go out on a high note — an even .500.

    Let the games begin.

    NEWTON-CONOVER at FRED T. FOARD: Publisher Michael Williard, Outlook Editor Barbara Burns and Editor Patrick Jean are all in agreement that the Red Devils will win this game for the eighth time in nine tries (there's that history thing again).

    These teams are both undefeated, and are demolishing their opponents as a wrecking ball would a building. Both have powerful running games, and both sport two of the best defenses in the league. But there are two things separating them: strength of schedule and a state ranking.

    All three forecasters know that Fred T. Foard's road to perfection has been a lot smoother than Newton-Conover's. With a combined 6-11 record, the Tigers' opponents have been mere pushovers. Still, to their credit, they've showed those pushovers the door rather easily, winning by an average of 33.25 points. The Red Devils' opponents are a combined 10-7, including a team that advanced to the state 2A semifinals last season and is currently 4-1 in East Lincoln — a 37-10 win for Newton-Conover in Week 1.

    Then there's this state ranking thing. While the Red Devils bolster a No. 3 ranking in The Associated Press' state 2A poll, the Tigers didn't crack the "Others receiving votes" category until this week with four votes total.

    Newton-Conover gets The O-N-E's three votes on who will win this game.

    HICKORY at MAIDEN: Once again, all three are saying the Red Tornadoes will win this one (where's the fun in that?). Why?

    Because records don't lie.

    Hickory (2-2, 1-1) has a better record than Maiden (1-3, 0-2), and will probably be fired up from losing to St. Stephens for the first time since some of its players' birth year (1993). Plus, all three have noticed that this year's version of the Blue Devils looks nothing like the Blue Devils of old, who used the run-it-down-your-throat-until-you-give-up approach. Not anymore.

    Willard might, but Burns and Jean have no clue that this is just the second time Hickory has visited Maiden, so that's not a factor in their decision. But incase any of you were wondering, the last time the Red Tornadoes visited a venue they had only once played before? Two weeks ago, in a 27-20 win at Bandys. Maybe that's some history that is worth repeating.

    At any rate, these three all repeated that Hickory wins.

    HIBRITEN at ST. STEPHENS: For once, you'd think these people would be torn on a game that, I think, could go either way. Nope, not going to happen.

    They all say the home team.

    Which blows my mind, because traditionally, these three base their picks on a) records, and b) who's hot and who's not. Hibriten is the only team in this situation that fits that bill, and nobody picked the Panthers to win.

    Wow.

    When Willard gave me his picks, he noted that "St. keeps rolling" for this game. Apparently, he means that the emotion coming off last week's win at Hickory will carry over to tonight, or he could mean the Indians have recovered from the buzz saw they ran into against Newton-Conover. Statistically, the Panthers are better than the Indians in every offensive category — they pass better and they run better. But the Indians are better defensively, and maybe that's where the forecasters are basing their pick.

    At any rate, each of the three wise ones, who all sport records well above .500, are predicting an upset: St. Stephens wins.

    BUNKER HILL at PATTON: Finally, the three, whom all make their picks separate from each other, don't all pick the same team.

    Burns and Willard are going with Patton, but Jean is picking the Bears to start a new streak — a winning one.

    "It's the only way I can catch up," Jean said, meaning he's really doing it hoping that he can make up some ground.

    From what I've seen, Patton (2-2, 1-1) is better in the running game, and Bunker Hill (1-3, 1-1) is one of the worst at defending it. But what do I know?

    Jean thinks last week's win was a turning point in the Bears' season. Burns and Willard are going with the fact that the Panthers have one more win than Bunker Hill, plus it's in Morganton. But Jean knows that didn't stop the Bears from winning last week.

    Finally an argument: Burns and Willard say Patton, Jean says Bunker Hill.

    WEST CALDWELL at BANDYS: Can someone please pick an upset that could actually be called an upset?

    Being cautious, all three are taking Bandys. But who can blame them? While the Trojans (1-3, 0-2) may be on a three-game slide and have the worst defense in the league, they're hosting the league's worst offensive team in the Warriors (0-4, 0-2).

    Bandys has no trouble scoring, and these three know that. But they also know that West Caldwell is a perennially bad football team, and that the Trojans' "down" year this year is nothing more than a by-product of what happens when good players graduate.

    Trojans head coach Randy Lowman said before the season started that "we could be 0-4, and still be a pretty good football team." Well coach, you're 1-3, and apparently, these three still have faith in what the Trojans can do.

    And all three said Bandys.