This week, the contest gets a little tougher.

Gone are the college games I had to search the internet for to make 18 games. You know how it goes, a lot of these colleges like to play patsies in the first couple weeks to beef up their record. You have three or four really good games on national TV(ie Tech-WVU, FSU-Bama, UT-Georgia Tech), but then you often have a lot of 30+ point spreads.

Those days are over. The National Football League begins tonight.

The Patriots and Chiefs will kick off the NFL season tonight, and I can hardly wait. Of course we won’t have that game on the contest because then everyone will get it right, much like last week when the Brookville-PH and Pulaski-Fleming games were moved to Thursday to duck the storm, even though ducks don’t mind the storm. The paper was already printed at that point so the folks who follow high school football closely got a couple freebies, and yes there were a few Patrick Henry picks crossed out and replaced by “Brookville.”

This week there are no “gimmes,” as we have six high school games, six college games and six opening weekend pro games. In fact, the Salem game isn’t even a “gimme” this week as the Spartans have their toughest game of the regular season with Dinwiddie coming to town. Let’s make that game the “One for the Road” contest right now. Put your prediction in the space provided.

Last week’s winner was Lauren Cole, who missed three and beat out several others on the high point total. She hit 62 right on the nose, and that was how many Pulaski County put on Fleming last week. She gets our cornucopia of wonderful prizes.

Last week’s “One for the Road” question was the final score of the Tech-West Virginia game. The final was 31-24 in the Hokies’ favor and Tim Burford hit that right on the nose, so he gets the atlas from Hettie Barnes of State Farm Insurance.

Enjoy the games this weekend. Isn’t football great?       –Brian Hoffman