Vic vs. Odom: High School Football Pick’em Week 6

By Michael Odom | September 26, 2024 |

Peabody played South Gibson during the high school football jamboree week leading up to Week 1.

“Why do you have an abacus?” Victor Parkins said with a laugh.

“I am trying to figure out how Shane Jacobs got to 100 wins in less than 10 seasons,” I replied.

Peabody football coach Shane Jacobs picked up win No. 100 on Friday night as the Golden Tide beat Gibson County 58-7.

“Three straight state championships goes a long way to making that happen,” Parkins said.

“I think his wife Merideth is the real coach out there,” I said with a laugh. “She won’t let anything go awry.”

“Or maybe there is a good luck charm for Jacobs like having one of the top defensive coordinators in West Tennessee in Tab Vowell or the fact he has allowed his son Dean to be a ball boy through the years,” I said.

Congrats Jacobs for what he has accomplished over the last 10 years with a 44-game winning streak, seven quarterfinal appearances and five semifinal appearances.

“But one thing is for sure, he knows how to win more than you,” Parkins laughed.

Yea, I again could not get any games back against Parkins in our football pick’em contest. We both went 12-3 and split the two games we differed on. I correctly picked Westview over Dyer County, while he picked Greenfield over Gleason.

We both missed Jackson Central-Merry beating Milan and Halls beating Lake County.

So overall, Parkins is 63-12 (.840 winning percentage), while I am now 58-17 (.773), so Parkins keeps his five-game lead.

Week 6 is the midpoint of the regular season, so now might be the time to make my move.

Peabody (2-3) at MASE (3-1) (Thurs.)

This game will be played at Melrose, and this has become a rivalry game with the two recently meeting in the playoffs. Shane Jacobs will need a strong game plan to get win No. 101.

Odom’s Pick: MASE 28, Peabody 21

Vic’s Pick: Peabody 21, MASE 20

Milan (4-1, 2-1 6-2A) at Huntingdon (3-1, 2-0) (Thurs.)

The Bulldogs gave up 47 points to Jackson Central-Merry, who hadn’t scored that many since beating Liberty in Week 1. Milan knows what has to be fixed, but can they do it before Friday?

Odom’s Pick: Huntingdon 35, Milan 26

Vic’s Pick: Milan 32, Huntingdon 28

South Gibson (3-2, 1-0 6-4A) at Chester County (2-3, 1-0) (Thurs)

Ben Johnson is not going to take moral victories from Friday’s overtime loss to USJ, but the Hornets’ contained one of the top running backs in the area, Noah Spencer. Keep that up, and South Gibson will be fine in Region 6-4A.

Odom’s Pick: South Gibson 27, Chester County 14

Vic’s Pick: South Gibson 35, Chester County 14

Lake County (2-3, 1-2 7-1A) at Humboldt (2-3, 0-2) (Thurs.)

Both of these teams have suffered two losses in Region 7-1A play. Another and the playoffs are going to be hard to achieve. Humboldt has shown moments of quality play, and the Vikings need to do that consistently to win here.

Odom’s Pick: Lake County 30, Humboldt 18

Vic’s Pick: Lake County 40, Humboldt 20

Camden (2-3, 0-3) at Gibson County (0-5, 0-3) (Thurs.)

This will be Gibson County’s best chance to pick up a Region 6-2A win, but Camden is a little deeper with talent. The Pioneers would have to limit mistakes to have a chance.

Odom’s Pick: Camden 28, Gibson County 13

Vic’s Pick: Camden 35, Gibson County 7