Sorry, no talking this week folks. As a first-year season ticket holder for Nashville SC, my voice was shot Saturday night when Nashville scored two stoppage time goals to beat Columbus 3-2 and stay in first place in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Eastern Conference standings.

“Well, you have one day to get that voice back before we record ‘Mid-Week Huddle’” Union City Messenger Sports Reporter Gabriel Jackson said. “Although, it is much quieter in the office right now…”

“Don’t worry, I will be back and ready to dominate with my picks this week,” I said with a whisper.

“Don’t remind me about those,” Jackson replied.

I laughed as I popped a throat lozenge to try and get ready for this week’s ‘Mid-Week Huddle”.

But I did get the best of Jackson this week as I jumped out to a five-game lead after one week of picks.

I went 14-2 (.875) with my Week 1 picks, and I went 6-0 in picking the games involving Obion County and Weakley County teams. Jackson went 9-7 (.563) with a 2-4 mark in our two counties.

We both missed McNairy Central’s win over Fayette Academy, and my other miss was Dyer County’s win over Dyersburg. Jackson’s other misses were Greenfield over Perry County, Fulton County (Ky.) over Gleason, TCA over Dresden, Jackson Christian over Union City, Gibson County over West Carroll and Henry County over Haywood.

Now Jackson is hoping to change his future with the Week 2 picks:

McKenzie (0-1) at Dresden (0-1)

No rest for the Lions as they go from playing a Division II-A semifinalist from last year to playing the Class 1A state runner-up. McKenzie is coming off a loss in Week 1, so they are going to be extra motivated.

Odom’s Pick: McKenzie 42, Dresden 14

Jackson’s Pick: Dresden 28, McKenzie 21

Gleason (0-1) at Bruceton (1-0)

The Bulldogs were shut out last season, and the Tigers were shut out in the first half against Scotts Hill. The team that can get the offense going quicker will win this game.

Odom’s Pick: Bruceton 24, Gleason 12

Jackson’s Pick: Gleason 34, Bruceton 20

Stewart County (0-1) at Greenfield (1-0)

The Yellowjackets get to play the home opener with one win under their belt. Greenfield showed its potential in the second half win over Perry County. They will want to continue that momentum into this week.

Odom’s Pick: Greenfield 32, Stewart County 8

Jackson’s Pick: Greenfield 22, Stewart County 14

Compass Prep (Ariz) at Westview (Sat)

Not much is known about this team out of Arizona. Compass Prep didn’t give up a point last year, but they also had three forfeits. On Saturday, we will see if this team is ready to compete against the Chargers.

Odom’s Pick: Westview 35, Compass 28
Jackson’s Pick: Westview 33, Compass 13

South Fulton (0-0) at Fulton County (Ky.) (1-0)

The Red Devils finally gets their season started after being on a bye week in Week 1. Fulton County got a win over Gleason, but South Fulton should pose better competition.

Odom’s Pick: South Fulton 26, Fulton County 16

Jackson’s Pick: Fulton County 32, South Fulton 26

Union City (0-1) at Dyer County (1-0)

The Golden Tornadoes go from playing a tough Jackson Christian team to a team that got the biggest win in Week 1 as the Choctaws beat county-rival Dyersburg. Union City must be more efficient to have a chance.

Odom’s Pick: Dyer County 38, Union City 24

Jackson’s Pick: Dyer County 30, Union City 14

Gibson County (1-0) at Obion County (1-0)

Could the Rebels start the season 2-0? The Pioneers opened the season with a win over West Carroll and are riding high, but Obion County should showed the team has better skill players.

Odom’s Pick: Obion County 27, Gibson County 16

Jackson’s Pick: Obion County 31, Gibson County 14

Best of the West

Milan (1-0) at South Gibson (0-1)

Odom’s Pick: Milan

Jackson’s Pick: Milan

Humboldt (1-0) at Peabody (1-0)

Odom’s Pick: Humboldt

Jackson’s Pick: Humboldt

Haywood (0-1) at Covington (1-0)

Odom’s Pick: Covington

Jackson’s Pick: Haywood

Rossville Christian (1-1) at Fayette Academy (0-1)

Odom’s Pick: Fayette Academy

Jackson’s Pick: Fayette Academy

Fayette-Ware (0-1) at West Carroll (0-1)

Odom’s Pick: Fayette-Ware

Jackson’s Pick: Fayette-Ware

Jackson Christian (1-0) at DCA (1-0)

Odom’s Pick: Jackson Christian

Jackson’s Pick: Jackson Christian

USJ (1-0) at ECS (0-1)

Odom’s Pick: USJ

Jackson’s Pick: ECS

Lexington (1-0) at Riverside (1-0)

Odom’s Pick: Lexington

Jackson’s Pick: Riverside

Michael Odom is the sports editor for the Mirror-Exchange, Weakley County Press, Brownsville States-Graphic and Fayette Falcon. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @GCSportsWriter. Reach him by email at michaelodom@milanmirrorexchange.com.