Pinellas County pigskin predictions, Week 1

All games at 7:30 p.m. Friday unless noted

St. Petersburg at East Lake
On the line: A close game. The last two in this series have been decided by a special teams play in the final minutes.
Who’s hot: St. Petersburg receiver Marquel Davis had three catches for 116 yards and a touchdown against Wiregrass Ranch. …East Lake receiver Artavis Scott scored on a 90-yard kickoff return against Land O’Lakes.
Who’s hurt: St. Petersburg DL Emmanuel Watkins (knee) is out.
Bryan Burns’ pick: St. Petersburg 28-17. Eagles slow down but can’t stop St. Pete’s running game.
Bob Putnam’s pick: St. Petersburg 14-10. The Green Devils’ offensive line is the difference.

Boca Ciega at Countryside
On the line: Points. There should be lots between two high-scoring offenses.
Who’s hot: Boca Ciega QB Shaquille Bradford threw for three touchdowns in the spring. …Countryside RB Terry Johnson ran 35 yards for a score against Jesuit.
Burns: Boca Ciega 30-24. Bradford throws a late TD pass to win it for the Pirates.
Putnam: Countryside 31-28. The Cougars come up with more special teams plays.

Gibbs at Lakewood
On the line: Knocking off the rust. Gibbs didn’t get a preseason game after matchup with Sarasota Booker was rained out. Lakewood failed to score a point offensively in narrow win over King.
Who’s hot: Lakewood WR Teddy West provided the Spartans with its only touchdown after returning opening kickoff 89 yards against King. …Gibbs WR Gary Simon had a touchdown and two receptions totaling 30 yards or more in a spring victory over East Lake.
Who’s hurt: Lakewood WR Teddy West (knee) is probable.
Burns: Lakewood 21-10. Gibbs may still be a year away from being really good.
Putnam: Lakewood 12-7. The Spartans have to rely on their defense to pull through.

Tarpon Springs at Palm Harbor University
On the line: Neighborhood pride. Tarpon’s rivalry with East Lake garners the most attention, but Hurricanes are looking to get into the North Pinellas mix with first victory over Spongers since 2006.
Who’s hot: Tarpon WR Runaldo Wright caught TD passes of 43 and 37 yards in the first half against Gulf. …PHU QB Billy Pavlock completed just two passes against CCC last week but wasn’t helped by numerous drops.
Burns: Tarpon Springs 28-3. Hurricanes were anemic on offense in preseason loss to CCC.
Putnam: Tarpon Springs 21-7. The Spongers give coach Atif Austin a win in his debut.

Largo at Dunedin
On the line: A fresh start. The Packers have a lot of new faces on the field. The Falcons have a new coach in Jack Benson.
Who’s hot: Largo QB Juwan Brown was 10-of-12 for 82 yards against Clearwater. …Dunedin RB Jezreel Saunders scored on a 24-yard run against Dixie Hollins.
Burns: Largo 41-17. Falcons will be better this year, but not against Largo.
Putnam: Largo 27-14. Though young, the Packers have enough talent to stay on top.

Pinellas Park at Osceola
On the line: Pride. Warriors looking to bounce back after winning just three games a year ago.
Who’s hot: The Patriots defense held Central to seven points last week. …Osceola RB Marcus Sherrod scored two TDs in a narrow preseason win.
Burns: 17-16. Late field goal lifts the Patriots to victory.
Putnam: Pinellas Park 21-14. Kenny Crawford keeps the momentum going with another season-opening win.

Clearwater Central Catholic at Wesley Chapel
On the line: Progress. A solid win over Palm Harbor University in the preseason showed the continued improvement of the Marauders under coach John Davis.
Who’s hot: CCC RB Justin Goodloe carried 16 times for 84 yards and a score against PHU last week.
Burns: CCC 35-24. QB Nick Newton lives up to the hype by throwing for over 200 yards and rushing for another 100.
Putnam: CCC 28-10. Davis’ return with the Marauders is a successful one.

St. Petersburg Catholic at Berkeley Prep
On the line: Redemption. Barons lost by only a point to Buccaneers a year ago.
Who’s hot: SPC WR Rodney Adams caught a 59-yard touchdown pass in the Barons preseason win.
Burns: Berkeley Prep 30-21. Too much Berkeley RB Nelson Agholor for Barons to handle.
Putnam: Berkeley Prep 24-17. The Buccaneers win a close one thanks to their playmakers.

Seminole at Clearwater
On the line: Confidence. Clearwater went on to win its first three games in 2009 after opening the season with a victory over Seminole.
Who’s hot: Seminole’s defense forced four fumbles in preseason win over IRC. …Clearwater QB Ryan Hagen didn’t have much time to throw in last week’s loss to Largo but should find the going a bit easier against Seminole.
Burns: Clearwater 14-3. Tornadoes prevail in low scoring affair.
Putnam: Seminole 21-14. The Warhawks have a nice 1-2 punch with Trevor Sand and Teddy Willis.

Northeast at Dixie Hollins
On the line: A fast start. Both teams struggled with losing records last season and need a win for confidence.
Who’s hot: Northeast RB Tavares Dunlap scored on a 55-yard run against Osceola. …Dixie Hollins RB Brandon Bell had the Rebels’ only score against Dunedin.
Who’s hurt: Northeast FB/DL Dominique Ellis (knee) is out. …Dixie Hollins QB Keven Hubbard (hip) is out.
Burns: Northeast 41-3. Vikings won by 47 points a year ago.
Putnam: Northeast 24-7. The Vikings have a more size on the line and will take advantage.

Lakeland Christian at Admiral Farragut
On the line: An overworked scoreboard. The Blue Jackets can pile up points with a prolific offense.
Who’s hot: Admiral Farragut QB Rayshawn Jenkins threw for one touchdown and ran for another against Bradenton St. Stephen’s.
Burns: AFA 21-17. Admiral looking to make playoffs for second year in a row.
Putnam: AFA 35-17. The Blue Jackets start off on the right track with a balanced offense.  

Calvary Christian at Canterbury, 7
On the line: Respect. Calvary wants to show improvement after losing 63-0 to Canterbury in the spring.
Who’s hot: Canterbury RB James Goodwin had two touchdown runs against Orlando Christian Prep. …Calvary did not play a preseason game.
Who’s hurt: Canterbury RB James Goodwin (stomach virus) is probable. …Canterbury TE Gage Plentovich (ankle) is out.
Burns: Canterbury 63-0. Calvary absolutely could not stop Crusaders in a spring blowout.
Putnam: Canterbury 45-7. The Crusaders running tandem of Goodwin and Brent O’Neal will be tough to defend.

Indian Rocks Christian at Keswick Christian
On the line: A new beginning. Crusaders hope to erase the memories of an abysmal 1-9 season in 2009.
Who’s hot: Keswick RB Andrew Logue ran for over nine yards a carry in preseason win. …Imposing IRC TE Sean Culkin has seen his recruiting stock continue to rise.
Burns: IRC 28-10. Crusaders will lose third straight to IRC.
Putnam: IRC 16-10. The Golden Eagles make enough defensive stops to win close one.

Coral Springs Charter School at Shorecrest
On the line: Offensive production. The Chargers are out to prove they will not have a dropoff with Hunter Tremaine graduating.
Who’s hot: Shorecrest RB Jules Jouffroy had a few long runs in the spring game.
Burns: Chargers’ Phil Hayford moves one step closer to becoming the county leader for all-time coaching victories.
Putnam: Shorecrest 17-6. A strong ground game with Jouffroy and QB Dakota Hirsch gets it done.