Second-round BOLD predictions

One of my favorite moments in ESPN stupidity was during its MLB preview in 2003 or 2004. They'd profile a team a day and former analyst Harold Reynolds would come on and make a BOLD prediction, which normally went the way of "if this team wins 90 games, they could make the postseason."

Needless to say, he never really went out on a limb and said much.

What you will see here truly are BOLD predictions. And if you are reading this after Saturday, you can see either by the time stamp on the post, or the fact that nothing I said actually happened, that I made these before Saturday's games.

Anyways, on with the BOLD predictions.

Fondy needs to force at least two turnovers if it wants to beat Mukwonago: If you look at what the Cardinals have done on defense this year, it really isn't all that impressive. They were one of the worst teams in the FVA against the run. That being said, the one thing that made the defense so good was its ability to make a big play when it needed to. In Tuesday night's victory over Madison LaFollette, Josh Korb had two big interceptions and Sam Provot returned another that led to a field goal that gave Fondy a 10-point lead. Mukwonago, however, doesn't throw the ball all that much, which means Fondy is going to have to find a way to make the Indians cough up the ball. The good news? Mukwonago fumbled three times in a 28-24 victory over Janesville Parker on Tuesday, but only lost one of them. Fondy needs two for a W.

Fondy quarterback Ben Anderson will throw for 200 yards: Mukwonago's pass defense is average at best, and Anderson has a variety of receivers to throw to. Kyle Senn was MIA on offense on Tuesday night, but is dangerous when he gets into the open field. Add tight end Kyle Duquaine and speed backs Josh Korb and Paul Biolo and Anderson has quite the bevy of possible receivers to throw to.

Waupun is going to have to score 40 points to beat Wisconsin Lutheran: I think it's at least going to take that much. WISCO has just steamrolled teams and is scoring 37 points per game. To make matters worse for Waupun, Wisconsin Lutheran has only allowed 12 points in its last four games.

The wind will NOT affect passing teams: With a windy afternoon in the forecast, one would think that teams that like to pass (Kewaskum, Mayville and lately, Ripon) would have difficulty. I disagree. Quarterbacks for passing teams are used to throwing in all conditions and will be more adept at throwing into a wind. Also, many of these teams aren't going to be throwing 30-yard crossing routes. If anything, I think it's going to prevent non-passing teams, or ones that do it occasionally (Waupun, WLA) from catching up quickly if they fall behind because their quarterback isn't used to throwing in adverse conditions.

I will get lost on my way to Mukwonago: I have an uncanny ability to get lost on my way to road games, even in towns near where I grew up (my boyhood home is in Dousman, about 15 miles northwest of Mukwonago). Sure, I put directions in The Reporter, but I probably won't have them with me. But, like all men and all cliches, I won't stop to ask for directions and will eventually find the high school after driving around downtown Mukwonago for 15 minutes.

Winners and losers: Mukwonago beats Fondy, Wisconsin Lutheran beats Waupun, Port Washington beats Kewaskum in overtime, Mayville beats WLA and Ripon beats Chilton.