Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Normally we concentrate on the often befuddling college and NFL football activities here, but since the high school teams all were in action Thursday, we’ll expound on them this week.

With the high school season three-quarters over, here is our Osceola County high school football synopsis:

Most surprising team: Gateway (7-1).

It’s not a big surprise that the Panthers are enjoying their best season ever because Coach Marlin Roberts has been building three years for this. He has a good running back in senior Zach Smith, who topped 1,000 yards after only seven games, and a seasoned quarterback in senior Anthony Rodriguez.

The Panthers also are stacked defensively with a unit that features very good players like linebackers Ian Stevens and Jaquan Owens and big lines on both sides of the ball. But, breaking the school record for victories (7) after only eight games can fairly be considered a surprise, so the Panthers earned the honor.

The Undefeated Team That Was Expected to Be: Osceola (7-0). Really, what game on the Kowboys 2012 schedule looked unwinnable in August? None. Palm Bay in week 3 was a challenge (OHS, 14-7), but OHS has won by a running clock for the past month thanks to a swarm of outstanding seniors such as Stafon McCray, Davante Small, Josh Phelps, Tyler Evans, Jose Sanchez, Brandon Baker, Hassan Childs, Darren Brackbill, Randy Brown, CC Smithson and I know I’m leaving a couple out. The underclassmen like quarterback Daequan Harrison, Dwight Fagan, Santiago Hoffman, James Farley and Mikeice Adams have performed, as Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin would say, “Above the line.”

The only question for the Kowboys is, has this not-so-challenging schedule toughened the team enough to go deep into the playoffs?

The Team That Usually Is Better Than Its Record: Liberty (1-6).

Thursday’s 21-20 loss to St. Cloud was another of the maddening losses Coach David Benson and the Chargers have endured recently. The Chargers are in almost every game, but if an opponent doesn’t return a punt for a touchdown to make the difference, the Chargers will turn it over, miss a kick, or take a penalty just as they are on the verge of victory.

Most Entertaining Coach of a Winless Team: Ed Meierkort, Celebration (0-8).

Meierkort, fresh off eight seasons as a NCAA D-I coach at South Dakota, is coaching at the high school level for the first time at a school that has no football tradition. His weekly assessment of his team’s progress is usually blunt: “We’re terrible, but we’re getting better. We have to be, don’t we?”

Meierkort says that he likes what he is doing, that his athletes are playing hard and that he sees progress in a program that hasn’t won in two years. He is convinced that in coming seasons, Celebration will be a formidable force in Osceola County. “I’ve done this before. I can do it here,” he said. Against common sense, you want to believe him.

No Divine Nine this week, it’s straight to the picks:

South Carolina (-3) at Florida: These teams are strikingly similar: good defenses, good running games, inconsistent quarterbacks. But, UF’s QB is getting consistent in a hurry. Gators by 2.

FSU (-17.5) at Miami: Every week we marvel at how far the Canes have fallen. This point spread says it all. Noles by 14.

Kansas State at West Virginia (-2.5): In the fourth quarter, somebody in Morgantown is going to say, “We need a bigger scoreboard.” Mountaineers by 1.

LSU (-3.5) at Texas A&M: Aggies are primed for an SEC upset, but the Tigers, flawed as they are offensively, can’t afford another loss. Tigers by 2.

The paid professionals:

New Orleans (-3) at Tampa Bay: The Bucs looked great last week. But, this is Drew Brees in town this week, not Brady Quinn. Saints by 6.

Jacksonville at Oakland (-5): This game brings one word to mind: contraction. Da Raidas by 3.

Baltimore at Houston (-4): The top two teams in the AFC meet. Last man standing wins, and he’s a Texan by 4.

Pittsburgh (-1.5) at Cincinnati: Steelers lineman Alameda Ta’amu was arrested last weekend after ramming four cars with his SUV. Nice to see that at least one of the Steelers defenders can hit something. Stillers by 2.

Dallas (-2) at Carolina: OK, how are the Cowboys going to screw it up this week? Miss the plane? Pokes by 3 in a “Why Are We Favored” Non-upset Special.

Brian “Big Man” McBride’s Super Sniffer Upset Special: Bucs by 3.

Petey “The Gators Are Going To Win” Covino says: Gators by 7.

Andrew “Flaming Spear” Sullivan’s FSU Massacre of the Week: Noles by 17.

Tom “Captain” Kirk’s Beam Me Up Scotty NFL Prime Time Pick of the Week: Pitts. by double digits.

Ken “Young” Jackson says: Gators by .0014. Yeah, that close. Kansas State by 3 in Wacky Big 12 Upset Special.

Last week: Mega Mind (9-1, 47-14) massacred Mortified Minnion (7-3, 42-19).