Making picks in high school football can be a nerve-wracking exercise at times. It can land you on a team’s locker room bulletin board as motivation. It invites people to point out when you’re wrong, as they should.

It can make you look quite foolish when a confident pick goes awry. And it often leads to little credit when you’re right.

But I must say, it’s pretty fun. At least for us here at MuskegonSports.com, it creates a little internal competition and a chance for us to poke a little fun at each other in the process.

That aspect takes most of the nerves away. It also helps that my colleague Andrew Johnson set the bar so, so low this season with a 7-9 record in Week 2.

While I could practically trip over the bar Andrew set, I keep higher standards for my picks. I’m shooting closer to Dave Hart’s very respectable 12-3 record last week. Dave had a good week, but he was kind enough to leave the first perfect week of the season on the board for me to claim this week.

To do so, of course, I’ll need some help from our local teams. I’m looking to Grand Haven to get off to its best start since 2014, for Hesperia to grab its first win, for Holton to take down undefeated White Cloud (yes, White Cloud is 3-0), and for Reeths-Puffer to pick up a third straight win.

In my mind, my biggest “upset” pick of the week is choosing Muskegon Heights to top Manistee. Yes, the Tigers technically have a better record at 3-0. But the Chippewas are 2-1, thumped Ludington last week and will be at home for this game.

The teams Muskegon Heights has defeated have combined for just one win. The Tigers are just 3-11 all-time against Manistee. But I don’t care about any of that, because I’m picking with my heart on this one.

It’s inspiring to see this group of kids come together and get off to a great start after not playing last year, and struggling in seasons prior to that. It would be easy to turn away from the hard work, but the Tigers have done the opposite and are seeing success as a result. Keep up the great work!

With that, here are this week’s perfect prep picks, courtesy of yours truly. While you may see who wins below, be sure to come check out how it happened with us at MuskegonSports.com Friday night. And, of course, feel free to let me hear it in the (unlikely) case any of these turn out to be wrong.

Fremont at NEWAYGO — This one’s a bit of a toss-up, it seems, with both teams coming in 0-3. Both squads have also lost to Central Montcalm and Big Rapids. The Lions were slightly closer in those games and are playing at home, so I’ll give them the edge.

SPRING LAKE at Fruitport — No disrespect to the Trojans — they really impressed me when I covered their Week 1 win — but Spring Lake has put up some big offensive numbers in the two games they’ve played. I’ll take the Lakers in what should be a fun iteration of the Battle of the Bayou.

GRAND HAVEN at West Ottawa — The Buccaneers haven’t started a season 3-1 or better since 2014, but I think they’ll do just that Friday night. I like Grand Haven to continue to build on a strong start against a West Ottawa program that has lost 20 consecutive games dating back to 2018.

HESPERIA at Lakeview — Hesperia came close to picking up its first win last week, and I think they’ll get over the hump this week against Lakeview. The Wildcats are allowing 46 points per game so far this year, meaning Hesperia could put up some big numbers.

NORTH MUSKEGON at Hart — The Norse had a tough draw to start the year with Muskegon Catholic and Montague, but I think they get back to .500 this week against Hart. I like what the Pirates are doing so far this year, though, and think they could make this closer than it’s been in recent years.

HOLTON at White Cloud — White Cloud won just two games from 2018-2020, both forfeit victories last year. This season, the Indians are off to a 3-0 start (with one forfeit win) for the first time since 1988. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. I’ll take Holton to win a close game this week after last week’s narrow defeat.

Morley Stanwood at KENT CITY— I’m not sure what to make of Kent City just yet, with a close win against now 0-3 Newago, a loss to Hart and a dominant win over Lakeview. I think this week should give us a better indication on the direction of the Eagles, and here’s predicting it’s a good one.

MUSKEGON CATHOLIC at Ludington — The Crusaders collected a forfeit win in Week 3 and are sure to be itching to get back on the field after the break, especially after a Week 2 loss. The Orioles might be in for a third consecutive rough week.

Mason County Central at RAVENNA— The Bulldogs will look to bounce back after a lopsided loss to Whitehall last week. Playing against a Mason County Central team that has yet to take the field this season seems like a good chance to do just that.

OAKRIDGE at Montague — I’ll have a front row seat, or should I say sideline view, for this one Friday night. I’m excited to see how these WMC powers square up with Oakridge sitting 3-0 and Montague coming off back-to-back shutouts. I’ll take the Eagles in this one, which would place them firmly in the driver’s seat for the conference title.

Zeeland West at MONA SHORES  — The Sailors offense has shown that it once again has the ability to strike quickly and often. If the Sailors can get an early defensive stop or two to allow the offense time to create separation, it could be difficult for a Wing-T team like Zeeland West to keep up.

Grand Rapids Union at MUSKEGON — Union is much improved this year and the Big Reds have shown some vulnerability in the last two weeks, but Muskegon is my pick here. I expect the Big Reds to come out focused and ready to defend their home turf.

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS at Manistee — What a story Muskegon Heights has been to start the year. After not playing in 2020 and combining for one win in 2018 and 2019, the Tigers are 3-0, albeit with one forfeit win. As a writer, there’s nothing I appreciate more than a good story, so let’s say the Tigers keep it going for another week with a road win.

REETHS-PUFFER at Zeeland East — The Chix have given up 100 points over the last two weeks, while the Rockets seemed to find a groove with a 48-point showing last Friday. I’ll go with Reeths-Puffer to pick up a third straight win.

WHITEHALL at Shelby — The Vikings will ride the momentum of last week’s 42-0 win over Ravenna to another win this week. Whitehall has won seven straight meetings against Shelby, with the Tigers’ last win coming in 2013.