One of my high school wrestling coaches used to make fun of me for playing soccer instead of football in the fall. One day, while he was bragging about the football team, I took the opportunity to point out the success of my soccer team.

“Yeah, but the only people who cared were your mom and girlfriend,” he replied.

Actually, I didn’t have a girlfriend.

That’s not how I wanted to win the argument.

The fact of the matter is (and I assume why the coach found it necessary to pester me), in the world of fall high school athletics there are two sports: Football, and everything else.

Football Fridays are as American as apple pie and lenient celebrity jail sentences. It doesn’t matter if a school’s field hockey, soccer, volleyball and water polo teams win 11 straight state championships apiece, the bleachers won’t be as packed as they will be at a game for a sub-.500 football team.

This is why our football coverage is so expansive. Football teams have the largest following, so there are more game stories, pictures, and my colleague, Rich Rezler, even does a weekly predictions column.

That doesn’t mean AnnArbor.com, along with the moms and girlfriends of the world, doesn’t love the “other” sports. Sure, not as many people show up to watch, but there are plenty of amazing events every week in high school sports other than football. So, starting today and continuing every week, I’ll do a predictions column on some of those marquee matchups.

Just like in Rich’s football predictions column, readers will have a chance to play along by participating in interactive polls. Unlike Rich, I will not donate $100 to Food Gatherers every time the readers' picks beat mine. What I lack in expendable charitable funds, I’ll make up for in public humiliation. If the readers beat me, I’ll subject myself to a conditioning drill of choice from one of the teams that I incorrectly picked to lose.

Without further adieu, this week’s predictions:

MONDAY Pioneer, Chelsea, Saline, Dexter at East Lansing, girls golf: This is a clash of state-ranked teams as Pioneer and Saline (ranked 11th and fourth in Division 1, respectively) head to East Lansing (No. 4 in Division 2). While Pioneer’s Paige Munroe and Lauren Phillips may both have a shot at individual gold, Saline has looked better as a team, with Shannon Fraser, Karla Gross, Emily Hysong and Kristin Arredy all consistently shooting in the low 40’s per nine. Saline has outshot East Lansing by an average of 16.5 on neutral courses this season, so even in a sport where conditions favor the home team, I like the Hornets in this one. Saline, 372.

TUESDAY Milan at Monroe Jefferson, girls cross country: Milan’s defending Division 2 state champ, Jordan Tomecek, has been a world-beater so far this season and teammate Angela Swain hasn’t been far behind. Look for the duo to finish 1-2 to help Milan take one step closer to a Huron League title. Milan, 31.

Lincoln at Ypsilanti, girls volleyball: Lincoln has yet to win this season, and with the way the Phoenix have been playing against other new SEC foes, it’s not likely to happen this week. Ypsilanti, 3-0.

WEDNESDAY Grosse Pointe South at Huron, girls field hockey: Huron may still be hurting after losing its first game of the season against Pioneer last week. Grosse Pointe can relate, with the only two blemishes on its record coming against the Pioneers as well. Michigan-bound Huron senior Ainsley McAllister won’t let the River rats sulk for too long. Huron, 4-0.

THURSDAY Saline at Huron, girls swimming: Huron’s pool has been very kind to Saline, which topped perennial state powerhouse Pioneer at the Huron Relays earlier this month. I’m not sure how the points system works in swimming, but I do know that Saline scores a lot of them. Saline…by a lot.

Detroit Catholic Central at Pioneer, boys tennis: Pioneer, ranked No. 3 in Division 1, showed it wants to be back on top of the tennis world last week by tying second-ranked Huron, the only team not named Pioneer to win a state championship so far this decade. They can take another step in that direction Thursday. Pioneer, 5-3. FRIDAY Pioneer at Livonia Stevenson, girls swimming: This is what we in the biz call a gimmee pick, something to pad the stats to make sure, even in the worst pick ‘em columns, you get at least one right. The Pioneers, they of nine straight state championships, are about as close to a sure thing as it gets. Pioneer…by a lot.

SATURDAY Auburn Hills Oakland Christian at Greenhills, boys soccer: Greenhills, top-ranked in Division 4, takes on the fourth-ranked Oakland Christian squad that defeated them in the state semifinals last season. Greenhills is coming off a big week after soundly defeating 10th-ranked Plymouth Christian and third-ranked Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (a team determined to put this column over the word-limit). While Oakland Christian may be defending state champs, no one’s been able to defend the Greenhills duo of Peter Jacobson (20 goals 7 assists) and Rob Dolot (10 goals, 11 assists) so far this season. Greenhills, 3-1.

Now it's your turn to play along. Make your picks below:

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Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by e-mail at petercunningham@annarbor.com, or by phone at 734-623-2561. You can follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.