The Fumbler got back from Athens, Greece, yesterday, just in time to make deadline for his first predictions column of the high school football season.

He didn't get to see the Olympics, though. He was in Athens for a hearing in front of the International Olympic Prognosticators Doping Committee.

It seems some prognosticators from other newspapers and television stations had become skeptical of The Fumbler in recent months. They noticed how his fingers had become much bigger. They noticed how much faster he typed. They accused him as being part of the BALCO scandal, and they wanted answers.

So The Fumbler took his drug test and passed. He went in front of the doping committee and gave a reason for his size increase.

"It's the water in the Post-Gazette that our new sports editor, Jerry Micco, has us drinking," The Fumbler said. "We're all bigger, stronger, better. Have you seen columnist Gene Collier lately? Barry Bonds has nothing on him."

So here is The Fumbler, bigger and stronger, but clean as a whistle for his 12^th season predicting games for the Post-Gazette. He finished last year with a 511-154 record (.768 percentage) and was 57-19 (.750) in the postseason.

Remember, if you want to rant and rave, or be complimentary, you can e-mail The Fumbler at: fumbler@post-gazette.com.

Here are his thoughts on this weekend's top games:

Central Catholic at Gateway, 7:30 tonight -- Gateway is trying to win a season opener for the first time since 1989. Central Catholic is the Post-Gazette's No. 1-ranked Class AAAA team in the WPIAL and PIAA. And you can't accuse the Vikings of ducking competition. Gateway is ranked No. 3 in WPIAL Class AAAA. Next week, Central Catholic plays St. Joseph's Prep, a perennial power from Philadelphia. Most of the talk around Central-Gateway is about star players Justin King and Eugene Jarvis. But Central Catholic's defense will be the difference. Winner: Central Catholic.

Penn Hills at North Allegheny, 7:30 tonight -- Central Catholic has gotten loads of preseason publicity -- and rightly so. But Penn Hills might have just as much talent. The Indians are big, have two good running backs (Ed Collington and Ken Lewis) and one of the best receivers in the state in David Harvey, Winner: Penn Hills.

Upper St. Clair at Canon-McMillan, 7:30 -- Canon-McMillan is expected to be one of the top teams in Class AAA after dropping from AAAA. It will be interesting to see how the Big Macs do against an Upper St. Clair team that played in the WPIAL Class AAAA title game last year. Winner: Upper St. Clair.

Aliquippa at Ambridge, 7:30 tonight -- This is the 82nd meeting between the rivals, and Aliquippa leads the series, 43-33, with five ties. This season, Ambridge is a little better than most people think. But still not good enough to knock off the Quips, the No. 1-ranked WPIAL Class AA team. Winner: Aliquippa.

Blackhawk at Beaver Falls, 7:30 tonight -- Blackhawk running back Jeremy Bruce is a West Virginia recruit, but do the Cougars have much besides him? Winner: Blackhawk.

Northgate at Seton-LaSalle, 7:30 tonight -- Unlike most of the games tonight, this one counts. It is a Class AA Century Conference game. Northgate won the conference last year, but Seton-LaSalle has its eyes on the title this season. Winner: Seton-LaSalle.

And now the rest (home team in capital letters):

Tonight

WPIAL CLASS AA -- (Century Conference) SOUTH PARK over Brentwood; SOUTH ALLEGHENY over Carlynton; South Fayette over STO-ROX.

NON-CONFERENCE -- AVELLA over Weirton Madonna; BEAVER over Summit Academy; BETHEL PARK over Norwin; BISHOP CANEVIN over Neshannock; Burrell over APOLLO-RIDGE; Butler over KISKI AREA; Carmichaels over BURGETTSTOWN; CENTER over Monaca; Chartiers-Houston over CORNELL.

Chartiers Valley over MONTOUR; Clairton over BROWNSVILLE; Connellsville over UNIONTOWN; Deer Lakes over AVONWORTH; Farrell over ELLWOOD CITY; Franklin Regional over PLUM; FREEDOM over Mohawk; GREENSBURG CENTRAL CATHOLIC over Duquesne; HAMPTON over Fox Chapel.

Hempfield over GREENSBURG SALEM; Highlands over VALLEY; Hopewell over RIVERSIDE; HUBBARD, OHIO over Albert Gallatin; JEANNETTE over Ford City; JEFFERSON-MORGAN over Beth-Center; Keystone Oaks over EAST ALLEGHENY; KNOCH over Freeport; Latrobe over DERRY; LAUREL over South Side Beaver; LEECHBURG over West Shamokin.

MAPLETOWN over Bentworth; McKEESPORT over North Hills; MONESSEN over Charleroi; MOON over Ringgold; MOUNT PLEASANT over Elizabeth Forward; Mt. Lebanon over BALDWIN; New Brighton over ROCHESTER; NEW CASTLE over Kittanning; NORTH CATHOLIC over Fort Cherry; PENN-TRAFFORD over Seneca Valley; Peters Township over McGUFFEY; PINE-RICHLAND over Mars; QUAKER VALLEY over Shady Side Academy.

Riverview over CALIFORNIA; SPRINGDALE over Union; Thomas Jefferson over BELLE VERNON; Trinity over INDIANA; WAYNESBURG over West Greene; WEST ALLEGHENY over Laurel Highlands; WEST MIFFLIN over Steel Valley; Wilkinsburg over FRAZIER; Woodland Hills over SHALER; Yough over SOUTHMORELAND.

Tomorrow afternoon

Non-conference -- SERRA over Geibel.

Tomorrow night

Non-conference -- Western Beaver over SHENANGO; Washington over WHEELING CENTRAL CATHOLIC.