By RICH STRACK

tnsports@tnonline.comMove over, Hurley. Two of your competitors are squeezing into the king's chair with you.Sitting at the back of the pack a week ago, "Handy" Andy Steinmetz mastered a 14-1 run to jump into a tie with "Mad" Brad. Justin "The Voice" Carlucci, who somehow finds the time to ponder high school football winners and losers when he's not talking sports on radio shows and podcasts, also leap frogged onto the throne to make it a three-way first-place tie in this early season.McCall, Engle, Ford slideAfter making the upset pick of last week, Emmett "Bossman" McCall's luck ran out resulting in the worst record of the week plummeting him head first into last place. TJ Engle threw his picks to his son, Wyatt again, but was flagged for a forward lateral. He changed two of his son's picks and was wrong on both. Now Engle sits alongside "Bossman" at the bottom of the barrel where he resided most of last season.Bob "Photo" Ford, renowned for his super sharp camera work, needs to adjust the lens on his crystal ball .He fell into pigskin purgatory, one game ahead of the cellar dwellers. Yours truly slipped to the middle of the pack, bunched with reigning champ, Pat "The Mat" Matsinko, perennial front-runner, "Hot" Rod Heckman, and Sam "The Man" Matta.Pace makers and risk takersUnanimous picks to win this week are Jim Thorpe, North Schuylkill, Saucon Valley, and Salisbury.The local "Game of the Week" tonight matches two undefeated teams in the Olympians of Jim Thorpe and the Panthers of Panther Valley. PV coach Scott Price has his team believing with the school's first 2-0 start in nine years. Thorpe has been very impressive with its big play offense and has outscored its two opponents, 46-6. Although we all love a Cinderella story and are glad to see Panther football back on the map, the feeling among the writers is that Thorpe has too much speed and firepower for the black and gold to be able to slow them down.Playing it safe and trying to keep pace with the pack is a good early season strategy, but there are a few of us who are rolling the dice on big upsets this week. Even though I root for the local teams, I'm taking some chances that might send me spiraling down to join McCall and Engle. I'm picking Schuylkill Valley to shock Lehighton. The SV Panthers are 2-0 and have scored a ton of points in their first two games, and yet, that has impressed absolutely no one on the staff other than me. Lehighton is averaging 36 points a game behind an offensive line that steamrolled through Schuylkill Haven last week. Quarterback Cody Sherer, running back, Taquan Chambers and wide out Zach Crum, make up a formidable three-headed monster that has been virtually unstoppable. What am I thinking here? Is it too late to change my pick? I also took the Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes to find its playoff form from a year ago and stop Tamaqua's Super "B" backfield of Nick Breiner and Nate Boyle.Sam "The Man" Matta thinks that Notre Dame will defeat a Southern Lehigh team that has won its first two games by a combined score of 86-0. No disrespect to the Crusaders of ND, but Sam must be thinking it's that other Notre Dame from South Bend that will defeat what looks like an invincible squad of Spartans who have been taking no prisoners.Matta was the only one who has tabbed Northwestern to beat Palisades. Well, my friend, I'll either toast a glass of champagne with you next week or we'll cry together in our beer.Toss ups and a guess yesDifficult games to pick include some great match ups. Pleasant Valley vs Northampton is a dead even divide amongst the staff, a bit surprising if you consider the PV Bears have had trouble keeping their opponents out of their own end zone and are looking for their first win. Another toss up features Pottsvile (1-1) hosting Wissahickon (2-0.), both who expect to make deep playoff runs this year.These games will have a definite impact on next week's standings along with the Kutztown - Shenandoah and the Bethlehem Catholic at Emmaus battles. I guessed yes as did Hurley for Northern Lehigh to capture its first win when it visits Bangor.So turn on the lights tonight and let's see who will be left behind in the dark once the results are tallied.