Move over Rod Heckman. There’s a new gun in town and he’s calling you out to a draw at high noon.

With the best of the pickers’ Week 9 record of 13-2, “Handy Andy” Steinmetz has tied Heckman for second place, and together they sit three games behind Bob Ford, who is holding on tightly to the arms of the king’s chair. Brad Hurley had the second-best record for the week and kept himself in the hunt, just a game out of second.

Thanks to Sam Matta’s five losses, yours truly moved into a tie for sixth, but more importantly, together we stand three games above the Pundit Pit where TJ Engle and Son sit together in the dark.

Clash of unbeatens is Pick Game of the Week

The final week of the regular season showcases crosstown rival games from top to bottom on the picks list.

No extra hype is needed when Jim Thorpe plays Lehighton. It’s their neighborhood, backyard brawl for bragging rights, it’s like the annual Army-Navy game, and it’s the battle for which team gets to hoist the Route 209 trophy after the final seconds have ticked off. Now you add that both the Olympians and the Indians are both 9-0, undefeated seasons are on the line and first place is at stake in the Schuylkill League Division One standings. To note how dominating both teams have been, Thorpe ranks third in the state of Pennsylvania’s Class 3A standings and Lehighton ranks eighth.

This marquee matchup features arguably the two best running backs in the Schuylkill League, if not in the entire PA Class 3A. Thorpe’s Justin St. Hill and Lehighton’s TaQuan Bradley-Chambers are both rushing yard machines and prolific touchdown makers. At quarterback, JT’s Nick Rosahac and the Tribe’s Cody Scherer each have led their teams on game-winning drives with seconds left on the fourth quarter clock. The Olympians and the Indians score nearly 40 points per game, but if there is one notable statistical advantage it would be on the defensive side of the ball where Thorpe has shut out six opponents and has allowed less than a touchdown a game while Lehighton has one shutout and has given up an average of three TDs per game. The staff votes 6-4 for Jim Thorpe to win. The thinking here is that JT has a slight edge defensively and will win a close one in a game that promises to become tavern tales for players and fans for years to come.

Throw out the records

Despite Tamaqua and Marian having had their ups and downs this season, the records never much matter in the battle for Tamaqua town braggin’ rights. The Raiders have endured some crushing late-game defeats and will look to take out their frustrations on the Colts, who have won three of their last four.

The staff agrees that Sam Bonner will have his players fired up to stop their four-game losing streak.

Winless Northern Lehigh will have their hands full trying to control Palmerton’s explosive offense, led by quarterback Tekoah Guedes and receivers Jordan Nelson and Mike Eckhart. Look for the Bombers to have too much firepower for the struggling Bulldogs.

Only four will shuffle the score

Eleven games on the board bring unanimous agreement so four will make some movement in the standings.

Besides Jim Thorpe at Lehighton, TJ Engle and Son and “Bossman” McCall have tabbed Nazareth to beat Easton in a mild upset, but most of us feel the home team Rovers win this one close.

For the championship of Schuylkill Haven, Blue Mountain visits the Hurricanes with six staffers liking the Eagles to prevail. Both teams have had disappointing performances, but Haven has come on lately and is playing well heading into the playoffs.

A staff split decision makes the Pocono Mountain West-Pocono Mountain East contest a game that will shake the standings a bit. The teams are evenly matched and any time you get the Panthers and the Cardinals together on the same football field, the mountains will be rumbling and whatever leaves are left on the trees will be falling.

Week 11 delivers us playoff football and plenty of these teams have qualified. Until then, here’s a traffic warning. Unless you are going to the Jim Thorpe-Lehighton game tonight, you’d be wise to avoid Route 209 and surrounding roads near Lehighton High School as football frenzy grabs hold of what should be a standing room only crowd.