With a perfect Week 3 record of 15-0 and a 28-2 mark for the last two weeks, “Bad” Brad Hurley has come from the depths of the Pundit Pit to move into a tie for first place in our Grid Picks standings. Hurley’s pick of Freedom to upset Parkland was a gem no one else figured would happen. He now is now tied with “Handy” Andy Steinmetz, who posted another solid week at 12-3.

“After Rich Strack called me out for going 8-7 in the first week, I had to redeem myself,” said Hurley. His remark makes me wonder who’s next to go undefeated after I put the hex on him.

Defending champ, Bob “Photo” Ford is hanging tough in third place with the middle of the standings packed with a half dozen of us.

We have a new resident in the Pundit Pit after Chuck “No Luck” Hixson climbed out with an impressive 13-2 week. Sam “The Man” Matta dropped all the way from third place into the Pit with a six-loss blunder.

Favorites to feast

On the board in Week Four are several games that look like no-brainers when it comes to the outcomes. Jim Thorpe, undefeated and unscored upon, travels to play winless Kutztown. The Cougars have been outscored 127-12 in their first three weeks. Look for Coach Rosenberger and his Red Swarm to notch their fourth consecutive shutout.

After last week’s 63-point loss to Thorpe, Panther Valley goes to Tamaqua to play the undefeated Raiders. On paper, this one looks like the second straight second-half running clock against the Panthers.

Lehighton should end its two-game slide against Marian.

Northwestern has played two one-point overtime games, winning one and losing the other. We see coach Josh Snyder’s Tigers taking care of winless Wilson in regulation time this week. Palmerton will have a tough time getting its first win against Notre Dame of Green Pond.

Bulldogs bounce back?

After losing to Bangor a week ago, Northern Lehigh looks to rebound against a 2-1 Pen Argyl team. This could be a pivotal game for Joe Tout and his Bulldogs’ season. A majority of us pickers see them at 3-1 at the end of tonight with ground-and-pound eating clock and keeping the ball away from the Green Knights’ offense.

Sink or swim for Hixson

We all picked the winners in nine of tonight’s contest so there will be no movement from those games in the standings. The Stroudsburg clash against East Stroudsburg South is dead even with the pick, so half our staff will grab a game over the other half. South and the Mountaineers have played one common opponent and both handled Pocono Mountain West easily.

My crystal ball sees Stroudsburg’s defense making the difference in a close game. Fingers crossed as I try to move from the middle of the pack and gain ground on the leaders.

Speaking of gaining ground or sliding back into the Pundit Pit, it looks like Chuck “No Luck” Hixson is throwing all his chips in the middle of the table for Week 4. Three times he chose against the rest of us with Marian upsetting Lehighton, Bangor knocking off Southern Lehigh, and Liberty taking down Easton. He’ll either get back in the game or slide back into the depths of public shame.

Hey, anything can happen in high school football and usually it does.

Good luck “No Luck!”