We call him “Hot” Rod for good reason. Every year, Rod Heckman finds himself at or near the top of our standings and after a 13-2 week, he now sits beside “Bad” Brad Hurley who is currently on the king’s throne going into Week 9.

When asked how he has slowly moved up the ranks into a tie at the top, Heckman revealed his strategies.

“It’s mostly luck, but it helps to get a feel for teams after they’ve played a game or two. For the teams that are not local, I’ll check out the record and scores. You look for things like common opponents. From that, at least you can have an educated guess on who to pick.”

The coveted grand champion trophy gleams in Heckman’s eye as it stands upon an office desk just a couple of feet away from his.

“It’s always nice to win, but honestly I’m just happy if I finish near the top. The race is really tight this year so it should make for an exciting finish.”

So how tight is this race? Only three games separate the top six pickers. “Handy” Andy Steinmetz rebounded in Week 8 and now is now tied with Justin “The Voice” Carlucci just one game out. Pat “The Mat”sinko and defending champ, Bob “Photo” Ford sit in close striking range of the leaders.

Emmett “Bossman” McCall lifted himself from the edge of Pundit Pit with an excellent 12-3 week and has, as he said, “redeemed himself.” Yours Truly faltered with five losses, but I stay comfortably ahead of Chuck “No Luck” Hixson, who slipped farther into the Pit with eight losses.

All eyes on this one

The game of the year is finally here. Tamaqua brings its perfect 8-0 record to Jim Thorpe where the one loss Olympians hope to stamp a blemish on what could very well be a perfect Raiders season.

The Schuylkill League Division 1 lead and District 11 Class 3A playoff implications ride high in this classic battle.

JT’s Red Swarm defense will have one of its biggest challenges of the season.

The Raiders have pretty much dominated their opponents. Quarterback Brayden Knoblauch pushes the buttons on his scoring machine with running backs Nick Breiner and Nate Boyle. They can pound and ground or take to the air.

While the Raiders have their three-headed monster and Thorpe counters with CJ Selby, Jarrin Geisinger, and All-State defensive end, Dylan Dailey.

The staff is equally split on the winner of this game.

Friday night lights and high school football at its best. This game should attract thousands. Get there early!

Colts try for four straight

After beginning the season with five straight losses, the Marian Colts look to win their fourth consecutive game against Mahanoy Area tonight. Last week, senior Matt Doherty carried for 137 yards and three touchdowns in Marian’s 39-7 win over Shenandoah.

Marian’s defense will have to stop the Bears’ flex bone attack and option play of QB Danny Lawrence. Heckman likes the Colts in this one, but Hurley picks Mahanoy so there will be a key shift at the top no matter who wins the game.

Palmerton lost to Wilson by a point last week and has Salisbury tonight. Carlucci gets a win over Hurley and Heckman if the Falcons fly high over the Bombers. His pick could nudge him to fight for some room on the king’s throne.

Do the math!

For Yours Truly, McCall, Matta, and Hixson to make any substantial advance upon the leaders, we need to pick against them and hope for some major upsets.

So let’s go we bottom feeders! Root for Easton, Salisbury, Line Mountain, and Northern Lehigh.

Coaches of these underdogs — help us out! We too want to be picking meaningful football winners in the final weeks of the season.