Catch him if you can.

Right out of the gate, Brad Hurley is proving he’s all business in his quest for this year’s Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup. He followed an opening week 12-3 record with a 13-2 mark for Week 2, giving him an outstanding 25-5 tally overall.

Defending champion Rod Heckman is not about to slip into the middle of the pack. He moved into second place after a 12-3 mark in Week 2 and sits comfortably three games behind Hurley along with Pat Matsinko.

Emmett McCall, in second place a week ago, dropped six games behind after a disappointing 8-7 record. At five games back and still in striking range this early in the season are Sam Matta and TJ Engle. Both are long shots to win the Cup, with Sam listed at 15-1 preseason odds, and TJ at 25-1 to cross the finish line first in November.

Falling and clawing

Although Yours Truly finished three games above the .500 mark for the week, I remain in the Pundit Pit. The other problem I have is I am now nine games behind the front-runner, making it almost an impossibility to challenge for the Cup despite the season barely being underway. Nevertheless, if pride is all I have left, then so be it. I can only see who’s in front of me. I’m just one behind Kyle Magda, who was the only picker to get Blue Mountain’s win over North Schuylkill right, and rookie Jeff Moeller, so I’ll keep on clawing until I find my way out.

JT, Palmerton, Northwestern favorites

Four area teams are picked to win tonight. Jim Thorpe is tabbed to get its first win of the season against Salisbury. Despite the Olympians being injury-riddled, the majority feels that the dynamic duo of quarterback Cole Lazorick passing to Justin Yescavage will help spark JT to victory.

Palmerton is a unanimous choice to remain unbeaten against a Palisades team that spanked Wilson 41-0 last week. Too much Matt Machalik is expected to be enough for the Bombers to sink the Pirates’ ship.

Another Northwestern team is rolling again this year. This week the Tigers travel to Blue Mountain to take on the undefeated Eagles in what should be a premier matchup of two schools that have their eyes looking ahead to play deep into November.

And the crystal ball says ...

Despite Lehighton’s convincing win over Tamaqua last week and the fact the Indians play winless Pottsville tonight, the Crimson Tide get checked in the victory box. Pottsville has lost to a pair of football giants in Jersey Shore and Wyomissing, and if the Tide should take down the Tribe, the result says something about strength of schedule.

Marian visits Catasauqua in what should be a good game against the Rough Riders. The overall pick slightly favors Catty, but I’m putting my Monopoly money on the Colts to win their second after an incredible 26-point fourth-quarter rally fell just short last week against Minersville.

It seems a bit unnatural to say the Bulldogs of Northern Lehigh have yet to win in this early season, and the front-runners in the Cup race say a victory won’t happen this week against unbeaten Pen Argyl. Panther Valley takes on Mahanoy Area, and Yours Truly likes the Panthers to get a late score to go 2-1 for the first time in a long time.

Out of Area Game of the Week

Emmaus battles the high-flying and unbeaten Vikings of Allentown Central Catholic, which has a pair of impressive wins over two good programs in Northampton and Easton. This game has a pretty good feel for an upset by the Hornets. I like ACC, but the three pickers ahead of me in the standings selected Emmaus, so this game will either help me climb up from the Depths of Darkness or push me farther down the hole.

Brad breakaway?

It’s only Week 3, but it might be pivotal in the race for the Cup. Heckman can gain ground on Hurley if Blue Mountain beats Northwestern and Line Mountain upends Tri-Valley. Matsinko also jumps a game with a Line Mountain win. Should Hurley run the table this week and get to 40-5, he would all but leave the rest of the pack in his dust, or at the very least, keep him sitting in the king’s throne for weeks to come.

After 45 games have been picked, no one wants to be stuck in the “also-ran” group. For Yours Truly, my only goal now is to see anything other than the backsides of the horses running in front of me. What’s in store for Week 3? We’ll see!