He’s not giving up his seat on the king’s throne, at least not yet.

With the gap closing on his lead, Brad Hurley finished Week 5 at 13-2 (61-14 overall) to remain at the front in the race for the 2023 Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup.

Pat Matsinko matched Hurley’s 13 wins to stay in second place at just two games back, and unless the leader stumbles or the rest of us chasers get a few undefeated weeks, this just might be a two-man race to the finish line.

TJ Engle jumped past the fading Rod Heckman into third place at four games off the lead. “Bossman” Emmett McCall, following a poor Week 3 mark, rallied to tie Heckman for fourth place. The boss and the defending champ have plenty of time to cut into Hurley’s five game advantage, but not if the front-runner continues his torrid pace.

Yours Truly is happy to announce that I have tied Mike Haines for seventh place and am two games ahead of the cellar dwellers, the two inhabitants of the Pundit Pit: Jeff Moeller and Kyle Magda.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

TN area teams did pretty well last week. Tamaqua got win No. 1 against Salisbury. Jim Thorpe earned win No. 2 at home against Pine Grove. Marian downed Nativity for win No. 3 of the season, and Pleasant Valley improved to 4-1. Palmerton and Northwestern both remained undefeated with 5-0 records.

Most area teams are either unanimous or majority picks this week. JT is tabbed to defeat Tamaqua. Marian, Pleasant Valley, Palmerton, Northwestern and Northern Lehigh are all favorites to win their games. Panther Valley at Palisades is a toss-up game and will have an effect on the standings going into Week 7.

Northwestern’s Tigers continue to roar each week. With a few tough opponents in between, they’re headed for a showdown in Week 10 against unbeaten Southern Lehigh. The Spartans have blistered the scoreboard with 232 points in just five games. On Oct. 27, the Tigers host Southern Lehigh with both teams possibly coming in with 9-0 records. The schedule maker sure got this one right!

Palmerton’s path to a perfect season - if not with a hiccup before - will be tested by North Schuylkill on the Bombers’ home turf on Oct. 13. With the way both of these schools are ringing up the touchdowns, this contest might end up with a basketball score before the final horn.

Out of Area Game of the Week

This week I pick the game between the Catasauqua Rough Riders and the Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes. After winning three of its first four games, Catty was knocked off last week by Pen Argyl. After a season-opening loss to Marian, Haven has won its last four in a row.

The Canes are traditionally a ground- and-pound offense, and this year is no different with senior running back Aiden Myers lugging the rock 33 times for 198 yards and two TDs against Palisades last week.

The Roughies feature a more balanced attack, with the passing of quarterback Aiden Hess and the running of Jyzaiah Bonilla. Catty is a slight favorite pick, but this game could definitely cause some jostling in the standings.

A pivotal week

Hurley’s reign on the throne might end with Week 6 picks, as he and Matsinko have different opinions for four of the 15 games. The best scenario for Hurley is Palisades, Mahanoy Area, Nazareth, and Catasauqua all win to pull him six games above Matsinko. If Panther Valley, Marian, Central Catholic, and Schuylkill Haven prevail, then Matsinko would jump two up on Hurley and might take over first place.

Lying in the weeds are Engle and McCall. They could inch closer to the lead with big weeks.

At the bottom, Moeller and Magda are trying their best to claw themselves out of the Pundit Pit. They too have four different picks this week, which might leave one seeing the light of day and the other falling deeper into the Depths of Darkness.

Yours Truly must beware. A bad week could push me back down into the hole, or a great week could have me surging past Haines and Matta.

As Bob Dylan might sing, the answers to these questions are blowing in the wind right now, but when the dust settles and the stadiums empty this weekend, big changes in the Cup race might be happening!