He’s flexing his muscles and showing the rest of the field he’s ready to stake permanent claim of the king’s throne.

He’s “Hot Rod” Heckman, the preseason favorite to win the Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup who is gaining energy over the final weeks of the football schedule.

Heckman’s Week 9-best 13-2 record moved him ahead of Brad Hurley by three games. Hurley jumped into second place, while Patrick Matsinko sits in third. Sam Matta has fallen hard from the top and, with a 10-5 mark from last week, is now five games behind.

Yours Truly is on the brink of elimination, having dropped six back. The “also rans” are more defined as ever now. From Mike Haines - at eight behind the lead - to the permanent cellar dweller Kyle Magda - who gasps for air from 21 down - the only motivation left in the final weeks is to try to break from the pack into the top five.

209 Trophy on the line

It’s that time of the regular season when rivals battle each other for neighborhood bragging rights – perhaps none bigger than Jim Thorpe at Lehighton. With both teams having hopes of postseason qualification, the Olympians - keepers of the gold for the past four years - look to make it five straight over the Indians. Both programs have struggled to win this year, but needless to say, throw out the records and get set for a real barn burner tonight at 7. Our staff consensus is that Thorpe gets the nod, but after last week’s Tribe’s victory, the Maroon and White will be pumped to hoist the spoils after the final horn sounds.

QB to victory?

Another great local matchup has the Northern Lehigh Bulldogs at the Palmerton Blue Bombers. This game will feature two of the area’s top quarterbacks in Nolehi’s Nick Frame and the Bombers’ Matt Machalik. Both are having outstanding seasons and tonight’s question will be which QB will lead his team to victory? The ‘Dawgs - at 8-1 - are favored, and that’s how our staff sees the winner in the final outcome.

Tigers in tough one

Northwestern, at 7-2, travels to Southern Lehigh to battle the one-loss Spartans. A slight majority pick the Spartans in this one, but Yours Truly feels the end of this game will be a Tigers’ tale for celebration.

Colts travel to Cards

Marian looks to even its record at 5-5 while the two-win Pine Grove Cardinals still have hopes of a postseason berth. Coach Stan Dakotsky continues to build a very competitive program after a few down years. Vegas would say Colts win on the road by a touchdown.

The Black and Blue game

Yes, it should be a physical contest as the Black and Gold from Panther Valley visit the Blue Raiders from Tamaqua. Coach Mark Lavine has instilled a competitive spirit in his PV program rebuild, while Sam Bonner looks toward the playoffs with a win in this game. The consensus pick is that Bonner’s team accomplishes just that.

Bears battle the ‘Burg

Pleasant Valley (6-3) is flourishing under coach Blaec Saeger. This week the Bears host the Stroudsburg Mountaineers, who post an identical record. The staff slightly thinks that Valley’s triple option offense will move the chains and cross the goal line enough to beat the ‘Burg, which should be a down-to-the-wire good one.

Trojans, Hornets in OAGOW

My pick for the Out of Area Game of the Week is Parkland at Emmaus. On paper, the home town Hornets at 8-1 should win this one, but don’t count out Parkland - a perennial powerhouse who would like nothing better than to end their regular season with an upset win and a 7-3 record.

Down the stretch we come

With just this weekend and a few postseason weeks to go, it’s now desperation time for anyone who still thinks he can overtake Heckman. Yours Truly, with six upsets tabbed for Week 10, will either enter next week still in contention, or so far behind I’ll be joining the also-rans.

Hurley can pick up one game on the leader if Williams Valley prevails against Tri-Valley. Matsinko, sitting four back of Heckman, needs a big-win week. He’s rolling the dice against the leader with his picks of Lehighton, Palmerton and Pleasant Valley.

One thing’s for certain: Heckman can close the curtain.

But if his chasers close in, then we can still wonder who will win.