All it takes is one really bad week of wrong picks to put me way behind in the race. With a horrible record of 7-8, I'm crying in my beer with Emmett McCall in the dark and dreary basement, a whopping six games behind leaders Andy Steinmetz and Justin Carlucci.

Let me add my apologies to the guys in the Lehighton press box last Friday. I picked the Indians to lose and when they were ahead 29-0 in the first quarter, I looked over to see them shaking their heads at me. With no confidence in my voice, I said." Hey, it's early. You never know." But we all did know. Lehighton won big with the mercy rule running out the clock in the second half.So moving into Week Four, the only strategy McCall and I can use to move up is to pick against those ahead of us and hope they are wrong. If we match winners, we gain no ground. Of course, the consequence is we can fall farther behind. To be last is one thing. To be last and alone is another. So it's me versus the bossman this week to see who can climb out of the cellar.Andy and Justin hold a comfortable two-game edge over Pat Matsinko and the surging Bob Ford and Sam Matta. Ford sharpened his focus and won the week with a 12-3 record and Matta jumped into a three-way tie for second."You never know what's going to happen in these games," said Ford. "I think two of my losses were games that fooled everyone."Indians, Raiders to stay unbeatenThis week's two local matchups feature Marian against Lehighton and Tamaqua versus Panther Valley. After winning their opening game, the Colts have not scored since and face a juggernaut in the maroon and white. Led by running back Taquan Bradley-Chambers and quarterback Cody Scherer, the Indians are averaging 42 points per game, so it figures that Marian's offense will have its hands full trying to keep up and its defense is looking at a daunting task in slowing down the Tribe's scoring machine.Speaking of a scoring machine, Tamaqua has put up an average of six touchdowns in its first three games. Sam Bonner's Blue Raiders are led by the power running of Nick Breiner, the precise execution of quarterback Thad Zuber and the all purpose athleticism of wide receiver Nate Boyle. The staff thinks the Raiders have too many weapons against the upstart Panthers, whose defense surrendered a lot of points to Jim Thorpe last week.These three teams have combined to outscore their opponents by 334 -81. With the strong possibility that Jim Thorpe, Tamaqua and Lehighton will all be undefeated on Saturday morning, there is certainly much excitement in the air for their football fans. Just wait until they play each other later this season to see who makes the strongest bid to win the Schuylkill League's Division I title.Spinning the wheel for winnersScratch eight match ups from the game board this week as the staff unanimously agrees on who will win those games. Those contests will have no effect on the standings. TJ Engle, ready to make another pounce from the pack, has picked a good Pottsville team to knock off Harrisburg in a mild upset. He also likes Allen to keep Pleasant Valley winless.I say a little prayer while being the only one to think Nativity will defeat Mahanoy Area. Strength of schedule suggests otherwise, but I'm desperate to grab a game away from the guys on top. Engle and I hope to gain ground with our East Stroudsburg North nod over Pocono Mountain East.What should be very competitive games and tough to tab who will win are Northwestern at Wilson Area, Bangor at Salisbury and Southern Lehigh against Palisades. The resurgent Warriors have many people believing they are the real deal this season, but four of our pickers think the Tigers, who have run into three straight powerhouse opponents, will get their first W. Despite a 1-2 record, Bangor is Rod Heckman's and two others' choice to upend a solid Salisbury team. The other pick 'em game pits two unbeatens when Southern Lehigh visits Palisades. The scoreboard might just burn out a few bulbs from the number of points flashing with these two high-power offenses.So here we go. Let's spin the wheel for Week Four of high school football to see who will be the Guru of the Grid Iron for at least the next seven days.