Move out Hurley. Step aside Heckman. Follow my lead Ford.

For the first time ever, Yours Truly sits on the king’s throne atop the Grid Pick standings. I’m in first place along with Handy Andy Steinmentz after Week 1.

Log jam

The first week of the season is difficult to pick and the results prove this to be true.

My Week 1 record of 10-5 is nothing to brag about. Routinely, staffers win 12 of 15 picks or better. The lead Andy and I hold over five of our colleagues is just a single game going into Week 2. Lurking at 9-6 are Bob Ford, Brady Hurley, Rod Heckman, Patrick Matsinko, and Chuck Hixson. Certainly, I’m no position to think I can sit in the throne and rest easy.

Justin “The Voice” Carlucci and Sam “The Man” Matta crashed and burned with the dreaded eight-loss week and fell into the Pundit Pit together. Three games back in the loss column already, they are immediately behind that “eight” ball. Obviously, like Bad Brad Hurley proved last year, a worst to first run is very possible with so many weeks to go. But the pressure to step up their game is on as we move to Week 2.

Bossman Emmett McCall, who vowed to prove his football acumen this season, slipped to 8-7. Another week of crazy eights for him and he might have to be talked off the ledge.

The winners were ...

Week 1 saw four area teams come away with wins.

On his second carry of the game, Schuylkill Haven’s star running back, Kobe Brish, broke free for a 55-yard TD scamper and it looked like he might have his way with Jim Thorpe’s defense the rest of the way, but then this year’s edition of the Red Swarm built a wall and allowed Brish just 31 more total yards the rest of the way en route to a 10-7 JT victory.

Not many people saw Palmerton’s 47-6 rout of Palisades coming and that included Yours Truly. In fact only Hurley and “Good Luck” Hixson picked the Bombers to win as they rolled with an impressive 311 yards on offense.

Tamaqua handled Line Mountain easily as quarterback, Brayden Knoblauch threw for 347 yards and three TDs. I’m already thinking they might be unanimous favorites throughout their entire schedule and picking underdogs to upset the Blue Raiders will be risky.

Northern Lehigh held Wilson to 31 yards passing and won the game on a fourth quarter 72-yard TD run by Matt Frame.

Against the odds

With seven games on the board checked off as unanimous picks, both McCall and Matta are swimming upstream with some bold selections in Week 2.

McCall’s crystal ball has Palmerton’s big win in Week 1 leading to an even bigger win this week against Southern Lehigh. He and Hixson think Pleasant Valley gets coach Blaec Seager his first career win when the Bears host 0-1 Allen. Both teams took a hard punch to the chin in the opening week. McCall and Matta also checked the box for Nativity to defeat Minersville — so this could be a swing week for them.

Yours Truly favors Lehighton and coach McCarroll to upset Schuylkill Haven. In the past, when I have covered a Lehighton home game and picked the Maroon and White to lose, I hear it from everyone in their press box. So this year I’m going to run with the Indians as much as I can.

Hixson is the only staff member to take Panther Valley against Hamburg, while Ford is alone with his pick of Palisades over Wilson. Hurley and Matta are in the minority with their pick of Pen Argyl over Saucon Valley.

The staff is evenly split for the Nazareth-Emmaus tilt in which both teams look to start the season off with two straight wins. This game alone will create a significant shift in the standings.

So let’s get ready to rumble for Week 2.

Meanwhile, I’m going to sit back in the king’s throne on top of the mountain and enjoy the view below.