He’s no longer Mercy Rule McCall. He’s restored his name to the Bossman.

After an 18-12 picks record following the first two weeks of Picks, Emmett McCall has gone 37-8 for an overall 55-20 mark. He has dug himself out of the Pundit Pit and moved just six games behind the lead.

He’s poised to make a run that Bad Brad Hurley did last season when he had climbed out of the Pit and passed everyone to win the Cup.

Give praise to the Bossman, but can he keep it going?

Two games ahead!

Yours Truly and Handy Andy Steinmetz broke our three week tie for first place. While I posted a 13-2 mark in Week 5, he lost four games and now sits two back and is tied with Hot Rod Heckman for second place.

Bad Brad Hurley and Pat “The Mat” Matsinko are three games off the pace. With McCall’s recent success, Sam “Hangman” Matta dropped further into the Pit at 11 games back and at this point of the season, he’ll need a floodlight to see the light of day.

Unbeatens will be tested

Both Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua remained undefeated, but will have their toughest opponents yet in Week 6. The Olympian Red Swarm defense will have to play at the top of their game to extend their shut out streak of 17 quarters against 4-1 North Schuylkill. The Spartans, averaging four touchdowns a game, host JT in a “pick em” marquee match up tonight. Thorpe’s shutout streak may be broken, but I like Coach Rosenberger’s team to win in what could come down to the final possession of the game.

Tamaqua is at home against 4-1 Pottsville. Both teams are lighting up the scoreboard with the Raiders putting up 45 points a game and the Crimson Tide averaging 42. My nod goes to the Raiders. I’m looking for QB Brayden Knoblauch and running back Nate Boyle to find a way in for a late score to beat the Tide.

Nazareth takes its 5-0 record to visit Parkland, who last week spanked Liberty 35-7 and are now 3-2 on the season. We all like the Eagles to stay undefeated, but this could be their toughest match so far.

Doing the standings shuffle

With our eyes dancing across the updates of the scores of tonight’s games, there will certainly be movement in the picks standings. Only six of the 15 games are unanimous picks so get ready for some of the faces at the top of this page to change places in the order.

The Thorpe-North Schuylkill contest is a dead even pick as to which team will win this game. Hurley and Heckman can pick up a game on Yours Truly if the Spartans pull out the victory.

Another even pick is the Wilson-Pen Argyl game, a battle between a pair of 2-3 teams. Once again, this outcome will affect who stays or who comes into first place next week. I keep my fingers crossed for the PA Green Knights to give me some distance from those chasing me.

I like Mahanoy to defeat Schuylkill Haven, but Heckman, Hurley, and Steinmetz chose the Hurricanes to get their second win of the season.

Don’t worry. Be happy!

Week 6 could very well be a time of reckoning for Yours Truly. I sit alone in the king’s chair and I’m loving the view from the top of the Grid Picks standings. No matter what the outcomes of this week’s games, I stand by picks with no regrets.

Last Friday, Pleasant Valley’s coach, Blaec Saeger decided to go for two points instead of kicking a tying extra point with 52 seconds left in the game. The Bears fell one yard short of winning their first game of the season. Afterwards, Saeger said, “I’d go for two 1,000 times in that situation to get the win.”

Kudos to Coach Saeger. I’m the same way with my picks. Go with my gut and have no regrets.

Then again if I have one of those dreaded eight game wins or losses weeks, I’ll be shaking my head while I step off the throne and slide down the mountain.

Stay tuned!