Rearrange the board and move the faces on top.

Exit Yours Truly from the seat of the king’s throne. Enter Hot Rod Heckman and Handy Andy Steinmetz. After my 9-6 record in Week 7 and Heckman’s 10-win mark, along with a week-best 11-4 slate for Steinmetz, they have moved into a first-place tie going into Week 8.

The pack stacks and McCall falls

Bad Brad Hurley and Yours Truly sit just one game back of the leaders with 80 wins. Pat “The Mat” Matsinko is only two games back of the frontrunners and Bob Photo Ford, a preseason favorite, and Justin “The Voice” Carlucci are holding steady with 78 wins. Ford and Hurley are proven bets to challenge for the Cup, so don’t expect any mid or late-season collapse from either one.

After a personal-worst 6-9 picks week, Emmett “Bossman” McCall may soon reclaim his “Mercy Rule” shame. He has fallen to the edge of the Pundit Pit where Sam “The Man” Matta is climbing up following his best week at 10-5.

Time to buckle up the chin straps

For the first six weeks, some local teams had piled up the wins against non-league opponents. From last week and through the end of this regular season, the schedules move to league play to determine playoff eligibility and positioning. Every game from here on out for teams in line for the postseason is significant.

After losing to North Schuylkill, Jim Thorpe rebounded to defeat Blue Mountain last week. The Olympians face a tough opponent in Pottsville tonight. The Crimson Tide have defeated preseason favorite Tamaqua, and their only loss was a double overtime one-point defeat to undefeated powerhouse Wyomissing. JT is a really good team, but they might need all cylinders firing tonight to pull off the upset against the rising Tide.

Tamaqua, losers of two straight after a 5-0 start, are favored to get back on track against Lehighton. Marian hosts Shenandoah Valley, with each team trying to get off the snide. The pick here is for Pat Morgans’ Colts to get their first win against the Blue Devils. Northern Lehigh upset Salisbury last week, and the Bulldogs get the nod tonight to win their fifth game of the season against Palisades.

Northwestern held on to defeat Southern Lehigh 36-34 last week, and will be tested again tonight when it hosts 5-2 Saucon Valley. The Tigers have been elevating their play, and are led by quarterback and last week’s Times News Player of the Week, Devin Bollinger.

Perhaps, the most intriguing out- of-area game pits 7-0 Upper Dauphin against 6-1 Williams Valley. UD averages an astounding 55 points per game, having scored over 60 twice and 78 once. Williams Valley has limited their opponents to 13 points a game, so it’s a high-powered offense versus a stingy defense in this marquee matchup. My pick is for the Trojan scoring machine to keep rolling and take down the Vikings.

Competition on the field and in the office

With the action heating up on the gridiron, the fires are burning in the sports office as well. The race for first is getting intensely competitiv, as staffers are sending in their picks as late as possible so they can check the winners selected by their nearest opponents. Everyone is gunning for that perfect 15-0 week and a seat in the prestigious king’s throne.

Twelve of the 15 contests are unanimous picks, so no one gains an advantage there. If Williams Valley beats Upper Dauphin, and Bethlehem Catholic takes down Easton, Hurley and Steinmetz can leapfrog seven others who have selected UD and Easton. Hixson has made the boldest picks, tabbing Jim Thorpe and Shenandoah Valley. Ford, playing it safe, will gain a game if Palmerton knocks off Wilson. Matsinko is alone with a Panther Valley victory over Mahanoy Area.

Yours Truly had a good six-week run on top of the standings. Now, one game behind still has me in position to get back to the top, but it won’t be easy against the likes of Heckman, Hurley, Ford, and Steinmetz.

Time to run the ball for now, but look for me to take a risk and throw the deep pass in the next few weeks to try to win the Cup as the clock winds down.