Out of the rugby scrum of grid pick frontrunners comes Handy Andy Steinemetz. This week he sits alone on the king’s throne.

His stellar 14-1 record from Week Nine propelled him into first place and two games ahead of Bad Brad Hurley and Hot Rod Heckman.

When asked about his good fortune of predicting winners of football games, Steinmetz described his process.

“My method has evolved over the years to a system of sending them out to three of my friends,” said the Palmerton High School graduate. “They send me back the picks and two out of three {makes the picks} unless I have inside information to override them.”

Steinmetz contended that he’s not out to defeat anyone in particular, but if he should win he has a special place for the TN Grid Picks Cup trophy.

“If victorious,” he said. “The trophy will be displayed above my mantle, alongside my coveted accomplishments like my Times News Player of the Year Award and my fourth grade Hopscotch Championship trophy.”

Well, aren’t we glad he still has some room left!

Yours Truly fell three games back into third place and has been fading fast. Bob Photo Ford and Justin The Voice Carlucci are still in the hunt, four games off the pace.

At the bottom of the pile, Sam The Hangman Matta seems destined to dwell in the Pundit Pit. Bossman McCall sits four games above Matta while Chuck Bad Luck Hixson, dropping like a skydiver with no parachute, is in danger of joining Matta in last place.

Week 10 brings backyard brawls

Rivalries abound in this, the final week of the regular season. Lehighton battles Jim Thorpe for the right to hoist the Route 209 trophy and with the Indians struggling of late and the Olympians coming off two straight defeats, the staff unanimously likes JT at home.

Another annual clash pits two Catholic schools, Allentown Central against Bethlehem. ACC needs a victory to finish with a winning record, but nine of ten pundits say no to the Vikings and yes to the Hawks.

Nazareth is having a great season, but will be tested this week by the Easton Rovers. The consensus is that the Eagles, with just one loss, will win at home and head into the playoffs with four straight victories.

Two Pocono teams will play for the Pride of the Mountain trophy. East and West have identical 4-5 records, so this is game is a coin toss. Yours Truly likes West in a very close contest.

Though not a backyard brawl, the game of this week is Pottsville at North Schuylkill. Both teams have one loss and the outcome decides who wins the Division One – Schuylkill League title. Another coin flip here, but the majority likes Wally Hall’s Spartans with their option offense to grab the title in what should be a black and blue slugfest.

Crunch time

With only a few weeks to go, the chase for the Cup is nearing the finish line. Key games this week should change the positions of the faces on the top of this page once again.

From the bottom, Matta is banking on Week 10 upsets to give him a shot at climbing out of the Pit. He’s picked underdogs, Palmerton, Panther Valley, and Bangor to give him a chance. Of course, if they lose, the losses send him deeper into the dark hole.

At the top, Heckman can regain a tie for first place if Pocono Mountain West and Blue Mountain win with Steinmetz selecting East and Haven.

Yours Truly has not sat in the king’s throne for a few weeks. My key pick is Louis Dieruff over William Allen. Steinmetz and Heckman like Allen

The Schuylkill Haven-Blue Mountain backyard brawl comes into play. BM is the majority pick, but this contest has little to do with win-loss records. A few years back, the Eagles ruined Haven’s shot at an undefeated season.

We’ll soon find out if Steinmetz runs out of gas or if he is first at the wire and gets to hoist the coveted TN Grid Picker’s Cup.