With Week 2 now behind us, the Grid Picks standings have some interesting changes – and that begins right at the top.

Justin “The Voice” Carlucci banged out 14-1 record to jump out of the pack to tie Bad Brad Hurley for the right to share the king’s throne. Yours Truly has tied Bob “Photo” Ford for second, just a game out of first.

Hot Rod Heckman had a not so hot week and fell into a tie for fifth with Pat “The Mat” Matsinko’s, whose 13-2 mark moved allowed him to climb a notch in the standings. Both are two games behind the leaders.

Kudos to Chuck “Good Luck” Hixson. His 12-3 week launched him out of the Pundit Pit and right into the middle of the group.

Defending champions Handy Andy Steinmetz’s Team Stein are in the hunt at 22-7.

The lost boss and Sam the Sham

Emmett “Loss Man” McCall and Sam “The Sham” Matta continue to fumble the ball from deep in the Pundit Pit.

Already four games off the lead in a short season, another bad week might have them looking forward to the basketball and wrestling seasons. With only six weeks of the regular season to go, they have selected a few upsets for Week 3 in an effort to see the light of day.

McCall’s underdog of the week is a surprising Nativity team to upend Williams Valley, while Matta tabbed Panther Valley, Shenandoah, and Whitehall to pull out wins - three picks that could make or break his season.

JT and the Blue Raiders rock on

No, it’s not the name of a local rock group, but Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua kept up their beat and are now 2-0 with tough wins in Week 2.

The Olympians edged Blue Mountain by a single point, orchestrated by Coach Mark Rosenberger’s decision to go for what became a successful two-point Brandon Fasolino conversion after an Eagle penalty on the JT extra point kick attempt moved the ball inside the two- yard line.

Blue Raiders’ QB Nate Wickersham drove his team on a nine play fourth quarter drive, capped by his eight-yard pass to Nick Gregoire to beat Lehighton by six.

This week, the Olympian road warriors travel to Pine Grove. The Cardinals are 0-2. Look for Calcano and company, along with the Red Swarm, to keep their team unbeaten.

Sam Bonner’s Raiders host the winless Riverside Vikings. The staff agrees that Tamaqua’s attack should put high double digits on the scoreboard for its third win in a row.

Lehighton hosts Pottsville Saturday in another tough battle for The Tribe. The consensus is that the Maroon and White will hold back the Crimson Tide in a close one.

Start (and stop) the engines

Several teams on the Week 3 docket are gearing up for their first games of the year. Palmerton and Northern Lehigh kick off their seasons tonight, with the Blue Bombers hosting Catasaqua and the Bulldogs home to Palisades.

Palmerton took its lumps last year, but returns an experienced roster, and should take down Catty, a winless team last fall.

Coach Joe Tout likes his Bulldogs’ team speed against a 1-1 Palisades squad that can put points on the board.

The concenus picks are for both area teams to get their seasons off to a winning start.

Meanwhile, Northwestern’s game against Bangor was called off earlier in the week due to a positive COVID-19 case within the program. The district suspended football practices and games through Oct. 2.

Colts looking for first win

Marian travels to play Shenandoah in a matchup of two teams looking for their first win. The majority of our panel expects coach Stan Dakosty and the Colts to beat a Blue Devils’ team that has been outscored, 103-7, so far this season.

Led by quarterback Michael Pascoe and running back/receiver/kick returner Louis Clouser, Panther Valley showed some spark against Lehighton and beat Marian last week.

Yours Truly picks the dog in this fight against Schuylkill Haven, and if the Panthers prevail over a program that’s had their number for years, Coach Rick Jones will show PV fans an early season winning record for the first time in years.

In an interesting matchup of teams outside our coverage area, Nazareth (12-2 a year ago) plays its first game against a solid Allentown Central Catholic team. This is one of several toss up games in a week that has just three unanimous picks.

Go for it all

Carlucci has a history of making a run for the Cup early on, but then does a fade at crunch time. This week he’s made some bold predictions and has three different winners than Hurley in an effort to distance himself from the pack.

Team Stein is betting the bank by picking three winless teams to knock off heavy favorites, and make a big move to retain the title.

Week 4 could very well decide who’s in and who’s out in the race for the 2020 Grid Picks Cup.