It was a week of slipping and sliding in the race for the Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup, but after the dust settled, one thing stayed the same.

Justin Carlucci held his ground with an 11-4 record, and kept his three-game lead over Pat Matsinko.

It’s looking like a two-man race now that TJ Engle and Rod Heckman fell farther back. Heckman sits in third place, but five games off the lead, and Engle has fallen into fourth and a nearly insurmountable six games off the lead with only two weeks of picks left to go.

Yours Truly and Brad Hurley are tied for fifth place and seven games behind.

The other “race” is at the rear of the pack. Emmett McCall, Chuck Hixson, and Mike Haines are just one game on top of Sam Matta, the current resident of the Pundit Pit. The Den of Darkness could very well hold not one, not two, not three, but four pickers by the time the final buzzer sounds to end the 2021 high school football season.

Six pack playoffs

A half-dozen local teams are in playoff competition in Week 11, but only three are pickers’ favorites to move on to the next round.

Northern Lehigh finished its 7-3 regular season with a four-game winning streak, and the Bulldogs are unanimous favorites to beat Minersville in a semifinal District 11 Class 2A game. In the other matchup, Palmerton, a 42-8 victor over Catasauqua earlier this season, hosts the Rough Riders again and is another unanimous pick. This would match the ‘Dawgs against the Bombers next week in a rematch game for the 2A championship.

The Tigers of Northwestern, undefeated in the regular season, will host the Wilson Warriors in a game where the final score may total triple digits. Wilson can score big with its aerial assault, while Northwestern is averaging five touchdowns a game.

The Tigers beat the Warriors in early October, holding them to six points, but the feeling here is that NW wins again; but this time, it could be a higher-scoring affair.

Jim Thorpe takes its three-game winning streak to Easton in a 3A playoff semifinal against Notre Dame-Green Pond. Earlier this season, the Crusaders defeated the Olympians 49-21, so head coach Mark Rosenberger’s team will be motivated to earn a different outcome.

This is an interesting difference in style of play. Thorpe is a run-first, pass-second offense, while NDGP is the opposite. Can the Red Swarm slow down the Crusader scoring machine that averages 40 points a game? The pick is right down the middle. Yours Truly likes the Red, White, and Blue in an upset.

Congratulations to Pleasant Valley for making the playoffs once again in Class 6A. The Bears take on the undefeated Konkrete Kids from Northampton. Win or lose, the Bears have already put their stamp on a great season.

Tamaqua qualified as a fourth seed in the 3A bracket, and gets the unenviable task of playing top-seeded North Schuylkill. The Spartans routed the Raiders two weeks ago in a regular season contest, so this will be a tough challenge for Sam Bonner’s boys, but you never know, and that’s why they play the games.

Why stop now?

Speaking of congratulations, applause goes out to Marian for turning its season around. After an 0-7 start, Stan Dakosty’s Colts have won three in a row. And they want to keep playing, so they’re home tonight against Columbia-Mountour VT. The consensus is Marian closes out the year with four-straight wins.

Ride with the Tide

My choice for the Out of Area Grid Pick Game of the Week is Allentown Central Catholic at Pottsville in a District 11 Class 4A semifinal matchup. Last week, the Crimson Tide (8-2) shocked state ranked North Schuylkill in a double overtime upset win.

The Vikings (7-3) carry a three-game winning streak, outscoring those opponents 87-14 in doing so. Tide QB Jazce Carabello-Snowell has passed and run for 18 touchdowns. Central features signal caller Tamlin Ferguson, who has passed for over 1,200 yards this season. This game should be a showcase of athletic talent for the fans to enjoy. The staff majority likes ACC, but Yours Truly will ride with the Tide to keep their mojo going after their big win over the Spartans.

Holding on!

These are the words to describe the race for the Cup in Week 11. Carlucci just needs to maintain his pace in the final two weeks to win the Cup. Matsinko is throwing his chips on the table with a desperate move to close the gap. He has four different picks than Carlucci and if Jim Thorpe, Pottsville, Southern Lehigh, and Nazareth all win, we could be seeing him sitting in the king’s throne going into the final week. Even if he gets some of these right, he could get close enough to give Carlucci a run for the money.

At the back of the pack, McCall, Haines, and Hixson are holding on by their finger nails from sliding into the Pundit Pit with Matta. McCall will be sweating out his pick of Easton over Freedom, but Hixson has made the boldest picks with underdogs CMVT, Catasauqua, Southern Lehigh, and Nazareth.

There’s still time for Sam to climb, McCall to fall, Chuck to have luck and Haines to make gains.

Next week, down the stretch we’ll come. Will Carlucci run out of gas and let Matsinko pass, or will he finally get to hold the gold?

One thing is for certain, there will be some scoreboard watching going on this weekend!