Sometimes, the results of our football picks make us look smarter than we are.

Week Seven didn’t do much to change the standings as teams favored to win did just that.

Three pickers finished with 14-1 records, and even the worst mark at 11-4 was nothing to be ashamed of in our world of prognostication.

Brad Hurley continued his long-term stay upon the king’s throne. With 85 wins, he remains two games ahead of Pat Matsinko, and four in front of Emmett McCall - who was tied this week for third place by defending champion Rod Heckman.

With more than half of the picking season gone by, the winner of the race for the Bob Ford Memorial Cup appears that it will come from the top five in the standings.

Matsinko, McCall, and Heckman can still catch Hurley. TJ Engle, at five games back, will need a big week and a big slip by Hurley to give himself a legitimate shot at sipping champagne from the Cup in November.

From Yours Truly with 76 wins, to Jeff Moeller with 71, there is still much time for the pack to change positions. Kyle Magda, in danger of becoming the sole resident of the Pundit Pit for the second year in a row, will need to win some upsets to get a chance to pull himself up from the Depths of Darkness.

Standings scrambler

As simple as it was to pick the favorites last week, this week is a different story with 15 games on the docket. Unbeaten Palmerton could have its toughest match of the season at home against the 6-1 North Schuylkill Spartans. Williams Valley at Marian could be a very close game. A solid Bangor team looks to upset undefeated Northwestern.

Bethlehem Catholic - at 5-2 - can put a scare on Friday the 13th with a win over 7-0 Parkland, and all of the last six games with winners listed above have good potential for underdog victories. The crystal balls might be a bit cloudy this week, and that increases the possibility for a dramatic shakeup in the standings.

Bombers host Spartans

North Schuylkill brings its scoring machine to Palmerton in what should be the biggest challenge of the season for the undefeated Bombers. The once-beaten Spartans have rattled off six wins in a row, with their only loss to Blue Mountain by one point.

This game has all the makings of a high-scoring affair. Schuylkill averages five touchdowns, a game while the Machalik-led Bombers are burning up the scoreboard with 45 points per contest. Strength of schedule may factor into which team comes away with a victory - as six of our 10 pickers favor the Spartans.

We think unbeaten Northwestern continues to roll against Bangor as the Tigers head toward a final regular season game of the year against a terrific Southern Lehigh team.

Marian is a consensus pick (seven out of 10) against Williams Valley. The other area teams are underdogs, and the staff’s picks reflect that.

Out-of-Area Game of the Week

Sometimes a featured game does not match up two teams with good records, but still can be competitive. This week, the Dieruff Huskies host the Timberwolves from East Stroudsburg North. The two teams have a combined record of 2-14 against some very good competition. Both teams have given up a ton of points, but the Huskies have outscored the Wolves 96-57, so we think that translates into a victory for Dieruff. Whoever wins this game, it should be a four-legged fight until the end.

Lucky seven

Eight games this week are unanimous picks, leaving seven that can move the faces on top of this page. McCall, in third place at four games off the lead, is making bold moves against Hurley’s picks by selecting Easton to topple Freedom, and Whitehall to knock off Central Catholic. The two-game swing will definitely move “Bossman” McCall closer or farther from the lead.

Matsinko can get to a game behind Hurley if Salisbury beats Pine Grove. Heckman may be Hurley’s biggest threat, as he is always in position to win the Cup at the end of the season. If North Schuylkill defeats Palmerton, a game which will have the biggest impact upon the standings, and Williams Valley prevails over Marian, Heckman will sit two back of the top. Engle tabbed Easton and East Stroudsburg North to try to subtract two off Hurley’s five-game lead on him.

Will Week Nine be crunch time for the first half of the standings, or will Hurley lengthen his lead? Find out next week when we hope you turn to this column and read.