To borrow an old cliché’, Week Eight in the race for the Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup may have separated the men from the boys.

With two regular season weeks and a few playoff weeks left in the picks’ season, Brad Hurley remains in first place following a 14-1 week. Despite finishing at 13-2, Pat Matsinko dropped three games back of Hurley while defending champion Rod Heckman has moved past Emmett McCall into third place and sits four back of the leader.

Four pickers had 14-1 weeks, including Yours Truly, Heckman, and Jeff Moeller, who nicely distanced himself from cellar dweller Kyle Magda and tied Mike Haines for eighth place.

Raiders run; Bombers won

After losing its first four games of the season, Tamaqua has evened its record and has outscored its opponents 128-41 in those four victories.

This week, the red-hot Raiders travel to Palmerton, a field for failure for every opponent so far this year. The Bombers remained unbeaten last week with an impressive win over a solid North Schuylkill team. Our staff predicts a Tamaqua tumble and a Palmerton rumble, but momentum is a powerful force in high school football, so don’t be surprised if Sam Bonner’s team plays with a head of steam. If they don’t orchestrate a colossal upset, they could keep the score close into the second half before Machalik and company rise to 9-0.

Down for the count

Marian, Panther Valley, Jim Thorpe, Northern Lehigh, Pleasant Valley, and Lehighton were all on the wrong side of the score last week. Our crystal balls favor the Colts, Olympians, and Bears to turn that around and come away with victories in Week Nine. Then there are the 8-0 Northwestern Tigers playing the 0-8 Wilson Warriors, and the only question for this game is how many points can the undefeated team score as they load up for next week’s highly-anticipated matchup against unbeaten Southern Lehigh.

Out of Area Game of the Week

I have chosen the Minersville at Schuylkill Haven game, with our staff evenly divided as to which team wins. Sophomore sensation Dante Carr has passed for 797 yards and nine touchdowns, while running back Luke Stevenosky has rushed for an incredible 1,722 yards and 27 touchdowns for the 7-1 Battlin’ Miners.

After losing its season opener to Marian, Haven has strung together seven wins in a row. That’s thanks in large part to 200-pound sophomore running back Niko Carestia, who is averaging over six yards a carry and has crossed the goal line 15 times this season for the Hurricanes.

This game will play havoc into the grid picks standings for sure. Yours Truly takes the Battlin’ Miners over the ‘Canes with a late fourth-quarter winning TD.

Triple play

With the season winding down, the winner of the Grid Picks Cup should be one of three pickers. Hurley sits comfortably on the king’s throne with a three-game lead. Barring a total collapse, he will have gone wire-to-wire to earn his name engraved on the prestigious trophy.

Don’t count out Matsinko just yet. If both Northern Lehigh and Schuylkill Haven win, he slices Hurley’s lead to a single game. To win the Cup for the second year in a row, Heckman needs to make a big move this week. At four games back, he needs Haven to win, and Freedom to defeat Emmaus, and put himself in striking range.

Pack Party

Just three games separate McCall in fourth place, and Yours Truly in the sixth spot in the standings, with TJ Engle in fifth at 91 victories. McCall and I differ on two games: I can climb closer to him if Tri-Valley and Minersville both win. Engle picks up a game if Lehighton upsets Saucon Valley.

Catch him if you can

What will be the line after Week Nine? Will Brad be glad to lengthen his lead? Can Pat “The Mat” get closer to the top cat, or will Rod get the nod and be in position to successfully defend his title?

The regular season ends next week and then the playoffs begin. There’s still plenty of football to be played to see who will win.