I was once the hunter. Now I’m the hunted.

Yours Truly will defend his 2024 Bob Ford Grid Picks Cup championship against nine of the best football minds the Times News has to offer. My name has been engraved under the immortal icons of Rod Heckman and Brad Hurley, who are both set to reclaim their previous titles.

Last season, I defeated Hurley by one game, and it took a late fourth-quarter touchdown by a backup quarterback to award me the spoils. Now I get to stand on top of the mountain until somebody knocks me off come this November.

The odds-on favorites

Through the years, I have mostly finished in the bottom half of the standings. My first season with Grid Picks, I finished in next-to-last place and a year later, I finished dead last. I finished fourth three years in a row. Then I tied for third in 2023 before winning the Cup last year. Just to be modest, I’m placing my odds at 5-1 to win it again this year, or I just might be a one-hit wonder.

The H and H boys have to be odds-on favorites based upon their historical records. Heckman, a four-time title winner since 2014, has finished second six times and last year slipped to his worst-ever fifth place. I’m putting Heckman at 2-1 to capture his fifth Cup championship.

Hurley is a two-time champ, and has finished in the top five in the last 11 years except for once. He’s at 3-1 to capture the Cup for the third time.

The possibles

Our sports editor, Pat Matsinko, hasn’t won since 2016, but he’s come in third for the past four years. Pat has been the perfect bridesmaid lately, always a few steps from the altar, but doesn’t quite get the gold ring on his finger. I place his chances this year at 6-1 odds.

Justin Carlucci returns to the GP games after a hiatus of four years. He won it all in 2021, and is always a threat to cross the finish line first. Figuring he might be a bit rusty on the local football scene, I’m sending him out of the gate at 8-1.

Sam Matta, a previous back-of-the-pack finisher, flirted in first place last season, but dropped to a personal-best fifth. He’s a gunslinger with some of his picks, so I’m giving him a decent chance to knock off the favorites with 10-1 odds.

The dark horse

Retired sports editor, Emmett McCall, is back with all the time on his hands to do his diligent research and make successful picks. He has finished in eighth place or tied for seventh 11 times in the past 11 years. That is consistently unimpressive for our ex-boss. Will this be his year to shock the Grid Picks world? Sorry, Emmett, but your historical performance says no. You are officially out of the gate at 15-1.

The back of the pack

Only because they have not cracked the top five during our Grid Picks high school football season or if any did, it was for a pretty quick entry and exit, TJ Engle, Mike Haines have been flashes in the pan and Jeff Moeller, with all due respect, are all 18-1 shots at any one of them lifting the trophy come this November.

And away we go!

Week 1 games can be the most difficult to pick the winners. Graduations from good teams can change their entire direction and send them spiraling into losing seasons. Programs that finished under .500 a year ago can hit their stride with the experience gained from their younger players and have solid seasons.

That said, we’ve dusted off the crystal balls, checked past records, flipped coins and even allowed our daughters to pick the winners by choosing which mascots they like better.

So let’s take a quick look at how our TN staff sees the outcomes of the first 15 games of the grid picks season. Four games come off any effect on the standings because all 10 pickers like the same winner.

Northern Lehigh, Jim Thorpe, Tamaqua, Salisbury, Schuylkill Haven, Shamokin and Bristol are all heavy favorites. Moeller is on the upset side with his picks of Lehighton, Palmerton and Panther Valley, so he can make an early big splash or an immediate sink into the Pundit Pit if those teams don’t win.

So can Slingin’ Sam Matta if PV, Pottsville and Pennsbury win their games. Mad Dog Mike Haines is already pushing all his chips into the middle of the table with his picks of Lehighton, Blue Mountain, Pottsville and Palisades.

Perennial leader Heckman, who usually does not go off the grid with early upsets, is counting on Pen Argyl and Palisades to help him gain an early advantage.

Four games are a mixed bag of picks. Freedom vs. Downingtown West is a match of two solid programs expected to have big winning seasons, and we are split right down the middle. Catasauqua, Mount Carmel, and Northampton are slight favorites, and their game outcomes will definitely scramble the standings.

Out-of-Area Game of the Week

I like the matchup between the North Schuylkill Spartans at the Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes. A 20-minute drive separates these two football powerhouses, which makes this contest a backyard brawl. Both teams finished 8-4 last year. The Spartans have won the last three times these teams have met, but the consensus here is that the Red Tornadoes, who averaged 32 points a game last year, will turn the tables and stop the trend.

Carmel senior quarterback, Gavin Marshalek — who ran and passed for 15 TDs as a junior — will lead the charges against an always physical Spartan defense. This should be a close one and quite possibly, the team with the final possession late in the fourth quarter could pull out the victory. The staff slightly tabs MC to be the victors.

Tee ball

It’s time to kick off another exciting season of high school football games, and our 10 staff members are all-in to win it all. Who will jump out of the gate and grab an early lead? Who will fall into the dreaded Pundit Pit? Stay tuned to find out in next week’s Grid Picks column.