Anyone who has been in this Cup race over the years knows that Brad Hurley can never be counted out. This season, he’s been fixed in third place for a while, but a Week Seven best record of 14-1 has lifted him past Yours Truly. He now trails Rod Heckman by three games, while I’ve fallen to third place — four games off the lead.

“I got off to a slow start this season,” said Hurley. “But I’ve been able to string together some good weeks by going with the teams that have been traditionally physical up front. I took an old-school approach.”

With five weeks to go, he isn’t about to change his strategy. “I think I need to continue to stick with what has been working, while sprinkling in one upset pick per week to try and gain some ground on Rod, who is always really consistent.”

Speaking of Heckman, he and Justin Carlucci both went 13-2, but matching Hurley with only one loss was TJ Engle. Carlucci is tied with Pat Matsinko in fourth place, but remains 11 games back. Engle leapfrogged past Mike Haines, who has fallen into the Pundit Pit to keep company with Emmett McCall.

On the local front, Northwestern is expected to remain undefeated as it heads toward a big battle against Southern Lehigh in two weeks. Lehighton is the majority choice to beat Tamaqua and even its record at 4-4. Panther Valley is tabbed to get a win over Shenandoah. Palmerton is a heavy favorite over Salisbury, and Northern Lehigh is picked to beat struggling Catasauqua. Marian will have its hands full with a strong Williams Valley team.

In a rivalry game where the winner gets to hoist the Old Oaken Bucket, Pocono Mountain East visits Pleasant Valley. This will be the 65th meeting between the two schools, and the Bears are looking to reclaim the Bucket after last year’s loss to the Cardinals. This could be a close contest, with the outcome likely decided late in the fourth quarter.

Upsets now

With five weeks remaining, the only way to gain ground on the leaders is to pick — and win — a few upsets. This week, there are seven unanimous-pick games, two 9-1 pick games and two 8-2 games. On paper, it doesn’t appear there will be much movement in the standings, but some of us are counting on an upset or two.

Yours Truly and Matsinko selected Twin Valley to knock off Wyomissing, so we’ll either gain or lose ground on Heckman and Hurley. In an attempt to climb out of the Pundit Pit, McCall likes Tamaqua over Lehighton, and Williamsport and Montoursville to win mild upsets.

The game that could shake up the standings is the Freedom-Northampton matchup. Hurley likes Northampton, and if the Konkrete Kids win, he could gain even more ground on Heckman.

Out-of-Area Game of the Week

I’m going with a matchup between the Twin Valley Raiders (7-0) and the Wyomissing Spartans (7-0). The Raiders have outscored their opponents 400-60, and have topped 60 or more points in four of their seven wins. The Spartans have averaged 43 points per game while allowing just 12.5 per contest.

Senior Drew Engle has been a go-to ball carrier for the Spartans. Over the past three seasons, he’s rushed for 1,929 yards at nine yards per carry and, including receptions, has scored 20 touchdowns in his career. Quarterback Maverick Foster ran for one touchdown and threw for another in last week’s blowout of Donegal.

Wyomissing has a juggernaut offensive attack as well, averaging six touchdowns per game. The Spartans have rolled through their last five opponents and, on paper, seem to be more battle-tested — which might make them a slight favorite. I usually make the wrong pick in these kinds of games, so let me try to break the curse: Twin Valley defeats Wyomissing in what could very well be a basketball-type score.

Triple Play

Heading into Week Eight, three pickers are in serious contention. Hurley is making his run. Heckman knows the race is far from done. Yours Truly is trying to keep pace and get back into first place. Matsinko, Matta and Moeller are vying to break away from the pack, while Engle, Haines and McCall are hoping to avoid another picker’s sack.

With five weeks left, can anyone knock the leader off the top of the hill?