With just four weeks left in the race for the Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup, it appears the winner will come down to Rod Heckman, Yours Truly and Brad Hurley.

Hurley and I have been playing leapfrog the past two weeks. He jumped over me into second place in Week 7, but my staff-best 14-1 record in Week 8 moved me back ahead of him — now three games behind Heckman.

As we near the finish line, a few upsets will be needed to crack the leader’s crystal ball.

The game that moved me up was Twin Valley’s 28-6 win over Wyomissing in a battle of unbeatens. Both Heckman and Hurley picked Wyo over TV. Pat Matsinko also picked the Raiders to defeat the Spartans.

That said, it will be extremely difficult to catch Heckman, who holds a comfortable lead over Yours Truly, and a four-game advantage over Hurley.

Outside looking in

Matsinko and Justin Carlucci are tied for fourth, but at 11 games back, it’s pretty much a certainty they won’t break into the top three unless the leaders have very bad weeks to allow them back into contention. Still, there’s no shame in finishing in the top five — and Sam Matta has a good shot to get there as well.

The bunch in the back

For the final four, there’s still plenty to play for. TJ Engle, Jeff Moeller and Mike Haines can still move up the ladder. Emmett McCall has nowhere farther to drop, so expect him to pile up upset picks in the next four weeks. I know how he feels. Not too long ago, I tried to climb out of the Depths of Despair with an end zone full of upset picks. Unfortunately for me, I fell so far down into last place I couldn’t see the light of day until the following season.

Local mojo

The Northwestern Tigers are home and will put their 24-game winning streak on the line against the Tamaqua Blue Raiders. Coach Josh Snyder’s program has not lost since December 2023. With a win tonight, a classic rematch could be set when they host presumably unbeaten Southern Lehigh next week. Last year, the Tigers downed the Spartans 23-17 on their way to a state championship.

The other area teams that can finish — or will finish — with winning records are Northern Lehigh, Lehighton and Marian. Pleasant Valley, Jim Thorpe, Palmerton and Tamaqua all have chances to finish strong and end with .500 records.

Out-of-Area Game of the Week

In an epic battle between two teams having great seasons, the Exeter Eagles (7-1) take on the Conestoga Valley Buckskins (8-0). The 5A Eagles, previously ranked seventh in the state, were upset last week — which should provide even more incentive for this game.

They are led by dual-threat quarterback Jacob Hafer, who has passed for 773 yards and nine TDs, and rushed for three more. In their only loss, Leo Brown lugged the rock 31 times for 246 yards. His career average of 9.4 yards per carry has resulted in him crossing the goal line 19 times since becoming Exeter’s feature back.

The Buckskins feature quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade, who has thrown for 3,562 career yards and 45 touchdowns. Add to that an impressive 64% completion rate to just six career interceptions. When Esbenshade isn’t pumping the air with footballs, he’s handing off to Teagan Ruble, whose legs have gained 1,381 yards and 15 touchdowns over the past three years.

I got it right with Twin Valley last week. I’m going with Conestoga Valley to remain unbeaten.

The keys to the kingdom

Three key games could prove pivotal as the frontrunners turn toward the finish line three weeks from now.

The first is the matchup between Pleasant Valley and Pocono Mountain West. Both teams are hard to figure out. The Bears (3-5) keep bouncing between wins and losses, and just when it looks like they might turn the corner toward a winning record, they stumble — as they did last week in a 28-0 loss to PM East.

The Panthers (5-3) won four of their first five games, before dropping two of their last three. Both Heckman and Hurley have tabbed the Bears. While my heart wants to agree, my head tells me the Panthers will prevail.

The other two games are out-of-area contests, which makes them trickier to pick since we haven’t seen those teams in person. Heckman likes Exeter (7-1) to hand unbeaten Conestoga Valley its first loss, but Hurley and Yours Truly predict the Buckskins will make it nine straight wins.

Another matchup that might shape the Cup standings is between the Warwick Warriors (7-1) and the New Oxford Colonials (8-0). Heckman and Hurley like Warwick to pull off a mild upset, but I’m taking New Oxford to stay perfect heading into Week 10.

It’s Week 9, and as the regular season winds down, the question remains: Will Heckman, Hurley and Yours Truly stay fine — or will someone fall out of the contention line? The Cup sits patiently, awaiting the engraved name of its next victor.