The turn for the finish line is now in sight. Three contenders and 45 games to pick the winners will decide who will hoist the coveted Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks Cup trophy.

Rod Heckman carries a two-game lead into Week 10 over Yours Truly, with Brad Hurley just three games behind. Heckman has a 53-6 record since Week Six, a torrid streak that has made him awful difficult to catch. Now it’s crunch time, with just one regular season schedule of games and two playoff weeks remaining.

Our sports team at the Times News holds true to an unwritten rule that no one should make his picks based on someone else’s predictions. Picking winners based upon what others have chosen can give an unfair advantage. That was never so evident when years ago, Bob Ford, for whom our trophy is named, entered the final week one game behind Heckman. Once he found that he had picked the same teams to win as Heckman did, he knew he had no chance to tie or beat the leader.

“It is what it is,” he told me. “I wouldn’t change anything.”

The roll of the dice

To catch Heckman, Hurley and I will have to roll the dice on key matchups in Week 10. I’m picking an upset winner, with the Nazareth Blue Eagles (7-2) to end the Easton Rovers’ bid for an undefeated regular season. The Eagles had won three in a row before being crushed by Northampton last week. The Rovers proved they can win close games after beating Liberty and Freedom by a combined six points. The pressure to go 10-0 is on Easton in this game and they have the team to do it, but I’m going with the home team here to pull off the big upset win. I win, and I can gain a game on both Heckman and Hurley. A loss could send me into third place.

Speaking of Liberty and Freedom, my choice for the Out of Area Game of the Week, once again I’m going against Heckman’s and Hurley’s pick of Freedom to win this Bethlehem rivalry. Heckman also likes Dieruff, while Hurley and I both tabbed William Allen in this matchup of Allentown schools.

In the neighborhood

Only five of the 15 games are unanimous picks, so expect a shuffle in the standings. On the local scene, Lehighton is the favorite to beat Jim Thorpe in the Route 209 trophy battle. Northwestern faces Southern Lehigh for the second year in a row in a battle of unbeatens. We all believe that Josh Snyder’s Tigers will win this prime time match up, and move on to defend their state championship. Pleasant Valley had a thrilling overtime victory, but this week, it’s not the majority choice to beat Stroudsburg.

Northern Lehigh is the favorite to beat Salisbury and finish its regular season schedule with a solid 7-3 mark. Tamaqua faces a tough challenge at Blue Mountain. The Raiders have showed a lot of grit this year, but the crystal balls say the Eagles will take care of business at home.

Out of Area Game of the Week

This time I’m going with two schools that are about four miles apart from each other. The Liberty Hurricanes (6-3) face the Freedom Patriots (5-4) in the battle of Bethlehem. This is their “Army-Navy” end-of-the-year game. Throw out the records, although Freedom has recently dominated the series, having won the last seven in a row. Historically, Liberty holds a 34-32 advantage.

The Hurricanes are averaging six touchdowns a game, mainly on the arm of quarterback Antonio Fontanez. The senior signal caller has career totals of 3,762 passing yards and 40 TDs, and has also rushed for six more. His favorite target has been wideout Jake Pukszyn, who has 626 receiving yards and 13 TDs.

The Patriots QB is Michael Stofanak, who has thrown for 1,265 yards and 13 TDs. The Pats have other strong weapons on the offensive side of the ball in junior running back Lashawn Johnson, who has gained 822 yards and crossed the goal line eight times. Senior Abraham Pla and junior Jahaire Hughes have combined to get to the house 14 times.

My pick is for Liberty to end its seven-game losing streak to Freedom in what should be a terrific football game.

Here we go

Can Heckman be passed? Will McCall finish last? Does Hurley have a big kick at the end of the race? Will Yours Truly defend his title and capture first place? The picks get much more difficult for the next two weeks in the postseason. The finish line is in sight. Come tomorrow, we’ll see whose faces at the top of this page move to the left, and which ones slide to the right.