Week Six was a success for everyone in the race for the Bob Ford Memorial trophy.

Nobody was perfect, but an 11-4 record that can sometimes be the best mark of a week, was the lowest score.

Justin Carlucci won the week at 14-1, and is four games off the pace. Race leader Rod Heckman increased his margin to two games over both Brad Hurley and TJ Engle. Yours Truly remains six back of Heckman, while Patrick Matsinko and Jeff Moeller are seven games out. Both Matta and McCall are eight down, while Mike Haines remains in the Pundit Pit, 10 games out of first place.

“It’s nice to win,” said Carlucci, who I have at 6-1 odds to capture the gold, “but I’m not nearly as in the loop as when I was covering games regularly.”

He was asked if he would alter his picks’ strategies to try to close the gap on the frontrunners.

“Depending on where I’m out in the second half, I typically try to look for a contrarian winner or two each week when I think everyone will pick the opposite.”

With six weeks left that counts the playoffs, it gets harder for the pack to gain ground on the frontrunners, leaving the pack little choice but to go heavier with upsets and hope for the best.

Locals march on to victories

After six weeks of the football season, our nine area teams have a combined record of 35-19. Both Northwestern and Palmerton are unbeaten; while Lehighton and Northern Lehigh have just one loss apiece. Only Tamaqua and Pleasant Valley are under .500, but still have enough games left to finish with winning seasons.

This week matches Northwestern against Lehighton, and Jim Thorpe at Northern Lehigh, local games that will affect the overall area team records.

Out of Area Game of the Week

Let’s go with Twin Valley from Elverson at Solanco, from Quarryville. Both teams are undefeated at 6-0. TV’s Raiders are led by 6-1, 200-pound running back Lucas Myers, who is averaging nearly 13 yards a carry. In their ground and pound offense, quarterback Gavan Foster has thrown only one touchdown in six games.

Myers is also an all-state outside linebacker with 11 Division 1 scholarship offers. He controls the perimeter of a defense that has registered three shutouts in six games, anchored by 6-3, 215-pound inside linebacker Declan Sacks.

Myers and Sacks will both try to control Solanco’s running back, Wesley Bard, who has rushed for 17 touchdowns this season and averages 178 yards a game. Chase Sensenig operates the Golden Mules’ run-heavy option offense that has scored 261 points in their six games.

In most sports that feature two talented teams playing each other, good defense often stops a good offense enough to win the game. My prediction is Raiders over the Mules, 21-14.

Week 7 no heaven

As good as we did with our picks last week that barely jiggled the standings, I expect a near earthquake this week rocking the current order, especially, within the pack.

Only five of the 15 games are unanimous picks and will have no effect. At the top, both Heckman and Hurley differ on three games. Carlucci can gain a game toward Heckman if Palisades beats Salisbury, which will be pivotal for the rest of us, too.

Two programs struggling with one win between them make it difficult to choose a winner. Together, they’ve given up 457 points in six games and scored 129. Our staff favors Salisbury by a slight margin. I’m going with the home team, the Palisades Pirates, to win their first game of the season. I have a heart for winless teams, and just one win late in the season can make it feel like a Super Bowl victory.

Other games that will shuffle the standings include Catasauqua at Pen Argyl, an even split with the picks. North Schuylkill is a slight favorite to beat Tamaqua, as are Bethlehem Catholic over Freedom and Scranton Prep over North Pocono.

Northwestern, Palmerton, North Pocono, Twin Valley and Solanco are still undefeated, with the latter two playing each other tonight. The consensus is that Northwestern and Twin Valley will be the only teams with unblemished records going after the night is over.

Right now, it’s ‘All Hail Heckman’, who remains comfy on the king’s throne and until someone knocks him off, he could be looking at yet another year where he gets his name engraved on the trophy.