Two favorites and an underdog will battle to win the 2026 Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks trophy.

Barring a total collapse, it’s highly unlikely with only 30 games left to pick, Brad Hurley, Rod Heckman, and TJ Engle are all in good position to claim the victory. Hurley stunned Heckman with a 13-2 Week Ten to leapfrog over the defending champion and take a two-game lead. Engle holds third place, but he’s chasing four games and will need a fabulous finish to have a chance to overtake the front runners.

Hurley, at 3-1 odds to win it all, is in a familiar place sitting on the king’s throne and discussed his strategy for the final weeks.

“This is the toughest time of the year to make picks. It’s lose and go home, so teams are playing with ultimate urgency to survive and advance.

“But at this point in the season we’ve all seen a lot of football, so you try and take what you have seen and apply to it to the area games on the docket. I always try to look at the strength of schedule and momentum when making a pick.”

He added, “Rod always finishes the season strong, so hanging on won’t be easy.”

After Engle, Justin Carlucci, after tying Hurley with a 13-2 week, sits in fourth, six games back of the lead. Fifth place belongs to Pat Matsinko at eight back. Sam Matta dropped into a tie with Yours Truly and a rising Jeff Moeller. We are 10 games out of first place, and just six ahead of Emmett McCall and Mike Haines who share the Pundit Pit.

All in!

It’s been a banner season for our nine local teams who have combined for a 54-36 regular season record. Six of the nine have winning records, and all nine have qualified for the post season. This week, Tamaqua plays Jim Thorpe and Panther Valley is at Northwestern, so at least two of our teams will advance to the next round.

Out of Area Game of the Week

I’m going with Easton at Freedom. The Rovers at 5-5 have been unpredictable all season long, winning in a pattern of every other week. They have beaten very good teams in Bethlehem Catholic and Nazareth and lost three games by a total of six points, including a 38-35 loss to Freedom in late October. The Patriots are 7-3, with a three-game win streak. On paper, they should be solid favorites, but that depends on which Easton team shows up tonight and whether they can win two games in a row for the first time this season.

The Rovers have a three-headed monster in the backfield with Akhir Brown, Jeffrey Thomas, and Zahviaw McGurn who have combined for 1,293 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Sean McPeak has 35 receptions, and Amin Fideen 27. Together, they have combined for 13 TDs.

The Patriots have a potent offense led by quarterback Michael Stofanek, who has thrown for 1465 yards and 15 touchdowns. It looks to be a ground and pound vs. air attack, but teams that can run the ball in the postseason usually have an advantage. I pick Easton in a mild upset.

Playoff predictions ...

The crystal balls are a bit cloudy heading into the playoffs, but historically speaking Week 11 is an easier pick than next week as evidenced by the one unanimous selection in Northwestern, and eight other games that have clear cut favorites on paper. We are split on the Education-Palmerton and Lehighton-Pottsville games. Conrad Weiser and Freedom are slight favorites.

For Heckman to tie or regain the lead, he will need Easton to beat Freedom and Lehighton to win over Pottsville. Engle also needs the Tribe and Freedom to win to give himself an outside chance to play for the title in Week 12.

Perhaps the biggest spin of the lucky wheel this week is Emmett McCall. With a high risk shot of breaking free from the chains of the Depths of Darkness and to climb back into the pack, he has gone against the majority with no fewer than nine of his picks. Either we could be talking about the best picks week he has had in years, or he will be holding residency in the Pundit Pit for yet another year.

For now, it’s Hurley and Heckman in the final turn heading for the finish line, with one more week to play. The trophy awaits the signature of the victor. Will the name be a repeat of former winners in Hurley or Heckman, or will Engle surprise this time and pass them by at the wire?