With one week left, Brad Hurley holds a two-game lead over Rod Heckman in the race for the Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks championship.

Last week, Hurley and defending champion Heckman both finished with 11-4 records. This week shows three games in which they differ in their picks. Heckman needs Schuylkill Haven, Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Tri Valley to win their games to overtake Hurley’s two-game lead.

Despite a Week 11 best record of 12-3 to pull within three games behind Hurley, TJ Engle has been eliminated from the title mix. He has only two different picks than Hurley, and currently stands three games behind. At 20-1 pre-season odds, Engle was the biggest surprise based upon his finishes in prior seasons. He has a shot at passing Heckman into second place.

Down the stretch we come ...

For the rest of us chocking on the dust of the front runners, there should be some interesting shifts in the final standings. Justin Carlucci is in fourth place after an 8-7 week, one game ahead of Pat Matsinko and just two games in front of Jeff Moeller and Yours Truly. Sam Matta, who has been bouncing up and down like a rubber ball in the standings, fell into eighth place. Emmett McCall, with a solid 10-5 Week 11, has pulled himself four games ahead of Mike Haines who looks like he might have to spend the offseason in the Pundit Pit.

And then there were four ...

After a collective excellent regular season for our nine local teams, four remain in the District 11 playoffs.

Jim Thorpe, with an outstanding second half of the year, will take on formidable Notre Dame-Green Pond in the Class 3A semifinals. At 10-1, and after beating Salisbury 79-0 last week, the Crusaders will be a challenge for the Olympians’ Red Storm defense to keep them in check. Thorpe put up 48 points last week against Tamaqua, but it prefers not to get into a basketball scoring type game with NDGP heading into the fourth quarter.

In the other semifinal bracket, Northwestern hosts Executive Education. After crushing Panther Valley last week, the Tigers will face a team that put up 41 points in a defeat of Palmerton last week.

After defeating Shenandoah Valley last week, Joe Tout’s Northern Lehigh Bulldogs get Schuylkill Haven in the District 2A title game. Both teams have had roller coaster seasons, but Tout predicted to me after a loss to Lehighton that he fully expected his Dawgs to play for the championship — and here they are.

Lehighton plays Blue Mountain in the Class 4A semis after the Tribe dismantled Pottsville 28-14. The 10-1 Eagles provide a high-scoring challenge to Tom McCarroll’s defense, so ball possession will be a key factor for his offense to win this one.

Out of Area Game of the Week

I like the matchup between Wyoming Area and Scranton Prep. Wyoming, after a 1-2 start, has won eight games in a row. The Warriors like to run the ball with their three-headed monster: Nicolas Kondrosky, Semaj Morris, and Dominic Bartell, who collectively average 187 yards a game. The Cavaliers are also 10-1 and like to carry the rock between the tackles with Braedon McPartland, Brandon Farmer and Owen Jeffers who have crossed the goal line a combined 28 times this season.

On paper, this should be a close game, but Scranton Prep is the heavy favorite in our picks, largely due to the Cavaliers’ strength of schedule. My pick is Prep by a touchdown.

The flip the coin factor ...

Many out of area games are on the Week 12 schedule making them difficult to pick the winners. Our crystal balls will rely on research and strengths of schedules, but these games really come down to a heads or tails coin flip.

Four games will have a big impact on the final standings. The staff is evenly split with Parkland against Whitehall. We have Northern Lehigh as slight favorites to beat Haven. Other slight favorites are Abington Heights, and Spring- Ford.

Middle Mania ...

There should be some shuffle in the middle of the pack. Only one game separates Carlucci, who is in fourth place, from Matsinko and two games from Moeller and Yours Truly. At the final count, we will finish either in the top five or closer to the dreaded Pundit Pit.

There is only one question that really matters. Will Brad Hurley or Rod Heckman once again have his name engraved on the cherished trophy. Next Friday we will have the answer as to which one gets to sit for another year on the king’s throne as the winner of the 2026 Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks race.