One might think that picking winners of high school football games is more about luck than skill. If that’s true, then current holder of the Bob Ford Memorial Grid Picks trophy and multiple-time champion Rod Heckman should try his luck at the Powerball lottery.

Heckman’s perfect 15-0 Week Four record moved him into a familiar spot — first place, with a one-game lead over last week’s leader, Brad Hurley.

Pickers’ paradise

As humbling as Week Two had been, with half the staff winning only eight games or fewer, Week Four was a big score for everyone. The worst records from last week were 11-4, a mark that is usually good enough for the top half. Pat Matsinko’s four losses dropped him into a three-way tie with Yours Truly (12-3) and Jeff Moeller (14-1).

Sam Matta and Emmett McCall also had great 14-1 weeks, but unfortunately for them, Matta remains in ninth place and McCall still sits in the Depths of Darkness, better known as the Pundit Pit.

Just win

After four games, all our local teams are in line for winning seasons. Palmerton, Northwestern and Lehighton are unbeaten. Tonight’s marquee matchup has undefeated Southern Lehigh taking on the Tribe. Both teams have put up huge offensive numbers. The consensus is the Spartans will win with a little more firepower, but we are rooting against ourselves and would love to see the Tribe go to 5-0.

The last two weeks’ predictions jumbled the standings quite a bit, but this week, the outcome might keep every picker where he is unless upsets rule the day. Of the 15 games, eight are unanimous picks, so they don’t matter to the standings. Every other game is a majority pick except for one. Pocono Mountain East is a slight favorite among the pickers to beat Stroudsburg.

Five of our pickers can gain ground if their upset picks come through. Matsinko and Carlucci like Lehighton to win tonight. Moeller and Haines picked against eight of us for Tamaqua to knock off Blue Mountain. Engle was the only picker to take Shenandoah Valley over Marian. Matta was the only one to take Tunkhannock over Panther Valley, and Hurley can gain a game on everyone if Pottsville defeats Berwick.

Out of Area Game of the Week

This time it’s Parkland hosting Northampton, led by workhorse running back Chase Kessler. In the Konkrete Kids’ one-point win over Liberty last week, Kessler lugged the rock an 32 times for 139 yards. In four games this season, the career 2,000-yard rusher with 23 touchdowns has gained 615 yards and hit paydirt eight times.

If you think Kessler’s statistics are impressive, Parkland’s TJ Lawrence has run for 3,128 yards in his career, averaged seven yards a carry and scored 47 touchdowns.

Both teams can sustain long-scoring drives, but I see the Trojans winning, with Lawrence wearing down Northampton’s defense and the clock as well in the second half.

Hello or goodbye

We’re halfway through the high school football season. It’s crunch time for us pickers. After this week, there’s a probability of some pickers falling out of contention. Haines, Matta and McCall need big winning Week Fives to avoid losing even more ground in the standings.

The middle of the pack has five pickers, including Yours Truly. We’re three to five games back of the lead and need to hold our ground or gain in the standings. Those of us who have a bad picks week are in danger of being labeled “also-rans” in the race.

Heckman sits on the throne, a familiar seat ever since Grid Picks began keeping records. If he goes undefeated in Week Five or continues his double-digit win weeks, he will be difficult to catch.

Heckman has the lead in the race. Hurley is looking to get back into first place. The middle of the pack will sink or swim, and for the final three, it’s win, win, win!