I was convinced this week would be the week that our fearless prognosticators would trip, stumble and ultimately fall flat.

Wrong. Dead flippin' wrong. Most struggled this week, but as we enter the homestretch of the Pilot Football Pick'em contest, three folks rose above the competiton to capture the monetary prizes.

Chrissy Wase of Pinebluff pegged 14 correct answers to take first place. Paul Van Hulle of Pinehurst and Bob Hennessey of Whispering Pines each picked 13 games correctly this week. Van Hulle captured second place thanks to the tiebreaker. His tiebreaker total of 59 was two points off the correct total in the Dallas-San Francisco game.

Congratulations to our winners. We are coming down to the wire with just two weeks remaining in the 13-week contest.

Keep in mind, even if you are out of the running for the $200 awarded to the winner of the contest, you can still be a weekly winner.

Winners along with second and third place finishers win money.

Deadlines for entries are Friday by 5 p.m.

Remember, The Pilot office will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, but we will be open Friday. Happy Turkey Day all, and enjoy those football games.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.