Here we go again.

It’s been five years and much water over the dam, but here I am once again to entertain you with my picks for The Pilot football contest.

I was sports editor for about seven years before moving over to oversee the website for the paper.

During my time as sports editor I proved that my picks were not that impressive, although some years the gods of luck must have shined on me because I did not do too badly.

Then there were other years when my picks were, well, let’s just say, not so good.

So now that I have moved back into the saddle as the paper’s sports editor, I think it’s safe to say that since I didn’t really have any skills when it came to picking games, my new foray into prognostication can be neither better nor worse than it was before.

Before we get too far: The contest entry blank can be found on the last page of the sports section that appeared last Sunday (that would be Sept. 4, folks).

You get the page, you make your picks and submit them to the office located on Pennsylvania Ave. in downtown Southern Pines.

The entry blank will appear each Sunday for the next 12 weeks.

This year there will be 16 games every week for the prognosticators in the county (and elsewhere if some out-of-towner is so inclined) to try to grab one of the weekly prizes.

The weekly prize money goes this way: $50 for first, $30 for second and $20 for third.

There is a tiebreaker game each week. Each contestant has to pick a combined number for that game. This week’s tiebreaker game is Seattle at San Francisco. So if you think the final score is going to be 17-14, then your tiebreaker number would be 31.

Not only are there weekly prizes, there is also a season-long battle leading to the crowning of the overall winner.

That person, who compiles the best record for the entire season, will be the proud winner of $200.

Now, I, just to supply some guffaws and thigh-slapping merriment for the participant, will make my picks each week.

I really don’t know what I’m doing because most of the time I’m just flipping a coin to see which team I will pick. That means I have a 50/50 chance, right? Right?

Anyway, you’ll get no fancy analysis from me, nor will you get any inside information. I’m simply a conduit for the coin I flip.

And the coin says this week that the winners will be: Atlanta, Cleveland (that pick is for my friend K-Trip and her father), Kansas City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Houston, Washington, San Diego, Arizona, N.Y. Jets, Va. Tech, South Carolina, Auburn, San Francisco.

Let the games begin.

Contact Hunter Chase at sports@thepilot.com