POWER PICKS, WEEK SIX! | Lots of high schools off, but quality games at every level | Presented by GABRIEL JORDAN BUICK GMC
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, ETBlitz.com editor/publisher Mitch Lucas and 15 others (ETB staff members and guests) do their very best to pick an assortment of high school, college and NFL football games. Their picks are here for all to see; don’t be offended if they’ve picked against your team. Their only assignment is to pick who they believe will win.
It’s week six. And there are a lot of high school teams in our coverage area that have open dates — in fact, almost everyone. But what we lack in quantity, we make up with quality.
The picks are sponsored each week by our advertising partner Gabriel Jordan Buick GMC, where they provide the very best buying experience in East Texas. Whether it’s a new GMC or Buick product, or a preowned vehicle of Buick, GMC or a different brand, the folks at Gabriel Jordan try to produce deals that best fit their customers, putting them in vehicles they love at a price they can afford.
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Here’s our panel charged with making these picks each week:
And of course, it wouldn’t be right if we just kept the records to ourselves. Here are the standings after five weeks and 105 total games, as well as how everybody did last week. Eric Bell owned it, by the way, with a 19-4 record last week, and moved up the standings. I did NOT own it, and even though I still have the overall lead, it’s a LOT closer. Billy Chrisman, the 2024 picks champ, and the great Ronnie Sartors (if you’ve ever seen his pictures, you see why I always call him that) are 3-4, respectively. Another great photographer — all of ours are great — is Dennis Jacobs, and he’s in fifth. He’s a multi-time picks champion. My daughter, Ashtyn, also didn’t have the greatest week, but she’s in sixth, along with Joe Hale. Really, everyone is within striking distance — it’s a long season.
Gabriel Jordan / ETBlitz.com Power Picks standings
| Contestant | Last week’s record | Overall record |
|---|---|---|
| Mitch Lucas | 15-8 | 77-28 |
| Eric Bell | 19-4 | 76-29 |
| Billy Chrisman | 17-6 | 75-30 |
| Ronnie Sartors | 18-5 | 75-30 |
| Dennis Jacobs | 18-5 | 73-32 |
| Ashtyn Lucas | 13-10 | 72-33 |
| Joe Hale | 17-6 | 72-33 |
| Jacob Lucas | 16-7 | 71-34 |
| Joe Bradford | 16-7 | 71-34 |
| Clayton Fletcher | 14-9 | 70-35 |
| Jeremy Newlin | 15-8 | 70-35 |
| Havon Russell | 14-9 | 70-35 |
| Jenna Lucas | 16-7 | 68-37 |
| Tim Capps | 14-9 | 67-38 |
| Alex Nabor | 15-8 | 67-38 |
| Dereck Borders | 18-5 | 67-38 |
This week’s games
As mentioned, there aren’t as many high school games on this weekend’s picks list. As such, or accordingly, or however you want to say it, we have six less picks. So the contestants better be on their game. There are only 17 games to pick this week, rather than our normal 23.
ETBLITZ.COM PICKS WEEK SIX
(Oct. 1-Oct. 5, 2026)
HIGH SCHOOL GAMES
Friday’s games
Jacksonville (2-3) at Kilgore (1-3)
Pine Tree (3-2) at Palestine (3-2)
Henderson (2-3) at Chapel Hill (1-4)
Beckville (2-3) at Waskom (3-2)
Tenaha (3-2) at Overton (4-1)
+++++
COLLEGE GAMES
Saturday’s games
Tyler Junior College (3-2 overall, 2-2 in conference) at Kilgore College (3-3, 2-2), 3 p.m.
Boston College (2-2) at No. 21 SMU (3-1), 11 a.m., The CW
No. 10 BYU (3-0) at TCU (2-2), 6 p.m., ESPN
Arkansas (2-2) at Texas A&M (2-2), 6 p.m., ESPN2
No. 12 Texas Tech (4-0) at Colorado (2-2), 6:30 p.m., FOX
Baylor (3-1) at Arizona State (2-1), 9:30 p.m., ESPN
NFL GAMES
Thursday’s game
Pittsburgh (2-1) at Cleveland (2-1), 7 p.m., Amazon Prime
Sunday’s game
Dallas (1-2) at Houston (0-3), noon, FOX
Jacksonville (2-1) at Cincinnati (2-1), noon, CBS
Kansas City (3-0) at Las Vegas (3-0), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Detroit (2-1) at Carolina (1-2), 7 p.m., NBC
Monday’s game
Atlanta (1-2) at New Orleans (1-2), 7 p.m., ABC / ESPN
The picks!
In honor of this Saturday being the annual Kilgore College-Tyler Junior College conference game, let’s see the picks lists in KC blue and TJC gold.
| Games | Mitch | Dennis | Joe Hale | Jenna | Dereck | Jacob | Ashtyn | Clayton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville at Kilgore | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS |
| Pine Tree at Palestine | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT |
| Henderson at C. Hill | CHHS | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo |
| Beckville at Waskom | Waskom | BHS | BHS | Waskom | Waskom | Waskom | Waskom | Waskom |
| Tenaha at Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton |
| TJC at Kilgore College | TJC | KC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | KC |
| Boston College at SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU |
| BYU at TCU | TCU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | TCU | BYU | BYU |
| Arkansas at Texas A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | Ark. |
| Texas Tech at Colorado | Colorado | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Colorado | Tech | Tech |
| Baylor at Arizona State | ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor |
| Pittsburgh at Cleveland | Pitt. | Pitt. | Pitt. | Pitt. | Pitt. | Cleve. | Cleve. | Pitt. |
| Dallas at Houston | Dallas | Houston | Houston | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas |
| Jacksonville at Cincinnati | Cincy | Cincy | Cincy | Cincy | J’ville | Cincy | Cincy | Cincy |
| Kansas City at Las Vegas | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | Vegas | KC | Vegas |
| Detroit at Carolina | Carolina | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit |
| Atlanta at New Orleans | NO | NO | NO | NO | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta |
| Games | Alex | Jeremy | Ronnie | Havon | Billy | Tim | Joe B. | Eric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville at Kilgore | J’ville | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS |
| Pine Tree at Palestine | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT | PT |
| Henderson at Chapel Hill | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo | Hendo |
| Beckville at Waskom | BHS | Waskom | Waskom | Waskom | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS |
| Tenaha at Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton |
| TJC at Kilgore College | KC | KC | KC | TJC | KC | TJC | TJC | TJC |
| Boston College at SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU | SMU |
| BYU at TCU | BYU | BYU | TCU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU |
| Arkansas at Texas A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | Ark. | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M |
| Texas Tech at Colorado | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech |
| Baylor at Arizona State | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor | ASU | Baylor | ASU | ASU |
| Pittsburgh at Cleveland | Pitt. | Pitt. | Cleve. | Pitt. | Cleve. | Cleve. | Pitt. | Pitt. |
| Dallas at Houston | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | Houston |
| Jacksonville at Cincinnati | J’ville | J’ville | J’ville | Cincy | J’ville | Cincy | Cincy | Cincy |
| Kansas City at Las Vegas | Vegas | Vegas | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC |
| Detroit at Carolina | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit |
| Atlanta at New Orleans | NO | NO | NO | Atlanta | NO | NO | Atlanta | NO |