I finally got to see the world’s best chain gang in action for the first time this season last week at Kenton Ridge. ESPN was even there to chronicle their every move, though public address announcer Fred Martin has been known to exaggerate their accomplishments.

The guys at Kenton Ridge are so good, they barely even needs the chains and markers at this point. They go about their lives 10 yards at a time, so when they get to Friday night, they could walk off the yards in blindfolds if need be.

The star of the gang is Mike Minette. He’s on Injured Reserve this year and has been replaced by an up-and-coming chain gang prospect, Aaron Shaffer, the head baseball coach. Minette cuts my hair once a month, so I know the ins and outs of the group, which also includes Judge Tom Capper, Sonnie Mounts, Casper Shaffer and Keith Roeder.

They spend their offseasons training in Alaska and the Amazon rain forest, so they can get used to moving the chain in blizzards and torrential downpours. They have a collection of antique yardsticks, rulers and tape measures, allowing them to study in their downtime away from the field. They can count to four in 20 different languages, and for some reason, this helps when they have to flip the down marker.

Sure, it’s a lot of work for five nights a year, but it’s all worth it when a team gets a first down and they get to move 10 yards to the left — or the right.

Jim Jordan won the Wizard Contest last week by tiebreaker. He missed two games. The Wizard went 11-3 last week, bringing my season total to 57-25.

Game of the Week

Tecumseh (4-2) at Shawnee (4-2): The Braves have won three in a row in the series, but in the last 10 seasons, it’s 5-5.

The head coaches are good friends. Tecumseh’s Kent Massie was on the sidelines through Shawnee’s run to the state championship last season, cheering on Shawnee coach Rick Meeks.

After disappointing losses to Urbana early this season, both teams have regained some momentum with blowout wins the last two weeks. Pick: Shawnee 35, Tecumseh 28.

Benjamin Logan (2-4) at Urbana (5-1): The Hillclimbers have scored 40 or more points in all five of their victories, and the Raiders have allowed at least 48 points in all four of their losses. Pick: Urbana 48, Benjamin Logan 13.

Catholic Central (0-6) at Northeastern (1-5): The Irish have nine straight wins in the series. Pick: Catholic Central 14, Northeastern 12.

Fairmont (1-5) at Springfield (1-5): One of the Wildcats’ two wins last season was against Fairmont. Pick: Springfield 20, Fairmont 13.

Greeneview (4-2) at West Liberty-Salem (6-0): The Tigers should clobber everyone until Week 10 when Triad will give them a test. Pick: West Liberty-Salem 47, Greeneview 13.

Greenon (1-5) at Graham (0-6): The Knights have lost four in a row, and Graham has lost 10 in a row. Pick: Greenon 31, Graham 6.

Indian Lake (3-3) at Northwestern (3-3): The Warriors have lost five straight to Indian Lake. Pick: Indian Lake 28, Northwestern 14.

Kenton Ridge (4-2) at Bellefontaine (1-4): Since an 8-3 playoff season in 2009, Bellefontaine has gone 8-18. The Cougars won 42-21 a year ago. Pick: Kenton Ridge 27, Bellefontaine 18.

Mechanicsburg (2-4) at Triad (5-1): The Cardinals have won five in a row, all by at least 21 points. Pick: Triad 33, Mechanicsburg 13.

Southeastern (4-2) at Cedarville (1-4-1): The Trojans are seventh in Division VI, Region 24. Only eight of the 33 teams in the region have winning records. Pick: Southeastern 31, Cedarville 10.

College

Wabash (3-1) at Wittenberg (4-0): Wittenberg’s seniors have never lost a home game. The last visiting team to win at Edwards-Maurer Field was Wabash in 2008. Pick: Wittenberg 31, Wabash 28.

Urbana (3-2) at Kentucky Wesleyan (1-4): The Blue Knights are 3-0 at home, but 0-2 on the road. Pick: Urbana 27, Kentucky Wesleyan 20.

Nebraska (4-1) at Ohio State (5-0): The Buckeyes try to avenge a 34-27 loss in Lincoln last season. Pick: Ohio State 24, Nebraska 17.

NFL

Dolphins at Bengals (3-1): The Bengals face their third rookie quarterback in five games. Pick: Bengals 31, Dolphins 17.

Browns (0-4) at Giants (2-2): The Browns rank 28th in the league in rushing yards (76.2 per game). Pick: Giants 22, Browns 10.