AHOSKIE – What are the odds of a tiebreaker not settling a stalemate for two weeks in a row?

If it’s the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald’s Football Contest we’re talking about in this scenario, then the odds are pretty good.

For the third time (the second this year, with both occurring back-to-back) in the three-year history of the RCNH contest, the tiebreaker failed to settle the issue. This time around, Renee Gilliam of Windsor and Pete Melton of Ahoskie wound-up in an unbreakable tie for the $50 weekly prize money. They will share the dough, each earning $25.

Two weeks ago, Hugh Battle of Kelford and Adrian Mitchell of Murfreesboro shared the prize money as they wound-up in an unbreakable stalemate.

All totaled, three of last week’s 138 entries finished tied for the top, each with identical 12-2 records as Shawn Vinson of Ahoskie joined Gilliam and Melton in a tie for first place. However, Vinson was eliminated with his tiebreaker (a guess of 56 combined points in the Cincinnati at St. Louis game). The Rams won, 27-10, for a 37-point total. Both Gilliam and Melton predicted 54 points (closer than Vinson to the actual total).

Gilliam’s two misses were Cleveland (a 35-0 loser at home vs. Baltimore) and the N.Y. Jets (a 21-16 setback vs. New England). Melton was wrong with his picks of Philadelphia (who lost, 31-28 in overtime vs. San Francisco) and Tampa Bay (a 30-28 defeat at the hands of Atlanta). Vinson misfired on Buffalo (who lost, 20-3, vs. Miami) and Philadelphia.

Fifteen other contestants faired well during the next-to-last week of the contest as they each posted 11-3 records.

The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald’s Football Contest will run throughout the NFL’s regular season. An official entry blank and the pairings for the upcoming weekend games will appear in each Tuesday’s edition. Contestants are required to fill in the blanks with their choice of corresponding teams beside the names of each of the 14 participating Football Contest advertisers. The entry with the most correct choices will be awarded the weekly cash prize of $50. In the event of a tie, one game will be pre-selected as the tiebreaker. There, each contestant is asked to predict what they think will be the combined score between those two teams. The contestant closest to that score will earn the tiebreaker and the prize money. In the event that two or more contestants predict the same correct or closest to score, the prize money will be equally divided.

Weekly winners will be notified by phone on where to collect their prize money.

The contest is open to anyone over the age of 18, with the exception of Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald employees and their immediate families.

All entries will become eligible for the grand prize drawing of $250 in cash. That drawing will be held one week prior to the Super Bowl.

Weekly entries can be dropped off at the Ahoskie office (corner of Main St. and Catherine Creek Rd.) of the R-C News-Herald by 5 p.m. on each Friday. Entry forms can also be mailed (postmarked by 5 p.m. on Fridays) to: Football Contest, R-C News-Herald, PO Box 1325, Ahoskie, NC, 27910.

Local merchants joining the R-C News-Herald in sponsoring this year’s Football Contest are Furniture Galleries, Dixon Cleaners, Quick Lane, Hall Auto, Piggly Wiggly, H&N Mobile Home Supply, Jernigan Oil, Pizza Inn, The Athlete’s Foot, Movie Time, Allstate Insurance, Terry’s Used Cars and The Sportsman’s Edge.