Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Daily Press sports editor Austin Hemmingson (left) presents a $250 check to Dan Derouin of Pioneer TV & Appliance for winning the Daily Press Red Zone contest recently. Derouin will donate his winnings to United Way of Delta County.

ESCANABA — Picking winners of NFL games requires a couple things — good knowledge about the game and a whole lot of luck.

Dan Derouin, of Pioneer TV and Appliance & Sleep Center, had been picking games in the Daily Press Red Zone contest for five years before coming through with a first-place victory this season. He finished with an 178-88-1 record, two games ahead of Brad Mantela from Dobber’s Pasties and Phil Pasanen from Cleary Building Corporation.

“It feels good,” Derouin said in a recent interview. “We didn’t think we were going to win, but we did. I think a lot of it was just luck. You can analyze football all you want, but it’s a crazy game.”

Derouin held a one-game lead over Mantela and Pasanen entering the Super Bowl. He picked the Kansas City Chiefs to seal the victory, and they came through for him with a 31-21 come-from-behind win over the San Francisco 49ers.

“I thought the Chiefs were going to win,” he said. “I thought they had the better offense… It was going to be a good game either way.”

Derouin will donate his $250 in winnings to United Way of Delta County, a charity that supports numerous non-profit organizations around the area. Each red zone contestant got to pick a charity of their choice, and Derouin explained why he went with United Way.

“They’re a great organization, they do a lot of great things for our community,” he said. “They’ve helped so many people over the years. We like them and they’ve always been a great company to work with.”

This year’s red zone contest was competitive throughout, as five contestants still had a legitimate chance during the second half of the season. Defending champion Sheela Butryn of Garceau Insurance finished in fourth, seven games behind Derouin.

Derouin noted his experience picking games is fun, and it’s something he’s done for a while anyway.

“I enjoy it. It’s fun,” he said. “I’ve always done it throughout the years. My good friend had a pool where we’d all get in and do the same thing anyways. It’s fun and something to do. It keeps you involved with watching some of the games on Sundays where otherwise you wouldn’t really care who won or not.”