Until now, it’s been a two-horse race to determine who’s going to be the next reunion king later this month: reigning champ Carbs or two-time winner Dave “JOOOOOONNES” Laidlaw.

“The smart money is on Carbs,” said class stalwart Larry Rettig, as tears ran down his face “But you can’t bet against JOOOONES because he’s been there before.”

But last week, the Class of ’94 executive board learned that JOOOONES’ own brother Doug is gunning for it all this year. The Landmark reported that Doug was seen multiple times on the ropes course at Wachusett over the past month during late-night sessions aimed at winning it all.

When finally confronted about those sessions at Papa Gino’s in Holden, Doug said he’s furious at how Carbs didn’t sign autographs or take pictures with his classmates after winning the Reunion King title at the Sweet 16. “He walked out on us,” Doug said. “I’ll never forget that for as long as I live.”

Reyo Matthews, whose Reunion King vote is weighted (giving him 4 total RK votes) to account for his seniority in our class, defended Carbs. “When Carbs won the Reunion King, he gave us athleticism, know-how and a will-to-win,” Reyo said with tears in his eyes. “That’s not to take anything away from what JOOOONES has accomplished, but Carbs took our class to another level.”

“That’s garbage,” a disgusted Doug said with tears in his eyes. “It’s clear that Reyo goes whichever way the wind blows.”

Friends of Doug said he has been a man on a mission ever since he won the Father of the Year trophy on Father’s Day Eve. “He saw that the impossible was possible,” said a tearful class entrepreneur Mark Roberge. “Aside from winning Reunion King, Father of the Year is where it’s at.”

Roberge said that from a purely entrepreneurial, sales-based analysis, Doug has the intangibles to do the unthinkable – win Father of the Year and Reunion King title in the same year. “That’s the Triple Crown of awesomeness,” said Roberge, who listed Doug’s height, wingspan and flexibility as some of his greatest strengths.

When asked to predict a favorite, Roberge hedged his bets. “Look man, someone like Mike Lewis is a dark horse candidate as well. We have so much talent in our class that anyone could take home the crown,” he said with tears in his eyes. “It’s why we’re the best class ever.”

So know it’s your turn to weigh in on the question everybody is asking: who do you think will win the Reunion King title at our Lucky 21?