Max and Katie Bichler, the newlywed couple from Buffalo competing on CBS’ Amazing Race, have survived the first two Sundays of the season.

The Auburn Citizen delves into greater detail about the challenges faced by the Bichlers, who took a four-hour penalty on the first Sunday for avoiding a sandcastle test and lagged behind the other competitors to start the second leg.

Fortunately for the locals, however, Max’s persistence in completing the challenge of kicking a coconut 35 yards across a beach while on stilts allowed the Bichlers to proceed to the third leg at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Here’s a breakdown by The Citizen’s Robert Harding, a long-time viewer of the CBS reality series:

I will repeat what I said in my post last week: Anything can happen. Other teams have been in the same position, got off to a slow start early in the race but finished strong. Remember the Beekmans last season? They finished in the middle of the pack or near the bottom almost every week, but they finished first when it counted: On the last leg of the race with $1 million on the line.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Bichlers’ roots and want to learn a little more about them, listen to Nick Mendola’s Audio Buffalo podcast with the popular duo. Also, the couple has been terrific responding to followers on Twitter—you can Tweet at Max (@MrMaxBichler) and Katie (@KatherinBichler).

Stay tuned to see if the Bichlers can defy the odds and snatch momentum as the season moves mercilessly along. Now here’s a deleted scene where Katie shreds Max’s confidence, but Max takes it like a champ.