Week 9 Class 8 Man League/Playoff Breakdown
Ark Valley
The Ark Valley league has three very solid teams and we have a good matchup on hand this week when Springfield travels to Granada. This is a big game for all three teams if Granada wins they win league, Holly finishes in second if they beat Wiley, and Springfield finishes in third. If Springfield pulls the upset then we have a three way tie for first place. Granada has played a very tough schedule and has plenty of close games to go with it. Granada should escape that game with a victory and snag first place. Holly should be able to get by Wiley but better not overlook them or we could have a 3 way tie for second place. I do think that the Ark Valley gets three teams into the playoffs.
Springfield at Granada Wiley at Holly
Las Animas at McClave
Central
We will finally have are league champion when West Grand and Vail Christian meet. Both teams should get into the playoffs but a home game and good seed are on the line. West Grand rolled Rocky Mountain Lutheran last week 80 to 28 and Vail Christian beat Pikes Peak Christian 44 to 14. They have one non-league common opponent and that is Plateau Valley, West Grand lost and Vail Christian beat them. I do think Vail Christian will grab the league title and a home game. West Grand will be on the road in the first round. Gilpin County is in third place and if they beat Elbert will at least get their name thrown into the hat for a playoff berth. I will break that down more at the end.
West Grand at Vail Christian Elbert at Gilpin County
Rocky Mountain Lutheran at Nederland
Mountain
The Mountain league has are league champion when Sargent beat Dove Creek last week 30 to 18. Second place is still up for grabs as Dove Creek travels to Mancos. It’s pretty simple the winner takes second and the loser finishes in third. I think Dove Creek should be able to easily move by Mancos and finish in second. I think Mancos is in a tough spot and will be sweating it out to see if they get into the playoffs.
Sierra Grande at Sargent Dove Creek at Mancos
Sangre De Cristo at Sanford
Plains
Finally we get are show down of the #1 and #2 teams in the state and the battle for a league crown. This will be a good test for both teams to see how good they actually are. Sedgwick County has yet to be tested all year and blew past Dayspring Christian last week 44 to 18. Akron last week added another shut out to their record blanking Caliche 48 to 0. I think this game is going to be a great one. Their results are almost identical and I think we should see both teams over 30 points and honestly I think for Akron to pull the upset will need over 40. I think Sedgwick County finally gets pushed but do win by about 10 points. I wish I was in the area to watch this game. The other two league games are also very important. Caliche travels to Merino and are in need of a win. Caliche has yet to win a league game and if they lose again this weekend will be eliminated from the playoffs. Merino picked up a key win last week downing Haxtun 26 to 21. That win give them the head to head over Haxtun and if Merino wins this weekend will finish in fourth place and I believe a guaranteed playoff berth. I think Merino will sneak out a 10 point win and get into the playoffs. The other important game is Haxtun traveling to Dayspring Christian. Haxtun will need to rebound quickly if they want to pull the upset. Haxtun is sitting in fifth place and I think still get into the playoffs but they need Merino to beat Caliche to make sure there is not a three way tie for fourth. Dayspring Christian with a win finish’s in third and should get a good playoff seed. The Plains league will be interesting to see how many teams get into the playoffs.
Sedgwick County at Akron Caliche at Merino
Haxtun at Dayspring Christian
Southern
The Southern league has are league champion in Hoehne. From their down it gets a little more messy. Kiowa, Fowler, and Simla are all looking to get into the playoffs and this week will decide that. Kiowa hosts Fowler this week and will determine a lot in terms of the league race. If Kiowa wins they finish in second place and if Simla wins will finish in third pushing Fowler down to fourth and eliminated from the playoffs. If Fowler pulls the upset then things get interesting. We would then have a three way tie for second place. Kiowa should be able to move past Fowler basing that on Simla beating Fowler and Kiowa beating Simla. With a Kiowa win and Simla win we have are places set and then it gets interesting to see if Simla gets in. Will break that down at the end.
Custer County at Hoehne Fowler at Kiowa
Cripple Creek at Simla Swink at Pikes Peak Christian
Western Slope
Norwood has a bye week to prepare for the playoffs. The Western Slope league is now in trouble of only getting one team into the playoffs. When Soroco upset Plateau Valley last week that really hurt Plateau Valley chances of making the playoffs. Soroco has no chance at the playoffs. I don’t think the Western Slope get another team into the playoffs but will discuss that more.
Soroco at Hayden Plateau Valley at Rangely
Week 9 Playoff Predictions
The way 8 man is selected is by giving the league title winners automatic berths. Then they select 3 teams from the pool of second place teams then replace them with third place teams then keep going until you have 16 team selected.
Automatic Berths: Granada, Vail Christian, Sargent, Sedgwick County, Hoehne, Norwood
Next 3: Akron, Dove Creek, Holly
Next 3: Dayspring Christian, Kiowa, Springfield
That would put us at 12 teams and I am pretty confidant on these teams all making the playoffs just as long as they finish the season how they are supposed to. Kiowa cannot lose to Fowler or that could change everything. Two of the next four teams I believe are locks. West Grand and Merino should both be in for sure, just as long as Merino beats Caliche. These last two spots I believe are fully up in the air. There are 5 teams that have a chance at 2 playoff spots. Those 5 teams are Gilpin County 5-3, Mancos 6-2, Haxtun 5-3, Caliche 3-5, and Simla 3-5. When you look at record there are a few teams that don’t have good record but if you guess the results of next week then this gets more interesting. Gilpin County 6-3, Mancos 6-3, Haxtun 5-4, Caliche 3-6, and Simla 4-5. What you have to then begin doing is looking at quality wins to narrow down the list. Gilpin County with a win would move to 6-3. Their losses are to Nederland which they split this season with, West Grand 46-32 and Vail Christian 48 to 16. Their one non-league win is over Sanford who is 2-6. Mancos I don’t think is going to pull the upset of Dove Creek so will move to 6-3. Their three losses are to Norwood, Sargent, and Dove Creek. They barely beat Rangely and got a forfeit from a New Mexico team for their non-league wins. Haxtun has a big advantage over one team in the race and that is Simla. Haxtun will pick up their fourth loss but played in the very tough Plains league. They have non-league wins over Las Animas, Simla, McClave, and Wiley. Not a horrible non-league schedule. I think they have done enough to get into the playoffs. Caliche will more than likely move to 3-6 but also have a key win over Soroco and that hurts Soroco chances. Caliche I don’t think has done enough, their non-league wins are on weaker opponents and they will miss the cut. Simla had the toughest non-league schedule in 8 man. They played Haxtun, Merino, and Akron. Once into league they rolled through most of their opponents but lost to Kiowa and Hoehne who are playoff teams. That is a total of 5 playoff teams they faced. I believe that Haxtun will take up one of the last two spots which leaves one spot open. The last spot will be between Mancos and Simla. I am going to give the edge to Simla due to the strength of their schedule and beating the opponents they were supposed to by a lot unlike Mancos only beating Rangely by 6 and Del Norte by 12.
Next 3: Merino, West Grand, Simla
Final Spot: Haxtun
First four out: Mancos, Caliche, Gilpin County, Soroco
Playoff Matchups
#1 Sedgwick County vs #16 Simla
#2 Norwood vs #15 Haxtun
#3 Akron vs #14 West Grand
#4 Granada vs #13 Kiowa
#5 Sargent vs #12 Merino
#6 Hoehne vs #11 Springfield
#7 Vail Christian vs #10 Holly
#8 Dayspring Christian vs #9 Dove Creek
MileHigh Prep Report 