8 Man League Breakdown
Northwest League
The biggest surprise for 8 Man this year might be the how tough the Northwest league actually turned out to be. No team is under .500 and everyone has a chance to win league. The first week of league will tell us a bunch about this league. All three games are important and we will start with West Grand traveling to Hayden. Hayden broke a two game losing streak last week pounding Miami-Yoder 46 to 8 but they will have a ton of work to do in league. Their RPI might be a little low due to their losses being to teams with losing records. Hayden will need to win league to have a chance at the playoffs. West Grand suffered their first loss of the season last week losing to #9 Pikes Peak Christian 20 to 8. They will need to quickly bounce back form that loss if they plan on trying to win league. I thought West Grand easily would win league but they will be challenged by a few teams. West Grand should win this game easily and I have them winning by 21. The next game is Gilpin County at Plateau Valley. Gilpin County got off to a rough start losing their first two games but have bounced back nicely winning their next two and now come into this game on a winning streak and some momentum. They beat Belleview Christian last week 64 to 12. Their two losses were to quality opponents (Merino and Simla). This will be a good measuring stick to see if they have a chance at competing for the league title. Plateau Valley rebounded nicely from their loss two weeks ago beating Grand County UT 35 to 0. They also have a quality win over Mancos 12 to 8. This is a big game for both of these teams to see if they can win a league title and possibly compete for a playoff spot. I have Plateau Valley winning by 7. The big game of the week is Rangely traveling to face #10 Soroco. These two teams played two weeks ago and Soroco came away with a big victory 46 to 6 but this time when they face off it will be for a league win or loss which matters a whole lot more. Rangely is on a losing streak getting slammed by Sedgwick County last weekend 62 to 0. They will need to quickly turn things around and that won’t be easy this week. Soroco had a bye last weekend to prepare for the opening week of league. Soroco last played Rangely and won 46 to 6 like mentioned earlier and in their last game ran wild racking up 450 yards of rushing so that will be the key again this week when they face off. I have Soroco winning again this week by 24. Soroco and West Grand are the two favorites to win league so this will be a key week for both of them to get off to a 1-0 start. This league will get two teams in for sure and possibly a third.
League Games:
West Grand at Hayden Gilpin County at Plateau Valley
Rangely at #10 Soroco
Plains League
So it begins! The best league in 8 Man kicks off probably the toughest 5 weeks of football for these 6 teams. Only one team is under .500 and that is Caliche (0-4) and that will be the easiest game these teams will play. Week one will start to break this league apart but with the amount of talent in this league one loss won’t kill your league title chances because that team could lose the following week. #4 Merino has the easy game this week. They travel to Caliche and should move to 1-0 in league play and 5-0 overall. They must use this game to prepare for the long run through the rest of the season. One of two big games this week is #6 Akron traveling to #8 Sedgwick County. This is a rematch of last year’s state championship in which Sedgwick County cruised to a victory. This year is a little bit different Akron will be the favorite but not by much and this should be a great game. Sedgwick County bounced back from their lost two week ago pounding Rangely 62 to 0. Defensively they were great holding Rangely to -13 yards rushing and 0 yards passing. In Sedgwick County three wins they have shut out teams. This week will be much tougher as they are facing their second big test of the year. Akron is on a two game winning streak and their defense has also been very stout. In their three wins they have given up only 6 points but in their one loss to #2 Dayspring Christian they gave up 32 points so making sure they can slow down Sedgwick County offense will be the key. Last week Akron cruised past Simla 49 to 0. Akron on offense ran the ball at will rushing for 348 yards and 6 touchdowns, they were led by Tyler Wylie who ran for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. This will be a great game and honestly will turn into a defensive battle. I have Akron winning by 7. The next big game is #2 Dayspring Christian at #7 Haxtun. Haxtun is coming off a blowout win over Kiowa 49 to 6. Haxtun is one of the more balanced teams in 8 man and they proved it last week throwing for 166 yards and rushing for 151 yards. Haxtun has not played that tough of a non-league schedule their toughest game was against Wiley and they barely won 39 to 31. This will be a very important game to see where they stack up against the rest of the league. Dayspring Christian is coming off a HUGE comeback win against #5 Hoehne. At the end of the third quarter Hoehne was winning 38 to 29 and Dayspring Christian scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Hoehne failed to convert on a two point conversion and DCA scored and made the extra point to finish off the comeback victory. Dayspring Christian has played a tough schedule playing against two top ten teams so they are battle tested. I have Dayspring Christian winning this game by 17 points. Once again this league could be a 5 team league but for sure see 4 teams getting into the playoffs.
League Games:
#4 Merino at Caliche #6 Akron at #8 Sedgwick County
#2 Dayspring Christian at #7 Haxtun
Central League
The Central league is starting to come into picture with Pikes Peak Christian leading the way followed by Justice and South Park. One of my pre-season favorites has struggled this year and are at 0-4 and that is Miami Yoder. Pikes Peak Christian is the big surprise this year and we will have to see if they can keep that momentum going and win league. They are not really any big games this week. Miami Yoder (0-4) travels to #9 Pikes Peak Christian. This game should easily go to Pikes Peak Christian. One other game of note could be Rocky Mountain Lutheran at South Park. South Park must win this game if they want any chance at league. They should win by 21 points. Right now the Central League might be one of the weaker leagues so avoiding bad losses will be key. Right now I see two teams for sure getting in but you have to avoid the bad lose or only one team could get in.
League Games:
Miami Yoder at #9 Pikes Peak Christian Rocky Mountain Lutheran at South Park
Justice at Belleview Christian
Southern League
The Southern League favorite is Hoehne and even though they are 2-2 they have played the toughest schedule in league. Hoehne is well battle tested and should easily walk thru the league and maybe will be challenged by Fowler or Simla. Hoehne is at Kiowa this week and should get off to a 1-0 start in league and bounce back from their tough loss to #2 Dayspring Christian. Simla should also get off to a 1-0 start. They travel to Swink (0-4) and this is a very important game for Simla they cannot afford a bad loss so a win here will be key. The big game of the week to figure out pretenders and contenders is Custer County (2-2) at Fowler (1-3). Custer County is off to a good start but must build on that in league. They will have to bounce back as they were hammered by South Park last week 38 to 6. Custer County struggled stopping the run last week as South Park ran for 280 yards. Custer County must improve on the run. Fowler is on a two game losing streak and was blanked last week by Wiley 19-0. Fowler has struggled getting their offense going and barely broke 100 yards of total offense last week. They also have struggle stopping the run giving up 204 to Wiley and 489 to Sargent. If Fowler wants to get of their losing streak stopping the run will be a must. I am going with Fowler here by 3 because they have played against some good teams and hopefully they can use that experience in this game. Right now I see this as a 2 team league for playoffs and will be hard to get three teams in.
League Games:
#5 Hoehne at Kiowa Simla at Swink
Custer County at Fowler
Southeast League
The traditional powers Granada and Springfield have struggled through non-league play going 3-5 so rebounding in league for these teams will be a must. Right Now McClave, Holly, and Wiley are leading the way with only 1 loss each. All the games this week are big games and will help decide the order early on. The big rivalry between Granada (2-2) and Springfield (1-3) does not have the flair of normal years but still could go a long way for the winner. Springfield is somewhat rebuilding after losing a very talented senior class last year. They have struggle onn offense getting held under 8 points three times and getting slammed by Dayspring Christian two weeks ago 63-0. Springfield does have two weeks to prepare for Granada. Granada grabbed a good victory last week against Kiowa 50 to 22 but also have struggled stopping some of the top teams giving up 59 points to Akron and 60 points to Dayspring Christian. Their defense will need to fix their problems if they plan on winning this game and winning league. I have Granada winning by 14. Holly (2-1) at Wiley (2-1) will be another good game. Wiley bounced back from their close loss to #7 Haxtun and blanked Fowler 19 to 0. Wiley will need to get their offense going against this week if they plan on upsetting Holly. In their win over Fowler Wiley ran for 204 yards and played great defense. Holly has had two weeks to prepare for this game. They played two weeks ago against #5 Hoehne and were blasted 52 to 20. They must improve their defense for this game and stopping the run will be key. Holly will need to limit turnovers as they threw three INT’s against Hoehne so getting that under control will help them win this game. I have Holly winning by 7. The last game of note is McClave (3-1) at Las Animas (2-2). Las Animas has improved a ton this year and are off to their best start in some years. Las Animas broke their two games losing streak last week beating Swink 32 to 12. The key to this victory was rushing for 378 yards. Defensively Las Animas need to improve giving up 46 to Fowler and 36 to Custer County. McClave is also off to a great start with a top ten victory over Pikes Peak Christian. Last week they were hammered by Merino 40 to 8. They will have to quickly rebound from that loss. McClave could possibly be the favorites right now but cannot afford to lose this game. I have McClave winning by 24. This league will get two teams and more than likely a third team into the playoffs.
League Games:
Granada at Springfield Holly at Wiley
McClave at Las Animas
Southwest League
League has already started in the Southwest and there are four teams that will be competing for playoff spots. Sargent, Norwood, Mancos, and Sangre De Cristo are your four contenders. Sargent and Mancos both picked up very important wins last week Sargent beat Norwood and Mancos beat Sangre De Cristo to give each an advantage towards the league title. Norwood will grab their second league win this week as they travel to Del Norte and Mancos should also grab their third win in league against Sanford. The only bad part for Mancos is they still have to Play Sargent and Norwood. Sargent has the toughest game this week but that lost some luster when Sangre De Cristo was hammered by Mancos last week. Sangre De Cristo must rebound quickly and figure out what happened on defense. Sargent is coming off their biggest win in some years. They held off a two point conversion and a fourth quarter comeback by Norwood and won 22 to 20. This was the game of the week last week and it didn’t disappoint. Sargent on offense was efficient throwing for 151 yards and 2 TD’s and running for 243 yards and 1 touchdown. They were led by Justin Hacsi and Ryan Davis. Justin Hacsi ran for 119 1 TD & caught 6 passes for 93 yards and another TD and Ryan Davis threw for 151 2 TD and ran for another 108 yards. Defensively they had a hard time slowing down Norwood rushing attack giving up 205 yards rushing but played good pass defense picking off Norwood 3 times. Sargent should easily beat Sangre De Cristo but it’s a rivalry game so anything could happen but I have Sargent by 35 points. This league will more than likely get 3 teams in and it will depend on how well Sangre De Cristo finishes the season if they get into the playoffs.
League Games:
Sangre De Cristo at #1 Sargent #3 Norwood at Del Norte
Mancos as Sanford
Non-League Games:
Nederland at Dove Creek
8 Man Player of the Week
The 8 Man player of the week goes to Justin Hacsi from Sargent. In Sargent’s 22 to 20 victory over Norwood Hacsi ran for 119 yards and 1 touchdown also he caught 6 passes for 93 yards and 1 touchdown. On defense he was equally important getting 9 tackles.
MileHigh Prep Report 