Week 7 Class 8 Man League Breakdown
Northwest
The top two teams keep steaming towards a league title match and both should win this week to continue that pace. West Grand should easily beat Rangely and Soroco will have a little tougher time with Plateau Valley but should still walk away with a 20 point victory. The important game is Gilpin County vs Hayden. Gilpin County is 1-1 in league and is sitting at 27th in RPI they will need to win out have any shot at the playoffs. Hayden on the other hand has a much better chance at the playoffs. They are sitting 22nd in the RPI and if a few things go their way they should grab a spot. The loser of this game will essentially be eliminated from any league title chance and possibly a playoff spot. I am going with Gilpin County by 7. Right now West Grand and Soroco are in the playoffs. Soroco is more on the bubble but their league is strong enough that if they avoid any upsets they should get into the playoffs. Plateau Valley 21 and Hayden 22 need a little help to get into the playoffs but are in the mix.
Plateau Valley at Soroco West Grand at Rangely
Gilpin County at Hayden
RPI of Teams in League: 7 West Grand .598, 13 Soroco .540, 21 Plateau Valley .489, 22 Hayden .488, 27 Gilpin County .459, 30 Rangely .445
Plains
When you look at the RPI for this league its kind crazy. 5 of the teams are sitting in the top ten and only 1 is basically out of the playoffs and that is Caliche. Besides Caliche the Plains league will probably get 5 teams into the playoffs. Their league SOS is the best in 8 Man so they will not drop too much once the season is over. The real question in terms of this league is who is going to walk away with the league title and right now if I had to make a guess I would put my money on Sedgwick County. They have been on fire this year and have proved me wrong. They lost a ton of talent but still have plenty of it there. Their defense is one of the best in 8 Man and they proved it the past two week holding Akron and Haxtun two of the top offenses to under 10 points. This week Sedgwick County takes on Merino who was easily handled by Akron last week. Sedgwick County will be the heavy favorite in this game and should walk away with a 28 point victory. Haxtun should pick up their first league win against Caliche as well. The game of the week in 8 Man is Dayspring Christian at Akron. These two teams have already played this year and Dayspring Christian won that meeting. But after a few weeks of very high scoring football I am question how good Dayspring Christian defense actually is. Akron got back on track last week blanking Merino and getting some confidence back. Akron with a win can stay just one game back of Sedgwick County and also gets an important head to head win over Dayspring Christian. Remember when they select the playoffs they will reorder seeds when it comes to head to head wins. So if Sedgwick County wins league they will probably get the #1 seed and then if Akron beats Dayspring and Dayspring has a high RPI Akron will jump Dayspring when the seeding happens due to head to head victories. I am going with Akron to win by 10. The Plains league will nearly be a lock to get 5 teams into the playoffs.
Sedgwick County at Merino Haxtun at Caliche
Dayspring Christian at Akron
RPI of Teams in League: 1 Dayspring Christian .695, 2 Akron .686, 4 Sedgwick County .641, 6 Haxtun .614, 9 Merion .574, 28 Caliche .455.
Central
The Central league has your two front runners and if they can avoid an upsets will set up a league title game. Those teams are Pikes Peak Christian and Justice. Both of these teams are also currently in the playoffs. Pikes Peak is sitting in 8th and are nearly a lock in the playoffs and Justice is sitting 15th and are on the bubble. Justice won’t get much help to their RPI this week as they play Miami-Yoder who is 1-5. So a win is a must and they cannot afford to lose to anyone besides Pikes Peak Christian. Pikes Peak Christian should easily grab a victory over South Park and keep a share of the lead. Rocky Mountain Lutheran is sitting in 20th and I am not sure if there is enough points left for them to make a run at the playoffs. They still play Justice but I am not sure if that is enough points to get in. Pikes Peak is a nearly a lock for the playoffs so this is up to Justice and Rocky Mountain Lutheran to get in.
Miami-Yoder at Justice Pikes Peak Christian at South Park
Rocky Mountain Lutheran at Belleview Christian
RPI of Teams in League: 8 Pikes Peak Christian .584, 15 Justice .513, 20 Rocky Mountain Lutheran .490, 24 South Park .474
Southern
The Southern league is coming down to the final stretch and right now three teams are in the playoff chase. Hoehne 5th, Simla 14th, and Fowler 17th are your three. Hoehne should easily win this week when they travel to Custer County and they are nearly a lock for the playoffs as well. The two teams on the bubble Simla and Fowler face off this week. Fowler has beat the easily teams but has been pummeled by the better teams this year. Last week they were easily beat by Hoehne 52 to 6. Fowler needs a big victory and this could qualify as that. Simla is 2-0 in league and wants a chance at the league title. If they win they set up that match up with Hoehne next week. Simla is square on the bubble and a win would probably just keep their RPI from falling. In the end Simla will probably end up with their RPI not moving at all between here and the end of the year due to them Playing Hoehne and then Custer County. Simla will need to stop the big plays and I believe they will win this game. I am going with Simla by 17.
Swink at Kiowa Simla at Fowler
Hoehne at Custer County
RPI of Teams in League: 5 Hoehne .616, 14 Simla .513, 17 Fowler .501, 31 Kiowa .435, 32 Swink .392
Southeast
In the Southeast League no one is safe yet into the playoffs and only the league champion will feel completely secure. We will have a better look at who will be in the drive seat for the league title after this week. There are currently four teams trying to fight for playoff spots. One of them is Springfield who is sitting in 19th and must win this game. Their RPI is low because of their winning %. So a win will be a big boost to their RPI a loss will nearly end all chance at the playoffs. I expect Springfield to win and they have improved every week this year. Wiley is sitting in 18th in the RPI and have a huge game against McClave this week. Wiley will have its toughest stretch of games coming up so they will need to at least pick up 1 of the three and that will either come this week or next week. Wiley RPI is made up mostly of their winning % so a loss could hurt that a bit but their OWP will increase slightly. Wiley needs a win badly or could face going 0-3 in the final three weeks and miss the playoffs. McClave currently is in the playoffs sitting at 12. They must win this game to keep their RPI high. They have a tough three game stretch as well so picking this one up will be necessary a loss here could do damage to their RPI so this is a big game for McClave. The biggest game of the week and has league title implications is Holly at Granada. Both of these teams have one more tough game left so a win here would essentially lock up the title. Holly needs the league title a bit more than Granada. Holly is sitting in 16th right now and are the last team in if the season ended now. Holly biggest problem is their OWP which is really low and that won’t improve too much these last three games. So Holly may need the league title just to get into the playoffs possibly. Granada on the other hand is sitting much better in 10th. They are the closest out of every team to be a lock for the playoffs. They would love to be league champions though and a win will give them the title. If you are on the outside of the playoffs looking to get into the playoffs you will want Granada to win this game. Holly could possibly be stealing a spot especially if they fall outside the top 16. I am going with Granada to grab the win and the league title with a 21 point victory.
Holly at Granada Wiley at McClave
Las Animas at Springfield
RPI of Teams in League: 10 Granada .564, 12 McClave .554, 16 Holly .513, 18 Wiley .498, 19 Springfield .498
Southwest
The Southwest league is nearly wrapped up but it won’t officially be wrapped up until the final game of the season when Sargent plays Mancos. Sargent is sitting in 3rd but their RPI won’t get much help these next two weeks. Sargent will win their next two games setting up the league title game against Mancos. Mancos has a bye this week and are sitting in 26th so their season will come down to that final game. They play Dove Creek next week and should easily win that game. So the Sargent game will be for their chance to get in. The big game of the week is Norwood at Sangre De Cristo. Sangre De Cristo is sitting in 23rd and will need a ton of help to get into the playoffs. Their RPI will get a slight boost in a win or lose this week but they won’t get much help the final two weeks playing teams with a combined 1 win. Sangre might not have a good chance at getting in. Norwood is in 11th and are not a complete lock yet but a winning out will be enough to get them into the playoffs. I think Norwood wins this game by 40. The southwest league looks to just be a two team playoff league this year.
Sanford at Dove Creek Sargent at Del Norte
Norwood at Sangre De Cristo
RPI of Teams in League: 3 Sargent .650, 11 Norwood .563, 23 Sangre De Cristo .482, 26 Mancos .470.
8 Man Player of the Week
The 8 Man Player of the Week goes to Cade Holden from Granada High School. In Granada’s 44 to 38 victory over McClave Holden threw for 240 yards and ran for 85 yards and scored all but 1 of this teams touchdowns.
MileHigh Prep Report 