6 Man Semifinals Breakdown
#4 Stratton/Liberty at #9 Cheyenne Wells
Cheyenne Wells pulled off the biggest upset in the playoff for any class so far. They now have two upsets and are looking for a third. Cheyenne Wells once again surged in the first half leading 44 to 30 going into half time. Then this is usually where the fun begins for Cheyenne Wells. They gave up 20 second half points to just their 12 but this time they held on and pulled out a 56 to 50 victory over #1 Kit Carson who was my favorite to win it all. This upset was not a completely huge surprise because when these two teams meet before it was a 6 point game in favor of Kit Carson. Cheyenne Wells on defense was great stopping the run holding Kit Carson to just 107 yards but they were torched through the air. Brad Johnson the QB for Kit Carson had himself a career day throwing for 339 yards, 5 touchdowns and 0 INT’s. He nearly pulled off the comeback but fell just short. Cheyenne Wells on offense was pretty good. They threw for 283 yards and had two quarterbacks throw for 130+ yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 INT. Cheyenne Wells rushed for 172 yards. Cheyenne Wells on offense was led by a two headed monster. Jamie Huerta threw for 151 yards and rushed for 60 yards and Kendall Pelton threw for 132 yards and rushed for 81 yards. These two must be on point this week against Stratton/Liberty.
Stratton/Liberty made quick work of Arickaree/Woodlin beating them 70 to 22. Stratton/Liberty score 40 first half points but had to wait until the third quarter to get the mercy rule going. Stratton/Liberty defensively gave up a good amount of yards but turnovers was the key. Arickaree/Woodlin threw for 200 yards and ran for 164 yards but Stratton/Liberty forced 4 turnovers and that was a huge factor in the game. Offensively Stratton/Liberty had a great day. They threw for 132 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 INT’s. Rushing the ball they were great. They ran for 371 yards and 6 touchdowns. Offensively they were led by Eltan Yarger who ran for 179 yards and 3 touchdowns. Stratton/Liberty must get their defensive problems fixed because you cannot always rely on turnovers to save your defense. Stratton/Liberty must keep their offense going strong as well.
These two teams have meet once before and it was a shocker. At one point in the game Cheyenne Wells was winning 41 to 7 but then Stratton/Liberty came roaring back and scored 42 unanswered points. Cheyenne Wells in that game showed that they have struggled holding onto leads in the second half and must fix those problems. Stratton/Liberty must bring some defensive fire. They cannot expect another huge comeback like that to happen again and cannot afford to go down big. This game should be a fun high scoring game. Cheyenne Wells must play a complete game which is what they have struggled doing. If Cheyenne Wells can play a whole game and not give up a ton of points in the second half I like their chances. Stratton/Liberty must bring their defense. They cannot hope that they will force 3+ turnovers this week. They cannot allow Cheyenne Wells to break 300 yards of total offense like the last game. Stratton/Liberty has struggled defensively in all the big games this year so improving there is the key. I believe these two teams are very evenly matched and it will show in the end. I am going with the upset here. I think Cheyenne Wells is on somewhat of a revenge tour from their losses in the regular season and will look to revenge their loss from earlier in the year. I am going with Cheyenne Wells to win by 10.
#3 Hi Plains at #2 Fleming
Hi Plains grabbed a very fun and very high scoring victory over Pawnee last week. The final score was 69 to 54 and Hi Plains can thank their big first quarter for the victory. This game went back and forth for the whole game but Hi Plains made some huge stops in the fourth quarter to preserve their lead. Defensively Hi Plains was ran over. They gave up 312 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns and also was torched through the air giving up 269 yards of passing. That is a whopping 581 yards of offense that Hi Plains gave up. Pawnee out gained Hi Plains but they also had 3 turnovers compared to Hi Plains 2. Offensively Hi Plains didn’t put up the huge numbers that Pawnee did but were effective in their offensive game plan. They threw for 231 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 INT. They ran for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns. Another huge factor in the game was special teams. Hi Plains ran a kic off back for a touchdown which helped them win the special teams battle. Hi Plains has some major holes to fix on defense this week. They cannot allow over 500 yards again and expect to upset Fleming. They must figure out what went wrong and fix those problems. Offensively they were very solid and should feel pretty good about their offensive game plan.
Fleming made quick work of league rival Peetz. Fleming had 32 points in the first half and mercy rule by the third quarter. The final score was 59 to 14. Fleming defensively was solid they held Peetz to just 82 yards rushing and turned Peetz high powered offense into a one dimensional team. They did give up 183 yards passing but also forced a INT. Fleming on offense was impressive. They threw for 193 yards and 4 touchdowns and ran for 397 yards and 4 touchdowns. The offensive output has to feel good against a very good Peetz team. Offensively Alex Vandenbark had a great game rushing fo r237 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fleming has to feel pretty good about both sides of the ball. They were able to slow down a very high powered offense and get their offense to click on all cylinders. They will have some confidence heading into their Semifinals matchup.
These two teams have 3 common opponents and it does not help us clear up the picture. Hi Plains and Fleming both played Otis, Arickaree/Woodlin, and Pawnee. The game to look at out of the three is the Pawnee game. Hi Plains was in a shootout with Pawnee and pulled out the 69 to 54 victory. Fleming was in a defensive struggle with Pawnee and won 30 to 22. Both teams beat Pawnee in their own way and will make this game very interesting. Hi Plains must be ready for a very good defense and must show up themselves on defense. Fleming brings a high powered offense to the table and I don’t think Hi Plains can put up 50 point on Fleming’s defense. Fleming will need their defense to step up again this week. They are going against another high powered offense. If Fleming can keep Hi Plains under 30 point they will be looking very good. Hi Plains is not looking to me at least as confident after giving up over 500 yards of offense. Fleming on the other hand showed they can stop most offenses but most teams can’t stop their offense. I am going with Fleming to get to the State Championship. I don’t think Hi Plains can stop Fleming offense nor do I think their offense is good enough to keep up with them. Fleming is one of the better defense in 8 man and will be looking to prove it yet again this week. I am going with Fleming to win by 14.
MileHigh Prep Report 