8 Man State Championship Breakdown
#3 Akron at #1 Sedgwick County Saturday 1:00pm
Akron was in a fight against Sargent last week and it came down to a two point conversion to decide the game. Akron was trailing at half time 26 to 20 and used a monster 13 point third quarter to regain the lead. Sargent then scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter and was trailing by one. They attempted to go for 2 and the win but came up short and Akron held onto a 1 point lead. Sargent had one more chance with 3 minutes left but Akron had a defensive stand and pulled out the 1 point victory and the upset over Sargent. Akron defensively did just enough to win the game they forced a turnover at the 2 yards line and also had a goal line stand to keep it close. They did give up over 250 yards rushing to Sargent but did keep most of the big plays in check. Akron on offense was out gained by Sargent but in the second half took control of the line of scrimmage. Akron offense totaled 381 yards of offense. Their rushing attack was very successful rushing for 315 yards and was led by Derrick Poss who ran for 146 yards. Akron now will have to quickly refocus for their rematch against Sedgwick County. Akron will need to play their best game of the year against Sedgwick County. No one this year in Colorado has been able to stop Sedgwick County and Akron will need a huge game to pull the upset. They will need to keep Sedgwick County to under 30 points to have any chance.
Sedgwick County for just the second time this year was held to under 30 points. But also came to play defensively. Sedgwick County beat Hoehne 27 to 8 and nearly pulled the shutout but gave up a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Sedgwick County defensively was forcing turnovers left and right. They forced 7 turnovers in the game which was the deciding factor. Hoehne ran for 255 yards and 1 touchdown but had 4 fumbles. Hoehne struggled trying to throw the ball only throwing for 5 yards but had 3 INT’s. Sedgwick County once again proved that their defense is one of the best in the state holding one of the better offense to just 8 points. Sedgwick County on offense struggled running the ball only rushing for 50 yards. Their passing attack picked up the slack throwing for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sedgwick County will need their offense to run the ball against this tough Akron defense. Sedgwick County also must bring their A game yet again on defense. If Sedgwick County hold Akron rushing attack to under 200 yards they will win this game pretty easily but if not this could be a good game. Sedgwick County offense must get going again as well and they are playing another very tough defense.
These two teams have meet already. Sedgwick County beat Akron 46 to 8 the last time they played. Turnovers were the key last time. Akron had 3 turnovers and Sedgwick County had 0. Akron ran for 246 yards but had 0 yards passing. Akron will have to have an answer offensively to stay in this game. They first must hold Sedgwick to under 30 points but then will need to be able to score as well. They must be able to stop the pass if they want any chance. Also Akron must take care of the ball they cannot afford to have turnovers. Sedgwick County must stop the run to be successful this game. If Sedgwick County can stop Akron rushing attack it will force Akron to throw. Akron has struggled throwing the ball this year. Sedgwick County also must avoid turnovers in this game. The reason they were successful last time against Akron was the turnover margin. The keys for this game are simple. If Akron runs for over 300 yards I think they can stay in this game. Also turnover margin is a key and whoever can limit the turnovers will win. If Akron can avoid the turnover bug then they could pull the upset. Sedgwick County will be the heavy favorite in this game. I am going with the favorites in this game. I just don’t think Akron can stop Sedgwick Offense. They proved me wrong last week but Sedgwick County is very athletic and also tough to stop. I have Sedgwick winning by 17.
MileHigh Prep Report 