Class 8-Man Week 2 Top Ten Breakdown
Week 1 of the 8 Man schedule showed us some of the strength of Dayspring Christian and also Hoehne and Sargent are both going to be tough to stop. In the Non-Top Ten Games we had McClave over Pikes Peak Christian 20-18, Caliche over Kiowa 50-28, Swink over Granada 48-28, and Merino over Gilpin County 35-28.
#1 Sedgwick County travels to Perkins County NE. Perkins County NE beat Sedgwick County a year ago and broke their winning streak and this year Sedgwick County looks to get some revenge. Perkins County is 2-0 on the season and is ranked #5 in the 8 Man ranks in Nebraska. Sedgwick County opened up their regular season with a 27-0 victory over 1A Yuma. This was an 11 man football game and neither team posted stats to the game. Sedgwick County will be tested by Perkins County NE and win or lose will probably keep the #1 rankings unless they are blown off the field.
#2 Hoehne hosts Springfield. Springfield has yet to play a team from Colorado and that changes this week when they travel to Hoehne. Springfield is 1-1 on the season. They lost in Zero week to Turpin OK 40-26 and then beat Rolla KS 50-8 last week. Springfield didn’t have huge stats but were effective in the game. QB Beau Dukes went 6 for 6 for 65 yards and 2 TD’s. Springfield also ran the ball for 146 yards with Beau Dukes leading the way in rushing as well. Defensively Springfield forced 1 turnover and Beau Dukes had 19 total tackles. Springfield will need their rush defense to play their best game of the season if they plan on upsetting Hoehne. #2 Hoehne is coming off an exciting 30 to 27 victory over #5 Sargent. Hoehne blanked Sargent in the 4th quarter to hold on and preserve the 3 point win. Hoehne didn’t have any passing yards and that is normal for Hoehne offense. Hoehne did run the ball very effectively. They ran for 421 yards and 4 TD’s. Junior RB Trystan Moltrer had a great day rushing for 206 yards and 2 TD’s. Defensively Hoehne struggled a bit as well they gave up 405 yards of total offense but did cause 1 INT and forced 4 sacks. Hoehne will need to shore up their defense and they will have a chance against Springfield to do that. I have Hoehne winning this game 42-7.
#3 Dayspring Christian plays Granada at Kiowa HS. Granada is off to a rough start and things don’t get much easier. Granada has opened the season 0-2. The lost in zero to Akron 46-16 then lost last week to Swink 48-28. Granada on defense has struggled giving up multi 40 point games. Offensively things have improved. They threw for 177 yards and ran for 188 yards. They did throw 2 INT’s but offensively things are looking up. They must get their defense figured out before playing a Dayspring Christian team who shocked me in their opener. #3 Dayspring Christian opened the season with a bang. They blew out Akron 44-6 in a game I thought Akron would win by 14 points. We knew how strong Dayspring Christian defense would be and they proved it holding Akron to just 108 yards rushing and forcing 3 fumbles & 7 sacks. Dayspring Christian had a good day on offense as well. Freshman QB Christian Still went 7 for 11 for 123 yards and 2 TD’s. Their rushing attack was effective as well running for 192 yards and were led by Senior Jimmy Fargo 108 yards 2 TD’s. Dayspring Christian surprised me by not only beating Akron but blowing them out. They will have a chance to build on their win last week and they should. I have Dayspring Christian winning 48-7.
#4 West Grand travels to South Park. South Park opened their season with an easy 48 to 6 victory over Sangre De Cristo which is in full rebuilding mode. South Park didn’t put up huge offensive numbers only throwing for 91 yards and rushing for 99 yards and 5 TD’s. I am guessing South Park had short fields and took advantage of the short fields. South Park must refocus for a tough West Grand team. #4 West Grand started the season 1-0 with an impressive 40-0 victory over Sanford. Sanford who held McClave to just 6 points once again couldn’t get their offense going but this time West Grand was too much for their defense. What is most impressive about West Grands victory is they did it without Brady Gore. Gore didn’t have any stats from the game and I am figuring he is either injured or just didn’t play. West Grand was very effective without him racking up 162 yards rushing and 5 TD’s and they also threw for 110 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. Defensively West Grand played good. They forced 3 sacks, 1 INT and forced 3 fumbles. Well see this week if Gore plays but if not West Grand is solid on defense and should win against South Park 35-0.
#5 Sargent travels to Caliche. Caliche is much improved from last year and have started 1-1 on the season. Caliche lost in zero week to Soroco 48-36 but bounce back with an impressive 50-28 victory over Kiowa. No stats have been input but Caliche now with be facing a Sargent team who grew a lot in their first game. #5 Sargent opened the season with a 30-27 loss to #2 Hoehne. Defensively they had a very hard time stopping the run giving up 421 yards rushing and 4 TD’s. Sargent was down 24-14 at half and never gave up and I think grew quite a bit with a ton of new players getting starts. Sargent offensively was led and powered by senior QB Ryan Davis. Davis threw for 176 yards 1 TD and 1 INT and also ran for 117 yards. The other main weapon for them on offense only played defense this week and that is Christian Schaller. Once Sargent gets all the tools to their offense on the field together they will be extremely tough to beat. Sargent racked up over 400 yards of total offense against a very good defense as well so just improving some minor things will be the key. Sargent cannot over look this Caliche team this year and this is a long road test for Sargent. I believe Sargent has plenty of fire power and will get the victory 48-21.
#6 Holly hosts Swink. Swink got out the gates quickly beating Granada 48 to 28. No offensive stats were posted online. What I do see is Granada passing for 177 yards and rushing for 188 yards but Swink did force 2 turnovers. Swink must get their defense to step up their game against a tough Holly team. Holly opened the season with a 57-6 blowout of Deerfield KS. Holly put up 41 points in the first quarter then 16 in the second quarter to finish off Deerfield. Holly didn’t have a monster offensive stat game but they threw for 77 yards and 2 TD’s and ran for 201 yards and 3 TD’s. Erick Chaparro had 58 rushing yards and 2 TD’s to led Holly on the offensive side. Defensively Holly forced 2 sacks, 1 INT, and 1 Fumble. They will be a much tougher test for Holly than Deerfield KS. Holly will be looking to prove they are a top team. I have Holly winning this 31-8
#7 Norwood (BYE)
#8 Akron hosts #9 Fowler. This is the 8-Man Game of the Week. Fowler opened up their season by blanking Las Animas 50 to 0. Fowler game out guns a blazing racking up 314 yards rushing and 143 yards passing. The passing attack was led by QB Luke Bitter making his first Varsity start he put up 138 yards on 9 of 12 passing 2 TD’s and 1 INT. The rushing attack was led by Quinton Flanscha who ran for 160 yards and 2 TD’s. This was a good first game for the young QB to get some experience before jumping into a very tough game. Defensively Fowler posted the shutout and also forced 3 sacks and 4 fumbles to help dominate the game. This will be a huge game to see how far Fowler has come this year. Akron is 1-1 on the season and was preseason ranked #2. In Week Zero they blasted Granada 46-16 but in Week 1 they were beat badly by Dayspring Christian who dropped 44 points on Akron. Akron couldn’t get off the field allowing Dayspring Christian to run for 192 yards and pass for 123 yards. The biggest shock of the game was Akron rushing attack being completely shut down. Akron ran for only 108 yards on 51 carries for a miniscule 2.1 yards per carry. Their passing attack was also ineffective throwing for only 22 yards. Akron will quickly need to get their offense and defense back on schedule. This will be a huge test for both teams. For Fowler this is a measuring stick to see how much they have improved and for Akron this is a test to see if they can rebound for a very bad loss. I am going with Fowler in the upset by 7.
#10 Haxtun travels to face Rocky Mountain Lutheran. Rocky Mountain Lutheran got their season started by blowing out Custer County 65-18. Rocky Mountain Lutheran ran wild putting up 400 yards rushing and 96 yards passing. Rocky Mountain Lutheran is looking to show they deserve a spot in the playoffs and that is a good start to their campaign. Defensively Rocky Mountain Lutheran forced 3 fumbles which helped them seal this game. This week they face a much better offensive team and defensive team in Haxtun. Haxtun opened the season with a big 46-0 blowout of Simla. We didn’t know much about Simla team but Haxtun put on a good show. Haxtun was led by Junior QB Drew Coffin who went 10 of 13 for 192 yards and 3 TD’s and also ran for 125 yards and 2 TD’s. He looks to be replacing their star QB from last year and that was a good start. Haxtun Defensively got started in the right direction with the shutout and also forcing 2 sacks and 2 fumbles. Haxtun now faces a Rocky Mountain Lutheran team that has come confidence and some key players returning. Well see if Haxtun which loves to throw the ball will have the success they had last year. Haxtun will need their run defense to be top notch. Rocky Mountain Lutheran will need their overall defense to be ready for a quick hitting offense from Haxtun. I am going with Haxtun to win 35-14.
Non-Top Ten Games
Rangely at Del Norte Sanford at Soroco
Kiowa at Pikes Peak Christian Hayden at Justice
MileHigh Prep Report 