Week 3 Class 6-Man Top Ten Breakdown
Once again for the third week straight there was plenty of movement in the Top 10. The top 5 all stay the same this week but #6 thru #10 we had movement and two new teams joined the rankings. We had two upsets again this week and the rankings are still looking to solidify in the Top 10. The first upset was #8 Fleming upsetting #6 Arickaree/Woodlin 38-32. The loss drops Arickaree/Woodlin just outside the ranking but Arickaree/Woodlin faces another Top 10 team and have a chance to rejoin the rankings with a victory. The other upset was Cotopaxi upsetting #9 Hanover. Cotopaxi dominated the game winning 57-6 and moves into the rankings as well. Cotopaxi was on the edge last week of being ranked and will stay there this week as they should easily win. Some key battles took place outside the top ten as well. Idalia beat Hi Plains/Flagler 46-41, Prairie blanked Briggsdale 56-0, La Veta over Walsh 62-20, and Sierra Grande over Mountain Valley 80-32.
#1 Stratton/Liberty travels to Deer Trail looking for that perfect 3-0 start. Deer Trail has not played a game since week 1 and had two weeks to prepare for this game. Deer Trail played Prairie two weeks ago and was hammered 64-13. Deer Trail had a hard time defensively stopping the run giving up 285 yards on 16 carries for 17.8 ypc. Offensively Deer Trail struggled only getting 137 yards rushing and 81 yards passing. Turnovers were the bigger problem they had 6 turnovers in the game and 5 sacks. Deer Trail will need to improve on both side of the ball if they are looking for the upset. Stratton/Liberty if off to a hot start going 2-0 with wins over Genoa-Hugo in week 1 and last week they beat Elbert 59-6. This is a league game as well so getting started 1-0 in league is also critical. Last week against Elbert Stratton/Liberty offensively they didn’t need many plays running 30 offensive plays and racking up 330 yards of offense which is 11 yards per offensive play. Stratton/Liberty was led on offense by junior RB Owen Clapper 109 yards rushing 2 TD’s. Defensively they have only given up 20 points so far this year and held Elbert to just 6 points. They forced 1 INT and got 15 Tackles from senior Dain Hines. Stratton/Liberty must keep improving every week and should cruise to a victory against Deer Trail. I have Stratton/Liberty winning 48-7
#2 Peetz hosts Idalia in their final non-league game of the year. Idalia is 1-1 on the season and grabbed a huge league win last week against Flagler/Hi Plains. I know Flagler/Hi Plains is missing some key components to their team but they are now off to a 0-2 start. Idalia has proven now for two weeks straight they will not be any easy team to beat. In Week 1 they lost to Kit Carson 32-26 and last week grabbed that important league win 46-41. This week they will be looking for another upset. Against Flagler Idalia offensively has explosive racking up 248 yards passing and 118 yards rushing. They did have two turnovers but were effective. Offensively they were led by sophomore QB Dax Towns 9 of 16 for 248 yards 4 TD’s and 1 INT. Defensively though Idalia must improve. They were torched for 439 yards of total offense but forced two turnovers which helped determine the game. Idalia is going to need their run defense to be top notch to pull the upset on Peetz. #2 Peetz cruised to their second victory of the year beating Creek Valley NE 58-12. This is their final game of the non-league schedule before they start a tough league schedule. Peetz offensively dominated Creek Valley throwing for 150 and rushing for 247. Offensively they were led by senior QB Tre Fehringer 5 of 6 for 106 and junior RB Bryson Long 110 yards rushing and 2 TD’s. Peetz defensively were outstanding as well forcing 1 INT and 1 Fumble and have only given up 25 points through two games so far. Peetz will need to keep their turnovers in check against Idalia if they want to avoid the upset. Flagler/Hi Plains were able to run their offense how they wanted but turnovers hurt them. Peetz offensively should be able to put up big numbers but they also must limit Idalia passing attack as well. Peetz I think will have the upper hand in this game but it will be closer than people expect. I have Peetz winning 50-28.
#3 Kit Carson travels to #8 Genoa Hugo in the 6-Man Game of The Week. #8 Genoa-Hugo is 1-1 on the season they lost in week 1 to Stratton/Liberty 51-14 but bounced back nicely with a 64-21 victory over Eads. Eads is having a down year but that was a good victory for Genoa-Hugo and they are coming into this match up looking for another victory. Genoa-Hugo offensively against Eads racked up over 500 yards of total offense. They had 206 yards passing and 310 yards rushing. Offensively they were led by senior QB Caid Smith 5 of 12 for 171 yards and 2 INT’s and he also rushed for 144 yards. Genoa-Hugo must get their turnovers under control as they had 3 turnovers in the game and didn’t force one for themselves. Defensively Caid Smith also had 22 tackles and they will need a huge effort against this week to pull the upset. #3 Kit Carson is 2-0 on the season. They beat Cheraw last week 59-0 picking up their first league win of the season. Kit Carson ran only 14 plays and scored on 4 of them. They only had 50 yards passing and 136 yards rushing and cruised to the victory. They also had a kickoff return for a touchdown as well. Defensively they posted a shutout and forced 1 INT and 1 fumble. They had a defensive touchdown as well. Kit Carson will to be ready for a dynamic offense and same goes for Genoa-Hugo. I think this game could turn into a high scoring affair and I believe will come down to which team gets the final stop. I have Kit Carson pulling off a shootout 48-42.
#4 Otis hosts Flagler/Hi Plains in a huge league showdown. Flagler/Hi Plain is off to a tough start this year starting 0-2. They have played a very tough schedule and things don’t get easier this week when they face Otis. Last week Flagler/Hi Plains lost to Idalia in a shootout 46-41. Offensively they were dominate passing for 225 and rushing for 214 but a lot of that was in a huge comeback effort after trailing 26-8 after the first quarter and 38-24 after 3 quarters. Flagler/Hi Plains has improved since week one but this is their second game in a row giving up over 45 points and they have already given up over 100 points on the season. Flagler/Hi Plains must improve their defense and mainly their pass defense which was torched for 248 and 4 TD’s. #4 Otis is off to a hot start breaking the 50 point barrier in its first two games. Last week they blasted Weldon Valley 53-13. Offensively they ran the ball very effectively rushing for 360 yards on 13 carries for a whopping 27.7 yards per carry. They also had 7 rushing TD’s. Their offense was led by junior RB Bryce Miracle 182 yards rushing and 5 TD’s. Otis defensively gave up 238 yards rushing but also forced a fumble. Otis must be ready on defense for a potent offense. I think this game will also turn into a shootout. Otis has only given up 25 points this year so if their defense can dominate the line of scrimmage then they will control this game. I think though that this game will turn into a high scoring game as both teams are looking for that important 1-0 start in league play. I have am taking Otis because they do have a better defense the Flagler/Hi Plains and I have the score being 48-35.
#5 Cheyenne Wells travels to Walsh and are looking for their second league victory. Walsh is off to a rough 0-2 start have given up over 100 points in two games defensively. They lost to La Veta last week 62-20. Walsh had a hard time stopping La Veta passing attack as they went 14 of 18 for 198 yards. Walsh defensively must improve if they plan on grabbing the victory. Offensively they improved a bit from week 1 scoring 20 points last week but gave up 12 more points. #5 Cheyenne Wells continues to impress. They are off to a 2-0 start to the season and beat Branson/Kim 44-0 last week. The game was called early due to injuries on the Branson/Kim side. Cheyenne Wells ran 8 plays last week and scored on 4 of them. Cheyenne Wells must continue to improve on both sides of the ball and not look past Walsh this week. Cheyenne Wells has a huge stretch of games upcoming. They face their bitter Rival Kit Carson next week followed by back to back non-conference games Idalia and #1 Stratton/Liberty. Cheyenne Wells should cruise this week past Walsh but cannot get caught in a trap. I have Cheyenne Wells winning 52-14.
#6 North Park hosts La Veta in a huge game to measure how good both teams are. This would have been the game of the week if it was not for the other game putting two ranked teams against each other. La Veta is sitting just outside the Top Ten and are looking for that signature victory before starting their stretch down the league schedule which their league schedule appears to be pretty tough with #9 Cotopaxi, Sierra Grande, and Primero all undefeated so far. La Veta is 2-0 on with year and have broken the 55 point mark in both games. La Veta was very balanced last week in their win over Walsh. They passed for 198 yards and ran for 172 yards. Their offense was led by senior QB Eric Morgan who went 14 of 18 for 198 and 5 TD’s. Their rushing attack was led by senior RB Tannis Everett 108 yards and 2 TD’s. La Veta will need both players to play outstanding this week to pull this upset off. Defensively La Veta is much improved from last year. They have only given up 33 points so far and last week forced 2 fumbles and had a sack. La Veta will need to play outstanding this week and I believe have a chance to pull the upset. #6 North Park has already played two league games and is 1-1 overall and 1-1 in league. This is a good chance to see how far North Park has come. North Park last played 2 weeks ago and were blasted by Peetz 63-13. North Park had a hard time stopping the run giving up 292 yards rushing and 111 yards passing. North Park must be ready for a very dynamic offense and must be able to score points. La Veta is very good at throwing the ball and have a very good group of seniors that can be the difference in the game. North Park must be ready offensively and must be able to score points. The key to the game will be which offense makes the big plays. If North Park can keep their offense on the right path I think they win this game. If La Veta gets a stop or two and gets their offense going I think La Veta pulls the upset. I am picking La Veta to upset North Park. I think La Veta offense is just too good and I have them winning 42-14.
#7 Fleming hosts Cody/Kilgore NE the #2 team in 6 man in Nebraska. Fleming is going out of state for back to back games and neither will be easy. They will be facing the #2 team in Nebraska this week and then next week face the #3 team Hay Springs. Kody/Kilgore is off to a 3-0 start on the season. Last week they beat Hay Springs 27-18. Cody/Kilgore looks like a run heavy team as they racked up 217 yards and only 23 yards passing. Fleming got a very important victory last week upsetting Arickaree/Woodlin 38-32. This was a huge win for Fleming and the week off got Flemings offense started up. Fleming on offense was explosive racking up 391 yards on the ground and 47 yards passing. Offensively they were led by senior RB Kolton Dickinson 305 yards rushing and 21 carries and 3 TD’s. They will need another similar effort if Fleming plans to upset the #2 team in Nebraska. Fleming will gain some good experience in these next two game and they will have a chance to upset some very good teams.
#9 Cotopaxi host Aguilar in Cotopaxi first game as a ranked team in the 2017 year. Aguilar is off to a 0-2 start and have struggled to slow down team on defense. They have given up 98 point this season and have only scored 31 points on offense. Last week they were beat by Primero 42-18 which is a big improvement from the week before. Aguilar now faces another very good team in Cotopaxi and must be ready offensively and defensively. #9 Cotopaxi joined the rankings last week after blasting Hanover 57-6. Cotopaxi is trying to prove that they are a legit state championship contender. They returned the majority of their players from the playoff run a year ago. Cotopaxi gained some valuable experience in that game and saw what it takes to win in the playoffs. Against Hanover last week Cotopaxi dominated the game and have only given up 19 points so far this year. Cotopaxi should easily win again this week before setting up tough 4 game stretch facing Primero, La Veta, and Sierra Grande to close out the season. I have Cotopaxi winning big 55-14.
#10 Prairie hosts Arickaree/Woodlin looking to keep their Top Ten Rankings. In probably the 3rd best game in the top ten pits two top 15 teams against each other. Arickaree/Woodlin is 1-1 on the season and was upset by Fleming last week and that loss dropped them out of the rankings. They lost 38-32 and it was a late flurry of points that nearly brought Arickaree/Woodlin back in the game. Defensively Arickaree/Woodlin could not stop the run and they gave up 391 yards on the ground and that must be improved. Arickaree/Woodlin offensively showed some grit trying to pull off the comeback. They didn’t post stats but have proven they can score points and they will need that again this week. #10 Prairie joins the rankings for the first time this year. They have opened the season on fire breaking the 55 point mark twice and only allowing 13 points total. Last week they grabbed a huge victory over Briggsdale 56-0. Briggsdale who is a good team struggled offensively only getting 103 yards of total offense. Prairie defensively forced 7 fumbles in the game, 1 INT, and 1 sack but clearly the 7 fumbles determined the game. Offensively Prairie worked with short fields most of the game. They ran for 191 yards and threw for 108 yards. Offensively they were led by senior QB Trenton Holzworth 2 of 2 for 63 yards 1 TD and 103 yards rushing. Prairie will be challenged by Arickaree/Woodlin this week and must bring the same defensive intensity to avoid the upset. This should be a pretty good game and will come down to the wire. I think Prairie will do enough defensively to win this game and I have them winning 35-28.
Non-Top Ten Games
Briggsdale at Weldon Valley Primero at Sierra Grande*
Edison at Kim/Branson
MileHigh Prep Report 