Week 6 Class 8-Man League Breakdown
Week 5 didn’t do too much to help figure out the 8-Man league title but in week #2 of league play I think much more will be sorted out. A few big games from week 1 of league are #1 Sedgwick County over Akron, #8 Merino over Caliche, Mancos over Sanford, Norwood over Del Norte, and #7 Haxtun over #6 Dayspring Christian. The second week of league offers some huge match ups and could possibly help determine a few league championship.
Central League
The Central League has a good chance of having the league champion decided this week. Two of the three winners from week 1 of league play each other and the winner will have the straight path to the league championship and if Justice gets upset the league champion could essentially be decided. Last week Pikes Peak Cristian moved over .500 on the year with a 40-0 victory over Miami-Yoder, Rocky Mountain Lutheran blasted South Park 43-18, and Justice beat Belleview Christian. This week features 2 very important games that could decide the Central League. Not of the two big games but important to keep pace is Miami-Yoder at Belleview Christian. Miami-Yoder is 1-4 on the season and should walk away with the victory to move to 2-4 on the season. The first of the two big games features South Park traveling to Justice. South Park has improved through the year but still sit at 1-4. They are #23 in the RPI and this is a huge game for them. An upset over Justice would probably move them into the top 20. They must play great defense to beat Justice. Justice is looking to move to 4-1 on the season and a win will keep pace with the winner between Pikes Peak Christian and Rocky Mountain Lutheran. Justice is hoping to make the playoffs and currently are on the bubble sitting at #16. They cannot afford to lose to South Park and a win keeps them in the hunt for the league title and the playoffs. The big game of the week features Pikes Peak Christian hosting Rocky Mountain Lutheran. Rocky Mountain Lutheran is coming off a 43-18 victory over South Park and now are on a 2 game winning streak. They have played 2 top ten teams this year narrowly losing to Merino 26-20 and getting blasted by Haxtun 54-14. They must bring some intensity this week on defense and if they can repeat the Merino results have a chance to grab a huge win and the driver seat in the Central league. Pikes Peak Christian is also coming off a win 40-0 over Miami-Yoder and like Rocky Mountain Lutheran have played 2 very solid teams losing to McClave 20-18 but getting blasted by West Grand 52-2. Based on all the results this should be a very good game. Rocky Mountain Lutheran is the favorite but just barely. This game will come down to which defense can make a stand. I honestly think it will come down to the 4th quarter and whichever teams gets the first defensive stop will win the game. I am going with Rocky Mountain Lutheran to beat Pikes Peak Christian 28-21.
Pikes Peak Christian vs Rocky Mountain Lutheran South Park at Justice
Miami-Yoder at Belleview Christian
RPI: #13 Rocky Mountain Lutheran, #16 Justice, #18 Pikes Peak Christian, #23 South Park, #32 Belleview Christian, #37 Miami-Yoder
Northwest League
The exciting Northwest League had a great week 1 of league play but still a ton of questions to answer and I think week #2 of league play will help determine your top teams. The RPI in the Northwest league is really solid with 4 of 6 teams currently making the playoffs. #5 West Grand is a lock to make the playoffs and should also keep a share of the league lead when they travel to Plateau Valley. West Grand offense has really exploded as of late and their defense is top notch. West Grand should keep their undefeated record going and win easily. Two teams sitting outside the Top 20 battle this week as well when Rangely travels to Hayden. Both teams currently are out of the playoffs, Hayden is at #21 and Rangely is at #24. The winner will keep their hopes of making a playoff push alive and the loser will be eliminated from the playoffs. Hayden is the favorite in this game and I believe keep their playoffs hopes alive with a victory. The big game in the Northwest league is #9 Soroco hosting Gilpin County. Gilpin County is just outside my top 10 rankings but RPI wise they are #7 and a win over Soroco will lock them into the playoffs. Gilpin County is on a 4 game winning streak including good wins over Caliche and Plateau Valley. Gilpin County can keep pace with West Grand with the win. A loss by Gilpin County still give them a very good chance at the playoffs but will need to win 2 of their last 3. Gilpin County is a run first offense is 1887 yards rushing and 25 TDs. They are led by senior RB Austin Boulter 993 yards rushing and 14 TDs. Gilpin County relies on him to get their offense going and must have a big game from him to pull the upset. Soroco has bounced back nicely since losing to Norwood. They are getting into the meat of their schedule facing winning teams from here to the end of the season. They are hoping to keep pace with West Grand and a victory would do that. They like Gilpin County are very reliant on their rushing attack. Soroco has ran for 1664 yards and 1287 of those yards are from junior Jace Logan. The key to this game is who big time player will have the bigger game. I also think defense will be a huge key. I think Gilpin County has some good experience in big games and this is going to turn into a shootout. I have Gilpin County upsetting Soroco 42-35.
#3 West Grand at Plateau Valley Rangely at Hayden
#9 Soroco vs Gilpin County
RPI: #5 West Grand, #7 Gilpin County, #12 Soroco, #14 Plateau Valley, #21 Hayden, #24 Rangely
Plains League
Week 1 of the plains league was exciting and really gave me an idea of the top 2 teams in the plains league. Last week #1 Sedgwick County beat Akron 48-24, #8 Merino escaped against Caliche 14-6, and #7 Haxtun upset #6 Dayspring Christian. This league RPI numbers are crazy and currently 4 teams are in the Top 16, 5 teams in the Top 20 and all 6 teams are in the Top 25. #1, #2, and #3 spots in the RPI belong to this league and all three were victorious in week 1 of league play. Once again 3 huge games in the plains league and for this first matchup a team is in a must win situation. #7 Merino hosts rival Akron. Akron is in a must win situation they cannot afford to lose this game and dropping to 2-4 would really hurt their chances of making the playoffs. Akron sits at #22 in the RPI and a win against an undefeated team would move them up quickly in the rankings. #7 Merino is sitting very nice with the #1 RPI and are nearly a lock. A win over Akron would help them secure a playoff spot. They would face only teams with winning record for their final 3 games if they beat Akron. Merino will be tested by Akron as Akron brings in a big time rushing attack. Merino has not faced the schedule that Akron has and I am going with Akron to upset Merino 21-7. Another critical game for two teams is #8 Dayspring Christian at Caliche. Caliche is coming off a heart breaking loss to Merino 14-6. Now Caliche is fighting for their chance at making the playoffs. A loss wouldn’t eliminate them from the playoffs but a win would move them into the Top 16. They are facing a Dayspring Christian team who is coming off a tough loss last week to Haxtun. #8 Dayspring Christian is coming off another very close lose falling to Haxtun 29-21. Dayspring Christian is squarely on the bubble sitting at #15 and a win keeps them in the Top 16. Dayspring Christian must get their defense going in the right direction again and also figure out their defensive problems. Dayspring Christian should walk away with the victory and stay one back of the leader. The biggest game of the Plains League features #1 Sedgwick County hosting #6 Haxtun. Haxtun is coming off their biggest win of the season beating Dayspring Christian 29-21. In the game Haxtun did a good job of slowing down Dayspring Christian offense giving up 79 yards passing and 188 yards rushing. They also forced 2 fumbles to help secure the win. Offensively Haxtun did just enough. They struggled passing the ball throwing for 166 yards but threw 3 INTs. Haxtun did run the ball effective rushing for 200 yards and 3 TDs. Senior RB Elijah Molde led the team on the ground with 77 yards rushing and 1 TD. Haxtun now has to refocus on another explosive offensive team. Their defense will be tested by Sedgwick County and their offense will need to score points to have any chance in the game. #1 Sedgwick County is 4-0 on the year and are coming off a solid 48-24 victory over Akron. Defensively they did given up 250 yards on the ground to Akron but did enough defensively to keep Akron from scoring on big plays. Sedgwick County will need to play solid defense this week. They are facing an offense that can throw the ball effectively and run the ball effectively. This will be a good test to see how good both of these teams are. I think Sedgwick County is the favorite in this game but I think they are tested by Haxtun, I have Sedgwick County winning 35-21.
#1 Sedgwick County vs #6 Haxtun #7 Merino vs Akron
#8 Dayspring Christian at Caliche
RPI: #1 Merino, #2 Sedgwick County, #3 Haxtun, #15 Dayspring Christian, #17 Caliche, #22 Akron
Southeast League
The Southeast League week 1 of league play went as planned with the three favorites all winning and separating the league into two halves. #2 Holly beat Wiley 40-6, McClave beat Las Animas 60-0, and Springfield beat Granada 64-30. This week two of the winners face off and should be a good game. Other games to mention first are Las Animas traveling to Wiley. Las Animas is at #33 in the RPI and are not going to make the playoffs. Wiley is sitting at #27 and if they could win out they could have a far outside chance at the playoffs. Wiley should get started with a win over Las Animas. Another game is McClave hosting Granada. Granada has struggled this year going 0-5. They had too much youth this year to make a run but next year will be a threat. McClave currently is in the playoffs with the #9 RPI. They cannot afford to drop any games to the lower part of the league. A win against Granada lets them keep pace with the winner of #2 Holly vs Springfield. The game of the week in the Southeast league features #2 Holly at Springfield. Springfield is sitting at #25 in the RPI and are looking to make a big move and an upset would allow that. Springfield has played tough in their games against ranked opponents but still lost by double digit points. They will need their defense to play their best game of the year if they want the upset. #2 Holly is 4-0 on the year and a 10/20 match against McClave should be for the league title. Springfield will test Holly but Holly is good enough on both sides of the ball to win this game. Holly is a lock for the playoffs with the #4 RPI but they want that league title a win here gets them going in the right direction. I have Holly winning big 40-7.
#2 Holly at Springfield McClave vs Granada
Las Animas at Wiley
RPI: #4 Holly, #9 McClave, #25 Springfield, #27 Wiley, #33 Las Animas, #38 Granada
Southern League
The Southern League Championship is this week when #4 Fowler hosts #5 Hoehne and should be a great game. We’ll talk more about that game in a bit. First the Southern league had one upset in the opening week when Simla beat Swink 34-22 and that was Simla first win of the season. The other results were #4 Fowler over Custer County 52-0, and #5 Hoehen over Kiowa 54-16. Simla has a chance still at the league title if they beat Kiowa this week. Simla grabbed victory #1 on the season but will need a lot to make the playoffs they currently sit at #26. They cannot afford a loss to Kiowa but I think Kiowa beats Simla this week and Kiowa keeps their playoffs hopes alive. One other league game is Swink at Custer County. Swink is in a bit of trouble sitting at #28 and more than likely will need to run the table to make the playoffs. They should grab a win this week over Custer County. The big game of the week features #4 Fowler hosting #5 Hoehne and it should be a good one. Hoehne has bounced back extremely well since their loss to Holly three weeks ago. Since that loss they upset Dayspring Christian 44-37 and beat Kiowa last week 54-16. I fully believe this is for the league title this week and the winner will grab the automatic berth and playoff spot. Hoehne is #6 in the RPI and are a lock to make the playoffs. Hoehne is a power running football team and prove it with 1957 yards rushing. They have 3 players with over 450 yards and the leader is junior Trystan Moltrer 690 yards rushing and 6 TDs. Hoehne must get their running game going this week and also must play solid defense. Against good team they have struggled to play defense giving up 27 to Sargent, 33 to Holly, and 37 to Dayspring Christian. They must get their defense going and control the clock with their offense. #4 Fowler grabbed two signature victories early on against Akron and Sargent. They are undefeated on the year but this will be their biggest test. Fowler has won most of their big games due to their defense and that will test by Hoehne power running game. Fowler on offense is also a run first team with 1036 yards rushing. Two players are leading the way for Fowler senior RB Brand Sharp 460 yards and 7 TDs & junior RB Quinton Flanscha 435 yards and 6 TDs. Both must have big games this week to keep Hoehne from pulling the upset. Fowler must keep Hoehne under 300 yards rushing to have a chance in this game. They cannot allow Hoehne to run wild if they do it will be a tough game. Hoehne must score points we have not seen if Fowler can score a lot of points against good teams. Fowler is good defensively but their offense can be suspect. I am going with the upset and the Southern League title will go to Hoehne 35-14.
#4 Fowler vs #5 Hoehne Kiowa at Simla
Swink at Custer County
RPI: #6 Hoehne, #8 Fowler, #26 Simla, #28 Swink, #30 Kiowa, #34 Custer County
Southwest League
The Southwest League showed a bit more clarity this week. Mancos and Sargent are both undefeated but Norwood is sitting right behind them waiting for a slip up. Last week Sargent blasted Sangre De Cristo 58-0, Norwood beat Del Norte 45-0, and Mancos beat Sanford 26-14. All three games this week are very important. The first game is Sanford traveling to Del Norte. Sanford is 0-5 on the season but still sit at #29 in the RPI they would need to win 3 of their last 4 to make any run at the playoffs. Sanford has played a very tough schedule but you do need some victories and they will have a good chance this week. Del Norte suffered their second loss of the year falling to Norwood. The loss dropped Del Norte out of the Top 16 but Del Norte has a chance to bounce back this week. Del Norte must get their offense going again after being shutout. Del Norte will be tested by a physical defense and a win keeps their playoff hopes alive. I am going with Del Norte over Sanford by 7. Another big game is #10 Sargent at Dove Creek. Dove Creek had the week off and sit at 1-1. Their RPI is really hurting them as it sits at #31. They would need to win out from here on out but with a loss to Del Norte already it does not look good. Sargent on the other had looks to be back. They are on a two game winning streak and I think in control of the league. They have gotten back some valuable weapons and are playing like a playoff team. Last week they handled their rival beating Sangre De Cristo 58-0 and now must take care of business this week against Dove Creek and then will wait for the result between Norwood and Mancos. I have Sargent winning big over Dove Creek 48-14. The big game in the Southwest League features Norwood traveling to Mancos. Both teams currently are in the playoffs right now with their RPI at #10 and #11. A win for either team helps them lock up a spot. Mancos is off to a solid 4-1 start and 3-0 in league. They still have to play Sargent though and Norwood this week. They have had 2 close victories over Del Norte and Sanford and that should scare Mancos a bit because Norwood beat Del Norte 45-0. Mancos will need to play solid run defense to have any chance in this game. They also must get their running game working and if they do can stay in the game. Norwood bounced back nicely from their loss blasting Del Norte 45-0. Norwood defensively played outstanding holding Del Norte to negative yards rushing and keeping Del Norte passing attack to just 153 yards. Norwood also got their offensive problems figured out rushing for 254 yards and that will be the key this week. If Norwood ran run the ball they will beat Mancos. Norwood must play good defense as well and I have Norwood winning big 45-14.
#10 Sargent at Dove Creek Norwood at Mancos
Sanford at Del Norte
RPI: #10 Mancos, #11 Norwood, #19 Sargent, #20 Del Norte, #29 Sanford, #31 Dove Creek
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