Class 8-man First Round State Playoff Breakdown
The first round of 8-man had two big upsets in the first round. Caliche beating Hoehne was one of them and the other was #14 Soroco beating #3 Merino. The quarterfinals offers some very good games again.
#1 Sedgwick County at #9 Fowler on 11/11 @ 1:00pm
#1 Sedgwick County started their title defense with a 49-0 victory over McClave. Sedgwick County scored all 49 points in the first half and cruised to the end. Sedgwick County has been dominate on offense all year and proved it once again in the first round. No stats were entered by either team. Sedgwick County road gets much tougher and they will not see another home game till possibly the State Championship.
#9 Fowler was impressive in their opening round game beating Springfield 36-14. Fowler took control of the game in the second quarter scoring 14 points. Fowler allowed scores in the 1st and 4th quarter of the game. Fowler defensively held Springfield main player Beau Dukes to under 200 yards of offense. Fowler forced 4 turnovers and 1 sack in the game. Defensively Fowler was led by Dylan Palomino 20 total tackles and Brand Sharp 13 tackles, 1 INT, and 1 defensive touchdown. Fowler defensively will need to play their best game of the season next week. Fowler offensively was productive but a few errors did occur. Fowler had 60 yards passing and 255 yards rushing. Fowler did have two turnovers in the game and must avoid that this week. Fowler was led on offense by QB Luke Bitter 60 yards passing and 1 TD and Fowler rushing attack was led by Quinton Flanscha 163 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Fowler offensively must be able to move the ball and score points on Sedgwick County.
Sedgwick County has only been challenged once this year but will have back to back away games if they win this week. Sedgwick County will have to stop a very good rushing attack and a very improved defense. Fowler must play their best game of the season and have to play outstanding defense. Fowler also must take care of the football and avoid turnovers at all cost. I am going with Sedgwick County in this game but it will be closer. Sedgwick County 35 Fowler 24.
#5 Holly at #13 Caliche on 11/11 @ 1:00pm
#5 Holly started their playoff run with a 32-16 win over Haxtun. Holly used a 16-point third quarter to secure their lead and win the game. Holly defensively did allow over 400 yards of total offense but forced 5 turnovers. Holly needs to improve defensively going forward and this week get challenged by a very good Caliche team. Holly offensively had 4 turnovers as well so Holly must limit turnovers and take care of the football. Holly did get most of their injured players back so this game hopefully has them tuned up for the rest of the playoffs. Holly entered no stats for their game.
#13 Caliche pulled 1 of the 2 huge upsets in the first round. Caliche stunned #4 Hoehne 20-16 and the game had plenty of excitement. Caliche had a final stand in the 4th quarter forcing a fumble to win the game and now have a shot at another upset in the second round. Caliche defensively gave up 272 yards rushing but did force two turnovers. Caliche was led on defense by Adam Zink 8 tackles and Tyler Torres 8 tackles. Caliche defense will be tested by a very dynamic and very balanced offense this week from Holly. Caliche offensively had 0 yards passing but had 238 yards rushing. Junior Adam Zink led the way for Caliche with 154 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Also helping with the offense is Josh Kokes 41 yards rushing. Caliche offensively will need a big performance this week and Adam Zink is the key to Caliche winning this game. If he has a monster game they could pull the upset.
Holly was challenged in game #1 by a very good Haxtun team. Holly has some improvement on offense in terms of taking care of the ball. Also Holly defensively must improve pass coverage but won’t face another passing attack like that till Sedgwick County. Holly needs to focus on stopping Adam Zink to be successful in this game. Caliche defensively must play outstanding. They are facing a much tougher offense that has more than one play maker and will need their best defensive day. Offensively Adam Zink must have a career day to pull the upset of Holly. I am going with Holly due to their defense and dynamic offense. Holly 35 Caliche 17.
#11 Mancos vs #14 Soroco on 11/11 @ 1:00pm
This is the Cinderella side of the bracket with two double digit seeds playing each other and one of them will be in the semifinals. #11 Mancos pulled the upset on #6 Rocky Mountain Lutheran 64-28. Mancos dominated the game with 22 points in both the second and third quarter and bounced back well from their regular finale loss. Mancos did not put any stats into the game but we do know a few things. Mancos forced 1 turnover and gave up 370 yards of offense. Mancos must be ready to stop the run and the success of the game fully depends on how well Mancos can stop Jace Logan. Mancos must have a similar offensive day and I see this game turning into a shootout.
#14 Soroco shocked everyone pulled the upset on the #2 RPI team Merino. Soroco held on late but never gave up the lead to Merino and won 42-32. Soroco forced 2 interceptions in the game. Soroco was led on defense by Jace Logan 14 tackles and Jonah Jones 11 tackles. Soroco offensively was a very impressive running the ball racking up 350 yards rushing. Soroco was led on offense by Jace Logan 298 yards rushing and 5 TDs. Logan was averaging 8.3 ypc and is the main weapon for Soroco. If he has a good game Soroco usually is in games. Soroco must get their rushing game going if they plan to keep moving and pull their second straight upset.
Mancos pulled a slight upset but I expected them to beat Rocky Mountain Lutheran. Mancos has a shot at the semifinals but they will have to stop the run to have any success. If Mancos cannot stop the run they must be able to score points and must take care of the ball. Soroco success hinges on Jace Logan being effective. If Soroco and Logan puts up over 300 yards rushing they will be successful in this game. Soroco on defense must force turnovers and get the ball to their playmakers. Soroco pulled one huge upset and have a ton of momentum. This is going to turn into a shootout. I think both teams offenses are going to have good days and see this score breaking 70 points combined. I am going with Mancos due to have a slightly better defense. Mancos 35 Soroco 31.
#2 West Grand vs #7 Sargent on 11/11 @ 2:00pm
#2 West Grand started their playoff run with a 24-14 victory over West Grand. West Grand defensively gave up their first offensive touchdown in 6 weeks but it was on a trick play. West Grand defensively played outstanding holding Norwood to just 58 yards rushing and 128 yards passing. West Grand forced 4 turnovers in the game to help secure the win. West Grand defensively was led by Luis Dominguez 8 tackles and 2 INTs. Also helping on defense was Noah Schroeder 6 tackles and 1 sack. West Grand still played great on defense and will be challenged by a very good Sargent offense. West Grand offensively was effective with 379 yards of total offense. West Grand had 141 yards passing and 238 yards rushing, they also only had 1 turnover in the game. West Grand passing attack was led by Brady Gore 141 yards passing and 1 INT. West Grand rushing attack was led by Hugh Wheatley 101 yards rushing and 2 TDs. West Grand offensively has been dominating all year and will need a big game this week.
#7 Sargent opened with an impressive 56-26 victory over Gilpin County. Defensively they slowed down a very tough single wing offense. Sargent only forced 1 turnover in the game but it was a critical moment in the game. Sargent was led on defense by Christian Schaller 16 total tackles and Jacob Lower 11 total tackles. Sargent must play better defense this week and will need to slow West Grand offense down and keep them under 30 points. Sargent on offense was dominate racking up 597 yards of total offense. Sargent had 166 yards passing and 431 yards rushing. Sargent was led by QB Ryan Davis 166 yards passing, 120 yards rushing and 5 total touchdowns. Also helping Sargent was Frank Torrez 166 yards rushing and 1 TD. Sargent must be effective running the ball against a very good West Grand defense. This will be one of the toughest defense they have faced this year and must move the ball on offense.
West Grand defensively has not played this good of an offensive team. West Grand will be challenged on defense this week. West Grand offense must stay balanced in their attack but have to establish the run to be successful. Sargent offensively must be able to move the ball and must take care of the ball as well. Sargent offense has played plenty of tough teams this year and will be challenged this week. Sargent must take care of the football and must have a huge game from QB Ryan Davis. Defensively Sargent must pick up any slack their offense might have. Sargent defense must be able to stop West Grand and keep them under 30 points. West Grand is the favorite but I am going with the upset even though it is against my full prediction bracket. I have Sargent 28 West Grand 21.
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