8-Man League Breakdown & Predictions (Northwest, Plains, Southern)
I have decided to only do 3 leagues at a time instead of the full 6 leagues. I am going to breakdown the league then at the end predict my champion and playoff contenders. I know these articles are a bit lengthy, but I try and mention every team.
Northwest League
The Northwest League had a very successful year last year qualifying 3 teams into the playoffs and West Grand play in the state championship. The Northwest League looks like it will be very competitive again this year. Hayden went 5-4 last year and just missed a berth into the playoffs. Hayden will be losing 8 seniors from their team last year. Hayden possibly loses 3 offensive linemen and will be hurt in the skill position area losing both their starting QB & RB. Hayden may have a slight rebuilding year. Vail Christian moved up to 11-man football for two seasons but will be moving back into the 8-man ranks this year. Vail Christian had very limited success on the 11-man front. Vail Christian in 2015 went 7-2 in the 8-man ranks and will be interesting to see if they can return to their ways of playing 8-man football. Vail Christian does lose 8 seniors from last year’s team and will need some players to step up at the skill positions. Vail Christian may need a year to get adjusted to the 8-man game. Plateau Valley went 2-7 last year and lose 8 seniors from their team. Plateau Valley looks like they are losing 3 linemen but will have their starting QB and starting RB back. Plateau Valley will need some seniors to really step up this year and Plateau Valley has a big senior class so if they are going to make a run it will be this year. Plateau Valley returns 7 or their 8 top tacklers so their defense should improve. Plateau Valley will improve this year, but will they improve enough to challenge for a league title or a playoff spot. Rangely also went 2-7 last year but are only losing 2 seniors. Looks like both players were WR or DB so Rangely offensive line will be intact as will their QB and RB. Rangely will have to take the next step this year and most improve their entire offense. Defensively Rangely should also improve and could be the reason why they move into the Top 3 of the league this year. This year could really be the year that Rangely moves into the Top 3 and possibly a playoff spot. Gilpin County qualified for the playoffs last year but were beat by Sargent in the first round. Gilpin County loses 6 seniors from their 7-3 team. Gilpin County will really miss Austin Boulter who ran for over 1900 yards last year. Gilpin County does have a QB who played in the playoff game and performed well and that is Stephen King. Gilpin County will need someone else to step up on offense this year as well. Gilpin County will also need some players on the offensive line to step up. Defensively Gilpin County loses 4 of their top 8 tacklers but will look to Angel Gomez and Jake Duncan to lead their defense this year. I still see Gilpin County as a playoff team and possible league title contender. Soroco had a great playoff run last year falling in the semifinals to West Grand. Soroco though was hit hard by graduation losing 8 seniors including 4 or 5 offensive linemen. Soroco does have some size in the upcoming senior and junior class but will have to get his unit to mesh. Soroco offensively their main player Jace Logan who had video game numbers for stats. Jace Logan ran for 3,230 yards and 43 TDs. He will only have that sort of success again if his offensive line comes together. Defensively Soroco will have some holes to fill losing 5 of their top 8 tacklers. Soroco though does return their top two tacklers and they will lead this defense. Soroco will improve as the year goes on and I think another playoff berth is achievable and so is a competing for a league title. My favorite to win the Northwest league is West Grand. West Grand went 12-1 last year and were runner ups. West Grand does lose 7 valuable seniors including 2 offensive linemen and their starting QB. West Grand does return some weapons with Luis Dominguez taking over at QB and Hugh Wheatley who ran for over 1000 yards coming back. West Grand will need to develop some offensive linemen this year, but their offense should be effective this year. Defensively West Grand loses their top 2 tacklers but return the rest of the starters. West Grand will need to find new leaders on defense, but they should still be a top 10 defense. West Grand is my favorite in the Northwest League but will be challenged for the league title.
League Champion: West Grand
Playoff Contenders: West Grand, Soroco, Gilpin County, Rangely, Plateau Valley
Dark Horse: Rangely
Can Rangely come together as a team and challenge for a top 3 spot in the league. They only lose 2 seniors from last year’s team but if they can come together they will challenge for a top spot.
Plains League
The Plains League is home of your 3-time defending state champions and usually one of the tougher leagues in all of 8-man. The Plains League once again will be extremely tough, and we will have to see which team can rise and challenge Sedgwick County. Byers drops from 1A down into the 8-man ranks. It’s always tough for teams to drop from 11-man football down to 8-Man and we will have to see how Byers adapts. Byers went 1-8 last year and lose 7 seniors from last year team. We will have to keep an eye on Byers and see how they adapt to the 8-Man ranks. Byers does return their starting RB but will be searching for some offensive linemen. Akron took a slight step back last year going 3-6. Akron biggest hole last year was at the QB position and that position must be addressed if they plan on their offense improving. Akron will be losing 2 offensive linemen but seem to have some experience who can fill those holes. Akron does return some weapons on the skill position side with Derrick Poss and Justin Traxler coming back. Defensively Akron will be tough and are returning 6 of their top 8 tacklers. Akron will lose some depth but should still be tough. Akron should improve from last year but playing in the Plain League is never easy. I think Akron will be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Haxtun went 6-4 last year and qualified for the playoffs. Haxtun does lose 5 seniors from last year including 2 offensive linemen, a TE, WR, and a FB. Haxtun does have some size coming back on their offensive line and their offense should be effective with Drew Coffin or Braden Anderson running the show. Defensively Haxtun loses just 3 of their top 8 tacklers but like Akron lose some depth on defense. Haxtun will still be in the hunt for a playoff spot, but the Plain league is much tougher this year. Dayspring Christian went 4-5 last year and failed to qualify for the state tournament. Dayspring Christian brings back a former coach Mike Holmes who was with the team from 2006 thru 2013. Dayspring Christian loses 8 seniors to graduation including 3 offensive linemen and their starting RB. Dayspring Christian though has some size coming back and return starting QB sophomore Christian Still. Dayspring Christian will be looking for a RB to step up and some WR’s. Dayspring Christian biggest hole going into 2018 will be their defense. Dayspring Christian loses 6 of their top 8 tacklers and will need players to step up. Dayspring Christian will only get as good as their defense can perform. Dayspring Christian should fight for a playoff spot but will need their defense to quickly get up to speed. Merino was a surprise team last year going 8-2 but were upset by #14 seed Soroco in the playoffs. I am sure that lose left a sour taste in Merino mouth and they will be looking to improve this year. Merino loses just 2 seniors from last year team and they were a RB/LB and a Safety/TE. Merino will be returning their entire offensive line and their QB Cade Conger who threw over 1300 yards. Merino does have an option at RB with Matt Frank coming back. Merino offense should improve from last year. Merino defensively played a ton of close games and won a lot of close games. Merino defensively will have to replace two starters on defense but are returning 3 players who had over 100 tackles. Merino should improve on defense as well and have the close game experience when they need it during the season. Merino could challenge Sedgwick County this year, but Merino will be in the mix for a playoff spot. Caliche limped into the playoffs a year ago going 4-4 during the regular season. Caliche picked up a huge upset in the first round beating Hoehne but falling to Holly in the quarterfinals. Caliche loses just 2 seniors from last year’s team and are my pick to challenge Sedgwick County for the league title. Caliche will be returning plenty of size and of course do it all QB Adam Zink (368 passing yard, 2442 rushing yards). Caliche may need to find some other weapons on offense and look to Josh Kokes to help the offense out. Caliche defensively must improve this year if they plan to challenge Sedgwick County. Caliche gave up 313 points last year which was near the bottom of the 8-man ranks. If Caliche can improve to a Top 10 or even Top 5 defense they can surprise a few teams. Caliche is my #2 team in the Plains League and a playoff contender. My pick to win the Plains League is Sedgwick County. Sedgwick County is looking for their 4th straight State Championship but will be losing some talent from last year’s team. Sedgwick County will be without starting QB Brennan Ehmke and their leading tackler Colten Woodhams. Sedgwick County though does have a backup QB in Ethan Walter and of course plenty of experience on their defensive unit. Sedgwick County main weapon coming back will be Layne Green who ran for over 1650 yards and helping with the offense will be Beau Parker. Sedgwick County does have the weapons to try and pull the 4 peat but I think the 8-Man ranks have also improved and they may be challenged this year. Sedgwick County of course is my early favorite to win the State Championship but could be challenged this year.
League Champion: Sedgwick County
Playoff Contenders: Sedgwick County, Caliche, Merino, Dayspring Christian, Haxtun, Akron
Dark Horse: Can anyone upset Sedgwick County
I know not a team but it’s the real question can any of the playoff contenders upset Sedgwick County?
Southern League
What may be the second weakest league in 8-Man is the Southern League and this league is wide open. Only Pikes Peak Christian had a winning season last year but didn’t qualify for the playoffs. I am very interested to see which team will rise and snag the league championship. The Southern League may be just a 1 team playoff league maybe 2 but you will want the league championship. Miami-Yoder struggled in their first two years in the 8-man ranks. Last year Miami-Yoder went 1-8 and are losing 7 seniors from last year. Miami-Yoder does have their starting RB coming back but are still not ready yet to challenge for a league title. I could be wrong, but I see to many holes this year for Miami-Yoder. Calhan is back to having a program this year after not having one last year. Calhan will be dropping from 1A down to 8-Man and will be interesting to see how they adjust to the 8-Man ranks. I don’t really know much about Calhan this year and will be interesting to see how they do. Swink went 3-6 last year and didn’t make the playoffs. Swink loses 6 seniors from last year’s team but only return 2 upcoming seniors. Swink may be a year away from competing for a league title and a playoff spot. Swink will have a rebuilding year this year but I think next year when we talk about Swink it will be for a playoff spot/league title. I think there are 3 teams who have a shot at a League title and maybe 4 depending on how Calhan does. The first of the 3 teams are Custer County. Custer County went 4-5 last year and will be returning some talent this year. Custer County does lose 5 seniors from last year including 2 offensive linemen. Custer County does have some size coming back and I think will make this offense effective. Custer County biggest hole will be replacing their starting RB who ran for over 1000 yards. Custer County may have a replacement in Ray Perez who was #2 in rushing on the team. Custer County defensively is losing 2 of their top 8 tacklers and some depth as well. Custer County will also need to find a leader on defense and get some younger players to step up. Custer County will be in the running for a league title and maybe a playoff spot. Simla was 1-8 last year but are slowly building their program back. Simla is losing 4 seniors from last year’s team including 2 offensive linemen. Simla though will have a lot of talent coming back including starting QB Gunner Rapp or Brad Mazerall and RB Darias Harms. Offensively Simla will just need their unit to click and could be a solid unit. Defensively Simla was the worst defense in 8-Man last year. Simla will be returning 7 of their 8 starters and this unit should improve. If Simla can improve to a Top 15 defense they will be in the hunt. I think if Simla can stay healthy and improve they will be a contender for the league title and a playoff spot. My Favorite early on to win the Southern League is Pikes Peak Christian. Pikes Peak Christian was the only team in the Southern League to have a winning record at 5-4. Pikes Peak Christian did not post any stat last year but are only losing 3 seniors from last year. They are TE/De, RB/S, and TE/De. Pikes Peak Christian will be returning their starters at all other position and should be a very solid team this year. Pikes Peak Christian last year scored 213 points and gave up 174 points. If both can improve this year, then I think Pikes Peak Christian could run away with the Southern League title.
League Champion: Pikes Peak Christian
Playoff Contenders: Pikes Peak Christian, Custer County, Simla, Maybe Calhan
Dark Horse: Simla
If Simla can improve on both sides of the ball and stay healthy I think they can challenge Pikes Peak Christian for the league title. Of course, that it’s why you play the game.
MileHigh Prep Report 