Football 8-Man Week 3 Top Ten Breakdown
With Week 2 in the books we take a look at the Top Ten teams in 8-Man and their future opponents.
#1 Sedgwick County (1-0)
Sedgwick County started their title defense with a Top 10 matchup against Hoehne. Sedgwick County came out firing a made quick work of Hoehne winning 40 to 8 and having the mercy rule by halftime. Sedgwick County in normal fashion does not post any stats but it was a good start for Sedgwick County new starting QB. Sedgwick County now will face Gilpin County. Gilpin County has been blasted in both games by fellow Plains league member. I expect Sedgwick County to do the same and should move to 2-0.
#2 West Grand (2-0)
West Grand picked up their big signature win of the season by beating #10 Caliche 38 to 20. West Grand grabbed the victory by outscoring Caliche in the First quarter and the 4th quarter. West Grand sets a huge ton by beating Caliche. Offensively West Grand was led by Luis Dominguez who threw for 38 yards but ran for 188 yards and 3 TDs. West Grands rushing attack churned out 391 yards rushing. Defensively West Grand was led by Jordan Knight (23 tackles) and Hugh Wheatley (16 tackles). West Grand also forced 1 interception and had 2 sacks in the game. West Grand will have an interesting matchup this week against South Park. South Park is 1-1 on the season and lost to Soroco 60-38. This could be an early measuring stick game for West Grand. West Grand will be the heavy favorite in this game.
#3 Akron (2-0)
Akron has shocked everyone to open the season starting 2-0. Akron pulled their latest upset this weekend beating Holly 8-6. Akron played tough defense all night and had some key defense stands in this game. Akron defensively forced Holly to throw the ball a lot more holding Holly to just 59 yards rushing. Akron did give up 271 yards passing but also had 2 INTs in the process. Akron defense was led by Gabe Chapin (13 tackles) and Justin Traxler (11 tackles). Akron also forced 2 sacks and 3 turnovers in the game. Offensively Akron did have some mistakes with 2 fumbles, but their rushing attack was effective racking up 187 yards rushing and 67 yards passing. The rushing attack was led by Jaden Hottinger who had 89 yards rushing. The lone TD for Akron came from QB Justin Traxler and he also had 67 yards passing. Akron will have to continue to play well as their schedule does not get any easier. Akron plays #9 Fowler this week and then #1 Sedgwick County in two weeks. Fowler will be another good test for Akron and will test the defense for Akron yet again.
#4 Merino (2-0)
Merino improved to 2-0 on the season after blasting Gilpin County 58 to 0. Merino made very quick work of Gilpin County and had the mercy rule going by halftime. Merino also has no stats in but are off to the start they were hoping for this season. Merino next game is against Mancos. This game will be played on a neutral field at South Park HS. This will be another good test for Merino again a playoff team. Merino starts league play in two weeks against Haxtun.
#5 Holly (1-1)
Holly picked up their first loss of the season to Akron last week 8-6. Holly had multiple chances to score but were not able to finish drives. Holly also had their game winning touchdown called back after a player was not lined up correctly. Holly must now deal with some diversity and see if they can bounce back from a tough lose. QB Kobe Davis did have a good day throwing the ball passing for 271 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. Holly did struggle running the ball and will need to improve in that area going forward. Defensively Holly did pretty good holding Akron to just 187 yards rushing but the lone passing touchdown cost them. Holly defense was led by Brendyn Nordyke who had 14 tackles and 1 sack. Holly will have to quickly bounce back from this lose. Holly will be out of the state this week as they play Balko OK. I think this will be a good game for Holly to bounce back as Balko OK has not had much success for Football.
#6 Hoehne (0-1)
Hoehne started their 2018 season off with a tough task of upsetting #1 Sedgwick County. Hoehne was not able to pull the upset and fell to Sedgwick County 40 to 8. Hoehne I am sure had weaknesses exposed but playing a tough opponent like that early on can help in the future. Hoehne won’t have much time to think about that loss as they play another plain league opponent in Dayspring Christian. Dayspring Christian had last week off and had plenty of time to work on the weakness after their opening season loss. Both teams will be looking for some early season momentum and the victory will have that.
#7 Rangely (2-0)
Rangely continues their great start to the season blasting Dove Creek 57-18. Rangely as I mentioned in the preseason is the dark horse team to watch out of the Western Slope League. Rangely made very quick work of Dove Creek scoring 37 points in the second quarter and had the mercy rule going by halftime. Rangely offense was clicking on all levels with 454 yards of total offense. The passing attack racked up 300 yards and was led by Drew Brannan (221 yards and 4 TDs). The rushing attack had 154 yards rushing and Tytus Coombs led the attack with 51 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Rangely defensively also played well forcing a turnover and only giving up 6 points in the first half. Tytus Coombs (6 tackles) and Devin Ramirez (6 tackles) led the Panthers in tackles. Next up for Rangely is a pass heavy team in Del Norte. Del Norte opened their season with a loss to South Park. Rangely must take care of the football and should grab the win.
#8 Sargent (1-0)
Sargent opened the season unranked by me after losing a great senior class. Sargent opened their 2018 campaign against then ranked #4 Fowler and Sargent was in for a fight. Sargent was down early in the game 16-6 but a 12 point 2nd quarter had Sargent with the 18 to 16 halftime leads. Sargent and Fowler would both add a touchdown in the third quarter making the score 24 to 22. Sargent would then use a 22-point fourth quarter to pull away from Fowler and win 46 to 28. Sargent offensively struggled early on with new QB Frank Torrez. Torrez last played QB his sophomore year in Center but was 11-Man football. Torrez played well in his debut passing for 110 yards and 2 TDs while also rushing for 122 yards and 1 rushing TD. The rushing attack had plenty of success racking up 309 yards and was led by Jacob Deacon (134 yards and 3 TDs). Sargent defensively did give up 337 yards but also was starting 7 new starters on offense. Sargent defense was led by Chase Mortensen (15 tackles) and Braxton Asbell (14 tackles). Sargent also forced 1 turnover and had 2.5 sacks in the game. This was a good opening season victory for Sargent but now have a tough road game against Springfield.
#9 Fowler (0-1)
As mentioned above Fowler went down to Sargent to open their 2018 season. Fowler had plenty of success on offense in their opening game. Fowler had 147 yards passing and 190 yards rushing. The passing attack was led by Luke Bitter who had 147 yards passing and 1 TD. The rushing attack for Fowler was led by Quinton Flanscha who had 98 yards rushing. Defensively Fowler will have to improve after giving up 419 yards of offense to Sargent. Fowler had some positives forcing 2 turnovers and 1 sack. Fowler defensively was led by Dylan Palomino (11 tackles) and Jonathan Mobbley (11 tackles). Fowler will have little time to bounce back and can now pull an upset themselves when they host #3 Akron. Fowler will have to play better defense and cannot allow Akron to run for over 300 yards or will be in trouble.
#10 Caliche (1-1)
Caliche has the week off to fix some of the problems they had from their game against West Grand. Caliche struggled to stop the run giving up almost 400 yards rushing. Caliche will open their league schedule next week and their bye may have come at just the right time. Caliche will host Byers next week on 9/14 to start their league schedule.
MileHigh Prep Report 