6-Man Football Week 2 League Breakdown
With Week 1 in the book we look back into the 6-Man ranks and look at the leagues yet again. I will do my playoff predictions for 6-Man in my next article.
Central League
The Central league is a 5-team league and have not started league play. All 5 teams were in action last week against non-league opponents. The Central league struggled a bit in week 1 going 0-5 in their non-league games. Also, some big news via Kevin Shaffer at Coloradopreps.com (Go check out Coloradopreps.com for even more in depth analysis on all Classes) Deer Trail has cancelled their next two games due to Covid19, Deer Trail next game is scheduled for 10/31. The Central League will be looking to get a team into the win column this week. The central league will kick off there first league game with Hanover vs Genoa-Hugo. Genoa-Hugo is one of the favorites to win the Central League but will face a tough opponent right off the bat. Genoa-Hugo will look for Colby Simmons and Wyatt Miller to get back on pace this week. Genoa-Hugo may have also found another weapon in Connor Kahn who scored a touchdown last week. Hanover will look to put their name in discussion for a league crown this week and will need to bounce back after a tough loss to Cheyenne Wells. Hanover will look to improve their run defense and take care of the ball on offense after giving up two defensive TDs. The last game to quickly mention in the Central League is Kiowa vs Kit Carson. This is a non-league game and Kiowa will be tested by a perennial playoff team.
Playoff Contender: Genoa-Hugo, Kiowa, Deer Trail
East League
The East League is a mix of a couple different league from a season ago and I really like the layout of this new league. 5 very good teams are all piled together into one league and it showed in Week 1 with the East League going 5-0. All teams last week scored over 50 points, and none surrendered over 20. We move into league play this week. We start with Hi-Plains hosting Cheyenne Wells. Hi-Plains picked up a big 63-14 win over Deer Trail in week 1. Hi-Plains was dominate in the game but will face their first real test against Cheyenne Wells. Hi-Plains did not post stats from week 1. Cheyenne Wells in week 1 was dominate and scored in many ways. Cheyenne Well had 8 total TDs 5 offensive TDs, 2 Defensive TDs, and 1 Kickoff Return for a TD. Cheyenne Wells also looks like they played without Cade Mitchek in Week 1. Cheyenne Wells will face a very tough test this week against Hi-Plains. The second league game in the East league is Stratton/Liberty hosting Eads. Stratton/Liberty kicked off their season with a 64-19 win over Genoa-Hugo. QB Charlie Tagtmeyer made his first High School start and performed well passing for 2 TDs. The rushing attack also performed well for Stratton/Liberty rushing for 218 yards and 5 TDs. Charlie Clapper and Jaret Lichty led that attack. Stratton/Liberty will face a tough rushing attack this week and we will see how they perform against Eads. Eads opened their 2020 season with a 54-13 win over Kiowa. Eads cruised to the victory and now face a big test. Eads in week one was powered by the rushing attack rushing for 203 yards and led by Damien Barnes (170 yards rushing). QB Cade McDowell also played well passing for 87 yards. Eads defensively performed well and now face a rushing attack that is tough for anyone. Eads vs Stratton/Liberty should be one of the better 6-Man games in the state. I mentioned Kit Carson plays Kiowa in the Central breakdown.
Playoff Contenders: Cheyenne Wells, Eads, Hi-Plains, Kit Carson, Stratton/Liberty
North League
The North League continues to be one of the best 6-Man League and they proved that in week 1 going 5-0. 4 of the 5 teams in the North League scored over 50 points and 2 of the 5 teams scored over 70 points in week 1. This week we will see league action kick off with 2 games. Prairie will travel to Briggsdale and North Park will travel to Fleming. Fleming is your defending state champions and they opened week 1 with a 54-6 win over Arickaree/Woodlin. Fleming was dominate on offense rushing for 181 yards and led by Nolan Japp (89 yards rushing). Fleming passing attack was also solid with QB Kade Comstock throwing for 102 yards. Defensively Fleming was also stout scoring a defensive TD and having a big performance from Chris Goss. This week Fleming will face a run heavy team and will be tested if they can stop the run. North Park started the 2020 season with a 77-0 victory over Flagler. North Park lost a very good senior class a year ago but that did not stop them in week 1 racking up 239 yards rushing. North Park was led by Juniors Ale Nugent (83 yards) and Evan Pieper (82 yards). North Park will have their first true test against the defending state champions and will be great experience for a very young team. The big game in the North League this week is Prairie at Briggsdale. This game will go along way to deciding playoff spots and league order. Prairie opened the 2020 season with a high scoring 76 to 41 win over Idalia. Prairie lost a lot of offensive weapons from last years team, but you had a pair of players really step up. QB Andy Long threw for 205 yards and 4 TDs and RB Arek Wulf had a massive day rushing for 324 yards and 5 TDs. Prairie was tested in week 1 and showed they have the weapons to compete in the North League. Briggsdale opened their 2020 campaign with a 55-12 win over Otis. Briggsdale cruised to the win and was a big game for some new starters especially at QB. QB Braden Krise made his first start at the position throwing for 63 yards and 2 TDs. RB Malik Carlson also had a big game rushing for 117 yards and 4 TDs. The game against Prairie will be a true test for Briggsdale and another great game in week 2.
Playoff Contenders: Briggsdale, Fleming, North Park, Peetz, Prairie
Northeast League
The Northeast League got off to a rough start with all 5 teams losing their week 1 games. All teams did play tough in week 1 but two had better performances and we will continue to learn about this league. 2 league games will take place in the Northeast League this week they are Weldon Valley at Otis and Idalia at Arickaree/Woodlin. Weldon Valley at Otis normally is not a huge game, but Weldon Valley played well in week 1 and now are hoping to knock off a perennial power. Weldon Valley lost in week 1 to Peetz 26-12. Weldon Valley offensively had big performance from RB Weston Filter who ran for 97 yards. Defensively Weldon Valley made the biggest improvement holding Peetz to just 26 points. This is a big game for Weldon Valley if they can knock off Otis, they will have a chance for a league crown. Otis opened their 2020 season with a 55-12 loss to Briggsdale. Otis will look to bounce back against Weldon Valley. No stats were uploaded by Otis. The big game in the Northeast League this week is Idalia vs Arickaree/Woodlin. Arickaree/Woodlin fell in week 1 vs Fleming 54-6. Never an easy task to open with the defending State Champs and we will see how Arickaree/Woodlin bounce back. Offensively Arickaree/Woodlin had a tough day rushing for 69 yards. Arickaree/Woodlin is a young team and look for them to get better this season with experience. Idalia opened the 2020 season with a 76-41 loss to Prairie but fought tough in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Idalia had some big positives in the loss to Prairie and QB Eduardo Estrada must be one of them. Estrada passed for 158 yards and 3 TDs in the game. RB Kye Towns also had a big day for Idalia rushing for 206 yards and 3 TDs. The experience gained from the Prairie game I think will go along way for them this season.
Playoff Contenders: Idalia
Southeast League
The Southeast League kicked off 2020 by going 3-2 in week 1 but could be one of the tougher leagues in 6-Man. Cheraw, Granada, and Branson/Kim all picked up week 1 wins but Walsh and Manzanola fought tough in their losses. This week we will see league action kick off with Manzanola at Granada and Walsh at Branson/Kim. Walsh at Branson/Kim will kick off action in the Southeast league. Walsh had a tough battle with Mountain Valley in week 1. Walsh was down just 13-8 at halftime but a big 4th quarter for Mountain Valley was the difference in the game. Walsh is a young team and will continue to improve as the season goes. Branson/Kim opened 2020 with a hard-fought battle with Sierra Grande. Branson/Kim was able to beat Sierra Grande 34-19 and the difference was the 1st and 3rd quarters giving up 0 points. Branson/Kim had a lot of new starts on offense and one of them was QB Brody Doherty who threw for 63 yards in his first start. The main offensive attack for Branson/Kim was the rushing attack. RB Joe Autry (84 yards) and RB Brock Doherty (61 yards) led the way for Branson/Kim. Branson/Kim will now move into league play and face a big Walsh team this week. The main event in the Southeast League is Manzanola traveling to Granada. Manzanola opened 2020 with a hard-fought loss to Cotopaxi 44-34. Manzanola proved they cannot be discounted in the Southeast League. Manzanola had big performances from QB Daniel Escareno and RB Dalton Carroll. Manzanola had plenty of offensive weapons but 5 turnovers were costly in the game. Granada opened 2020 with a 58-13 win over La Veta. Granada cruised to the victory but now will be tested this week by Manzanola. Granada offensively is powered by QB Dominic Coleman who threw for 221 yards and ran for another 95 yards. Granada will be tested this week by Manzanola and look for Granada to open other weapons up this week.
Playoff Contenders: Granada, Cheraw, Branson/Kim
Southwest League
The Southwest League opened 2020 by going 2-3 in week 1 and I think 3 contenders have emerged. Picking up wins in week 1 were Cotopaxi and Mountain Valley but Sierra Grande losing to Branson/Kim in a tough game also makes them a contender. Two league games this week Cripple Creek travels to Mountain Valley and Sierra Grande travels to La Veta. Cripple Creek vs Mountain Valley is where we will start. Cripple Creek fell to Cheraw in Week 1 59-0. Cripple Creek had some positive takeaways passing for 48 yards and rushing for 52 yards. Cripple Creek will continue to try and improve as the season progresses. Mountain Valley was victorious in Week 1 beating Walsh 39-8. Mountain Valley started a lot of freshman due to injuries, but they performed well in week 1. QB Salvador Vigil had a big game passing for 126 yards and rushing for 169 yards. Mountain Valley once healthy will be tough and add in some young kids gaining experience, they will be a tough out. The main event in the Southwest League is Sierra Grande traveling to La Veta. La Veta was beat in week 1 58-13. La Veta will look to improve defensively heading into week 2. La Veta did show some positives on offense especially QB Ian Vallejos who threw for 96 yards. La Veta will have their hands full with a tough offensive team this week. Sierra Grande opened 2020 with a tough 34-19 loss to Branson/Kim. Sierra Grande fought to the end but came up just short to Branson/Kim. Offensively QB A.J Ojeda had a big game throwing for 180 yards. The rushing attack did not get going but look for improvements going forward. Defensively Sierra Grande had a lot of positives and look for this team to continue to improve.
Playoff Contenders: Mountain Valley, Cotopaxi, Sierra Grande
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