EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK SEVEN by Kerry Sherman

EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK SEVEN

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

With league play fully underway, the match-ups each week down the stretch get a little bit spicier. While it is still too early to crown any champions, this week will help the pictures start to come into focus. All rankings come from the most recent release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.

#1 HAXTUN FIGHTIN’ BULLDOGS (5-0) VS #24 CALICHE BUFFALOES (1-4) FRIDAY 7:30PM

Haxtun started its Plains schedule with a 44-0 win at Akron last week, as the Fightin’ Bulldogs rolled up close to 550 yards of offense. Ryland Wolff threw for 231 yards and three scores, and also had a rushing touchdown. All three of his TD passes went to Keegan Colglazier, who finished with 104 yards on four catches. Grant Statz added 205 yards and two scores on the ground. The defense got five takeaways, including three fumble recoveries by Zach Statz. Caliche had the opposite experience in its league opener. The Buffs took one on the chin, falling 46-0 at home against Sedgwick County. Haxtun has won the last three meetings with Caliche, 58-8 last year behind three total touchdowns from Wolff.

#2 SIMLA CUBS (6-0) BYE WEEK

Simla got out to a 35-0 halftime lead over Calhan last week and rolled to a 47-0 win in its Black Forest opener. Caston Cox had three TD passes, two to Brent Bowker, and one more on the ground, while Bowker led the defense with 17 tackles. He and Treven Kochera each tallied a blocked punt. Wyatt Stanko added a kick return TD to his rushing touchdown. The Cubs are on their bye week, and will return to action next Friday at Elbert.

#3 MANCOS BLUEJAYS (4-1) AT #5 DOVE CREEK BULLDOGS (5-1) FRIDAY 7PM

Highlighting the week seven schedule is this clash in the Mountain division. Mancos, the 2021 runner-up, took a forfeit victory over Sargent last week to begin its league slate 1-0. The Bluejays had their bye the week before, so Friday’s game will be their first contest in three weeks. Meanwhile, Dove Creek picked up its third straight win, just sneaking past Sanford 30-28. The difference was a two-point conversion in the first half. The Bulldogs trailed 14-8 after one, but led 24-22 at the half. Each teams scored once in the second half. Gage Buffington (134 yards, 2 TD) and Colten Fury (108 yards, 1 TD) led the ground attack, that also got a touchdown from Taber DeJane. Dove Creek has won the last two meetings with Mancos, and three of the last four. The Bluejays had won four straight before that stretch.

#4 LYONS LIONS (5-0) AT #38 JUSTICE PHOENIX (1-4) SATURDAY 1PM

Lyons broke away from an 8-all tie after one quarter at Byers last week with a 24-8 second quarter. The Lions ended up pushing forward to collect a 54-22 win in the Central opener. Miles Dumbauld (149 yards, 3 TD) and Malik Sigg-Brown (140 yards, 2 TD) combined for 289 yards and five rushing touchdowns, while the Lions got a pick-six from Cooper Ucker and a punt return for TD from Finn Oetting. Camden Paznokas racked up a game-high 19 tackles. Justice dropped its second straight contest, falling 36-20 at Belleview Christian last week. The Phoenix trailed 28-6 at half, but got back within a score at 28-20 heading to the fourth. Lyons won the two previous meetings with the Phoenix, 50-14 two years ago, and 54-6 last season.

#6 SEDGWICK COUNTY COUGARS (3-2) VS #11 MERINO RAMS (2-3) SATURDAY 6PM

Last week’s 46-0 win over Caliche was the ninth straight time Sedgwick County got the better of the Buffs. It was the fifth time the Cougars had posted a shutout in the series. To get to 2-0 in the Plains, the Cougars will have to get past Merino, who won last year’s match-up 36-6, snapping a five-game winning streak by Sedgwick County in the series. The Cougars have won nine of the last 11 against the Rams. Merino got a 34-24 win at Dayspring Christian last week to start 1-0 in the Plains.

#7 WEST GRAND MUSTANGS (5-0) VS #18 RANGELY PANTHERS (3-2) FRIDAY 4PM

For the fourth time in five games, West Grand held an opponent to a single score or less when the Mustangs opened Northwest play with a 74-6 win at Soroco last Thursday. Blake Terryberry tossed four touchdowns, two to Joe Probst, who also had a rushing score. Evan Crandall and Ruben Hatcher each had two rushing touchdowns, and Crandall caught another one from Terryberry. Defensively, the Mustangs recorded five sacks and three fumble recoveries. Rangely snuck out a 36-34 win over Hayden, with the difference being a Kobey Chism two-point conversion. Chism recorded 119 yards and two TD passes, and 113 yards and a rushing touchdowns, along with three two-point conversion runs. The senior also had a kick return for a TD. West Grand has won 11 of 15 against the Panthers, including a 68-30 victory last year.

#8 BYERS BULLDOGS (4-1) VS #40 GILPIN COUNTY EAGLES (0-5) FRIDAY 7PM

Kaleb Willoughby was a bright spot for Byers in last week’s 54-22 loss to Lyons. The junior ran for 151 yards and two scores, and his eight tackles were second only to Chase Long (9) for the team lead. AJ Engle hauled in a TD pass from Long and also had an interception. Gilpin County had a rough go in its league opener against Front Range Christian. The Eagles trailed 52-0 after one quarter, and saw the sportsmanship clock start with around two minutes to play in that frame. They went on to drop the contest 66-6. Byers beat the Eagles 62-6 last year, with Long throwing three touchdowns, two to Engle, and Willoughby running for two.

#9 CALHAN BULLDOGS (4-2) AT #37 SOUTH PARK BURROS (1-5) SATURDAY 1PM

Calhan saw its three-game winning streak end in last week’s 47-0 loss to Simla. The Bulldogs ran for just under 200 yards as a team, with Logan Jack posting 79 yards and Noah Nelson adding 76. Jack also had nine tackles to lead the defense, while Trevor Hendrix picked up a sack. South Park was held to just 74 yards of offense, all on the ground, in its 50-8 loss at Elbert last week. The Burros got 59 of those from Gavin Street, who also registered nine tackles, a blocked punt, and a forced fumble. Calhan beat South Park twice last year, 42-6 and 36-30, just short of three weeks apart.

#10 AKRON RAMS (3-2) AT #22 DAYSPRING CHRISTIAN EAGLES (1-4) SATURDAY 1PM

Akron’s biggest loss last week wasn’t on the scoreboard, where the Rams fell 44-0 to Haxtun. Senior QB Ryan McCaffrey suffered an injury that is expected to keep him out of action for several weeks, and maybe for the remainder of the season. Anderson Filla racked up 17 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Tucker Stahn forced three fumbles and recovered three. Peyton Coleman threw for 153 yards and two scores, and Elijah Fusco had 159 rushing yards with a TD for Dayspring Christian in their 34-24 loss to Merino last week. Akron beat the Eagles 48-42 last year, breaking a string of six straight losses in the series.

#12 HOEHNE FARMERS (3-2) VS #21 WALSENBURG PANTHERS (3-2) FRIDAY 7PM

After one week of league play, Hoehne and Walsenburg share the lead in the Six County league with Fowler. Hoehne got its share by beating Dolores Huerta Prep 72-24 last week. Levon Bachicha put up 261 yards and three rushing touchdowns, while Anthony Sandoval added 131 yards and four TD. Walsenburg used its running game to beat Custer County 58-20. Elton Chavez had 202 yards and two touchdowns, and Giovanni Aldretti added 176 yards and four scores for the Panthers. Walsenburg won last year’s contest 48-28, ending a string of three straight wins by the Farmers.

OTHER KEY CONTESTS

ARK VALLEY

McClave (13), Holly (17), and Springfield (26) all picked up league wins last week. This week, McClave visits Las Animas (33), while Springfield hosts Holly. The three-way tie atop the standings will be cut down by at least one.

CENTRAL

Front Range Christian (16) and Belleview Christian (31) share the lead in the Central with Lyons. Those two go head-to-head on Friday afternoon. The winner is assured to retain at least a share of the lead.

NORTHWEST

While West Grand and Rangely will fight it out to retain a portion of the lead in the Northwest this week, Vail Christian (14) can keep its share of the lead with a win at Hayden (23) on Friday. The Tigers need a win to remain in the mix for a potential league title, following last week’s loss to Rangely.

SIX COUNTY

Fowler (25) is part of a three-way tie for the lead in the Six County, and the Grizzlies head to Custer County (27) on Friday, knowing a win keeps them atop the standings, as the co-leaders are meeting each other. Custer County is one game back, and an upset keeps their hopes for a league title alive.