SIX-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK EIGHT
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
One league champion has already been crowned, taking one of the automatic postseason qualifying spots. Granada, who locked up the East title last week, could be joined by two, or even three others this week. The Central, East Central, and Southwest could all be decided this weekend. Again, we use the Thursday morning release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index for the rankings in this preview.
#1 STRATTON EAGLES (7-0, 4-0 EAST CENTRAL) BYE WEEK
In what many had pointed to as a potential state championship game preview, Stratton dominated Otis 73-6 last week. The Eagles raced out to a 60-6 halftime advantage, behind three total scores from Cyler Notter, three from Stockton Fye, and two from Brody Webb. Charlie Tagtmeyer tossed touchdowns to Notter and Webb, increasing his career-high total this season to 16. He also picked off his sixth pass of the year, matching his total from last season. The Eagles are on their bye week, and will return to action next Friday at Arickaree. They can lock up the division this weekend with an Otis win over Arickaree.
#2 GRANADA BOBCATS (6-1, 4-0 EAST) AT #23 KIT CARSON WILDCATS (1-6, 0-4 EAST) FRIDAY 7PM
Granada got out to a 16-0 first quarter lead last week against Eads and maintained that 16-point separation for much of the half, before going into the intermission up 30-22. The Bobcats’ lead was trimmed to one in the third, but by the end of the frame, they were back up 38-29. Eads made it even more interesting with one more TD in the fourth, but they would get no closer. The 38-35 victory secured the East crown for the Bobcats. Kit Carson had its best defensive effort of the season last week, holding Cheraw to just 18 points. However, the Wildcats could not get the offense going, and lost 18-6, leaving them winless in the division. Granada won last year’s meeting 60-12, but Kit Carson is 2-1 in the series.
#3 OTIS BULLDOGS (6-1, 3-1 EAST CENTRAL) VS #7 ARICKAREE BISON (5-1, 2-1 EAST CENTRAL) FRIDAY 7PM
The Bulldogs were forced to go to the air a lot more frequently than normal in their loss at Stratton last week, with the running game being limited to 12 yards on eight attempts. Mitchell Stivers hauled in a perfectly thrown ball by Austin Hornung for a 60-yard TD to account for the lone score of the night. Sawyer Packer grabbed five balls for 44 yards, as Otis got 143 yards through the air. Cambric Klinzmann (6) and Jacob Perry (5) led the defense with a combined 11 tackles. Arickaree is coming off its bye week and the Bison enter the contest knowing that a victory sets up a showdown with Stratton next week for the league title. A loss gives the championship to the Eagles. Zarron Skubal (75) and Austin Wright (65) have combined for 140 tackles, with 21.5 sacks between them. They lead a defense that has recorded 21 takeaways, with Wright and Dillon Noletubby each having five of them. Arickaree won last year’s game 52-33 and has won three straight and seven of the last nine in the series.
#4 IDALIA WOLVES (4-2, 1-2 EAST CENTRAL) AT #12 GENOA-HUGO PIRATES (3-3, 1-3 EAST CENTRAL) THURSDAY 7PM
Last week’s bye came at a good time for Idalia, who had lost to Stratton 57-13 the week prior, which was the second loss in a three-week span for the Wolves. Their strength of schedule has the Wolves all but locked into a first round hosting position. Freshman Gabe Kechter leads the running game with 630 yards and seven touchdowns. Tate Towns also has seven rushing TD on the season. The Pirates snapped a nasty three-game slide with last week’s 58-6 win at Hi-Plains. They had dropped games to Stratton, Arickaree, and Otis, all in league play. Trey Smith completed all six of his passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and the senior also scored on a fumble recovery. Konner Rowden-Stum went for 105 yards and three TD on three carries, and also had a receiving score. Thursday’s contest is a clash of styles, with Idalia looking to utilizing a bruising running attack and the Pirates liking to spread the field to use their speed. Genoa-Hugo won 33-14 last year, breaking a string of three straight Idalia wins in the series.
#5 WALSH EAGLES (5-2, 2-2 EAST) VS #19 CHERAW WOLVERINES (1-6, 1-3 EAST) SATURDAY 2PM
Walsh took a 14-12 lead over Cheyenne Wells into the half last week, but the Eagles were outscored 28-18 after the break and fell 40-32, dashing any hopes of grabbing a share of the league title. Cody Malone threw three touchdowns, while Leyton Jones ran for 127 yards. Jones scored on the ground and through the air, as well as having a TD pass. Lane Runkle scored twice on receptions. Cheraw got its first win of the season with the 18-6 decision over Kit Carson. It was the first time since week two that the Wolverines held an opponent under 50 points. The Wolverines have won three straight against the Eagles, including a 70-24 runaway last year.
#6 BRANSON/KIM BEARCATS (5-1, 3-0 SOUTHWEST) VS #16 MOUNTAIN VALLEY WOLVES (3-3, 1-2 SOUTHWEST) SATURDAY 1PM
If everything breaks right, Branson/Kim could lock up the Southwest division title with a win on Saturday, but they would also need a La Veta loss on Thursday against Sangre de Cristo, as well as a Primero loss to Sierra Grande. The Bearcats picked up a 36-22 win over Prairie in non-league play last week, getting 217 yards and four touchdowns on the ground from Kolter Cranson, who also recorded an interception and a fumble recovery. Brock Doherty added 92 yards in the rushing attack and his 11 tackles led the team. Mountain Valley finds itself in “must win” territory, even with the Wolves currently occupy the 16th position in the Seeding Index. Regardless of who wins the Central, that league champion is most likely destined to finish outside of the top-16, taking away an at large qualifying spot. The Wolves rolled past Sangre de Cristo 56-7 last week behind Jacob Martinez, who ran for 157 yards and two scores, caught four passes for 114 yards and two TD, and also had a 36 yard TD pass to Riley Heater. For good measure, Martinez led the defense with 20 tackles. Branson/Kim’s 75-33 win last year was its first in three tries against Mountain Valley.
#8 CHEYENNE WELLS TIGERS (3-4, 3-1 EAST) VS #15 EADS EAGLES (3-4, 2-2 EAST) FRIDAY 7PM
Perry Chadwick completed six of nine passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns, two to Carson Noe, in the 40-32 win for the Tigers over Walsh last week. Trey Scheler, who had a TD reception, ran for 176 yards and a touchdown. His 17 tackles led everyone in the contest. Freshman Kelby Leonard had a big kick return for a TD, as well. Porter Spady made his season debut for Eads after missing the first six games due to an injury and threw for 138 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those scoring passes went to Keenan Smith. Shane Winder gave the Eagles 130 yards and a touchdown in the 38-35 loss to Granada. Cheyenne Wells, who can lock up second place in the division, has won six straight in the series with Eads, who won the first four meetings between the teams in six-man.
#9 PEETZ BULLDOGS (5-1, 3-1 NORTH) VS #27 HI-PLAINS PATRIOTS (0-6, 0-4 EAST CENTRAL) FRIDAY 7PM
Peetz saw its perfect start to the season come to an end as the Bulldogs were upset by Briggsdale in a thriller, 48-47. The Bulldogs scored with right around a minute to play to get within one, but Briggsdale blocked the PAT and recovered the onside kick to secure the one-point win. Rhyder Bayne (152 yards, 2 TD) and Noah Naegele (68 yards, 2 TD) led the rushing game, which also got 52 yards and a touchdown from Conner Schumacher. Naegele added a TD reception from Chance Segelke. Segelke blocked a pair of kicks and forced two fumbles for a defense that recorded five takeaways. For the fourth time in as many on field losses, Hi-Plains allowed an opponent to score more than 50 points. In those four losses (also two forfeits) the Patriots have been outscored 278-66. Peetz picked up a 72-33 win last year on the road, with Bayne running for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns, and throwing for two more TD.
#10 LA VETA REDHAWKS (4-3, 2-1 SOUTHWEST) VS #22 SANGRE DE CRISTO THUNDERBIRDS (2-5, 0-3 SOUTHWEST) THURSDAY 7PM
La Veta has to pick up a win over Sangre on Thursday to keep its hopes of a Southwest division title alive. The Redhawks had to go down to the wire last week in a 36-31 win over Sierra Grande to remain in contention for the title. They led 36-25 with just over 2:30 to play, but after starting their drive with multiple penalties, the Redhawks had to punt the ball away. They pinned the Panthers deep in their own territory with a minute and change remaining. Four plays later, the lead had been trimmed to five. La Veta would recover the onside kick to seal the victory. Jessey Montunnas and Brayden Nix each had a pair of TD passes, with Kade Andreatta grabbing two of them. He also had the lone rushing score for the Redhawks, who got 243 yards from Nix in a workhorse effort (31 carries). Andreatta (21) and Nix (17) also starred on defense, combining for 38 tackles. Sangre had its losing streak reach four with the 56-7 loss to Mountain Valley last week. The Thunderbirds have been outscored 217-40 in that slide. They surrendered a forfeit to La Veta last year.
#11 SIERRA GRANDE PANTHERS (5-2, 2-2 SOUTHWEST) AT #14 PRIMERO BULLDOGS (4-2, 1-1 SOUTHWEST) THURSDAY 7PM
Aron Ojeda threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the Sierra Grande loss to La Veta last week, on a very windy night. He also ran for 118 yards and two TD, including the 60-yarder that brought the Panthers within a single score late in the contest, and the QB caught a 45-yard TD from Tyler Kester. Kester ran for 80 yards and had a touchdown reception from Ojeda. His 20 tackles led the defense and he had a fumble recovery. Primero can still factor into the division title, but the Bulldogs have to defend their home field first. They split with La Veta 
and Branson/Kim (L), so they would need to close out with wins over Sierra Grande and Mountain Valley, and get some help. Brett Kendall and Jairo Dominguez both had a rushing TD in the loss to Branson/Kim, and Marcus Hahn returned a pair of kicks for touchdowns. Sierra Grande has won all six previous meetings with Primero and has scored at least 57 points in each contest. The Bulldogs have not score more than 27 in any of those match-ups.
#13 BRIGGSDALE FALCONS (3-3, 3-0 NORTH) AT #28 WELDON VALLEY WARRIORS (2-4, 0-3 NORTH) FRIDAY 3PM
Scott Francis played a big role in Briggsdale’s upset of Peetz, with the sophomore completing nine of 13 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns, while also intercepting a pass on defense. Tanner Fiscus, who caught one of those scoring passes, also had a TD pass of his own. Kaeden Gebauer caught two and ran for one, and Dallas Glass had two on the ground. Glass picked off a pass and provided the biggest play of the game, blocking the last PAT attempt of the night, preserving the one-point victory. Weldon Valley has dropped four straight, allowing at least 50 points in each contest. The Warriors have been outscored 216-45 in that stretch. Peetz has won 11 straight meetings with Weldon Valley and 17 of the last 19.
#17 PRAIRIE MUSTANGS (3-4, 1-2 NORTH) AT #18 FLEMING WILDCATS (2-5, 2-1 NORTH) FRIDAY 7PM
This contest boils down to Fleming needing to win to make next week’s meeting with Briggsdale serve as the division championship game. Plus, both teams are just outside of the top-16, so every win they can pick up the rest of the way helps their cause. Like Mountain Valley, who occupies the 16th spot, they’ll have to climb at least up to 15th to secure a spot, unless Fleming wins out to claim the automatic qualifying spot for the North. Fleming has won five straight in the series and 14 of the last 17.
#20 HANOVER HORNETS (4-3, 3-0 CENTRAL) AT #24 KIOWA INDIANS (4-3, 4-0 CENTRAL) FRIDAY 7PM
#21 DEER TRAIL EAGLES (3-4, 2-1 CENTRAL) VS #26 MIAMI-YODER BUFFALOES (3-3, 2-2 CENTRAL) FRIDAY 7PM
Kiowa can lock up the Central division crown with a win at home, while Hanover needs a win and a Deer Trail loss against Miami-Yoder to gain the league title this week. Kiowa made it four straight wins after opening the season 0-3 by beating Bethune 49-10. Hanover has put three straight wins on the board after beating Miami-Yoder 34-13 last week. The Hornets have won both prior games with Kiowa, 52-6 two years ago and 51-14 last season.
Deer Trail rolled to a 46-6 win at North Park last week, helping the Eagles snap a two-game slide. The Buffaloes have lost two straight and three of their last four. Deer Trail has won the last two meetings with Miami-Yoder, including a 49-13 decision last year.
MileHigh Prep Report 