EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK NINE
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Before taking a look at the games with the biggest postseason implications this week, those of us here at MHPR want to pause and send our sympathy to the Crowley County school and community, and the family of Charger QB Blevyns Brown. For those unaware, Brown was killed in an automobile accident last weekend. His teammates are scheduled to visit Hoehne on Friday night. All are in our thoughts and prayers.
On the field, several league titles could be decided this weekend, and our focus is on the games with the direct impact on those championships. All rankings come from the most recent release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index. Remember, if a league champion finishes outside of the top-16 of the Seeding Index, they will enter the bracket and bump the team that finishes 16th. This could come into play this year.
FRIDAY
#8 SANFORD MUSTANGS (5-2 OVERALL, 1-1 MOUNTAIN) AT #2 MANCOS BLUEJAYS (6-1 OVERALL, 3-0 MOUNTAIN) FRIDAY 6PM
What’s at stake? A win gives Mancos its second league title in the last three seasons, as it would complete a perfect run in division play for the Bluejays. Sanford needs to win this week and then also beat #34 Dolores next week, and get a loss by #5 Dove Creek at #22 Sargent next week to win the division outright. If the Mustangs win out, and Dove Creek wins next week, there would be a three-way tie for the crown. Mancos will be looking to beat Sanford for the fourth straight meeting, and for the eighth time in the last 10.
Kail Wayman threw a pair of touchdowns to Brandon Vannest and added two more on the ground in a 70-0 win by Mancos over Dolores last week. Chris Medina and Levi Martin also had two rushing TD apiece, while Jonah Ritter and Michael Resner both found paydirt once. Sanford was scheduled to play at Sargent last weekend, but received a forfeit victory over the Farmers.
#17 FOWLER GRIZZLIES (3-4 OVERALL, 3-0 SIX COUNTY) AT #18 WALSENBURG PANTHERS (5-2, 3-0 SIX COUNTY) FRIDAY 7PM
What’s at stake? Fowler takes home the Six County title with a victory, as the Grizzlies already beat #24 Crowley County earlier in the year, giving them a tiebreaker over the Chargers who are the only team in the league with just one loss. Walsenburg wins the title with a victory coupled with a Crowley County loss at #21 Hoehne, but if the Panthers and Chargers both win on Friday, that sets the stage for a potential three-way tie for the title. In that scenario, Crowley County would have to beat Walsenburg next weekend.
Fowler utilized a balanced offensive attack last week to beat Hoehne 48-20. Gage Gottbehuet threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, both to Cael True (6 catches, 160 yards), and Trever Ketner rushed for 230 yards and three scores. Gottbehuet had two TD on the ground, as the Grizzlies ran for 280 yards on their way to a third consecutive victory. Harrison Proctor led the way on defense with 15 tackles, and Fowler picked off five passes and also recorded a fumble recovery. Ketner had two of the interceptions. Walsenburg pushed its winning streak to five games with a 49-14 win at #35 Dolores Huerta Prep. The Panthers got 234 total yards of offense (72 passing, 162 rushing) from Elton Chavez, who scored four times on the ground and also had a passing TD. Dante Pino and Taylor Torres each had nine tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery to pace the defensive effort. Chavez and Paul Garcia both had an interception to help the Panthers take the ball away five times. Chavez also scored on a kick return. Fowler won last year’s contest over the Panthers 56-6.
#6 WEST GRAND MUSTANGS (7-0 OVERALL, 3-0 NORTHWEST) AT #14 VAIL CHRISTIAN SAINTS (5-2 OVERALL, 3-0 NORTHWEST) FRIDAY 7PM
What’s at stake? For West Grand, a win sends the division title to Kremmling, as the Mustangs already own a win over #20 Rangely, who is the only team with a single league loss behind the two leaders. Vail Christian still has the Panthers on the schedule next week, so the Saints would need to win this contest and then beat Rangely next weekend to earn the crown. If Vail Christian wins this week and loses next week, and West Grand beats #30 Plateau Valley, we would have another three-way tie. The Saints have won three straight against West Grand and five of the last seven. The series is split evenly over the last 10 meetings.
With the ground game stymied last week, Blake Terryberry threw for 338 yards and six touchdowns in West Grand’s 40-0 win over #25 Hayden. Joe Probst caught five passes for 181 yards and three TD, while Jackson Steinle caught five for 151 and three TD. Steinle also had a team-high 15 tackles. Vail Christian had little trouble in its 67-14 win over #38 Soroco last week. The Saints rolled to a 46-0 halftime lead, thanks to a 32-0 first quarter outburst.
#28 SPRINGFIELD LONGHORNS (3-4 OVERALL, 2-1 ARK VALLEY) AT #11 MCCLAVE CARDINALS (5-2 OVERALL, 3-0 ARK VALLEY) FRIDAY 7PM
What’s at stake? McClave is looking to wrap up the Ark Valley title with a win, as this is the league finale for the Cardinals, who have already received a forfeit from Wiley for next week. The Cardinals beat third place Holly last week. Springfield needs to win this week and beat #29 Las Animas next week, plus a Holly loss against #27 Swink next week to create a three-way tie for the championship. McClave has beaten Springfield the last two years by a combined score of 92-6.
The Longhorns racked up 481 yards of offense, 262 if it through the air, in last week’s 34-20 win at Swink. That was their third win in their last four outings. Gavin Tempel provided the game-winner for McClave last week, as he returned an interception 91 yards to push the Cardinals past Holly, 20-18. Tempel also had a rushing TD and his two-point conversion run ended up being the difference in the contest.
#15 FRONT RANGE CHRISTIAN FALCONS (6-1 OVERALL, 3-0 CENTRAL) AT #4 LYONS LIONS (7-0 OVERALL, 3-0 CENTRAL) FRIDAY 7PM
What’s at stake? With a win already in their pocket over #9 Byers, the Lions are your Central champs if they pick up the win on Friday. It gets interesting if the Falcons can grab the road victory, as it brings Byers back into play, as those two teams play next week. Front Range Christian would be playing to win the league outright, while Byers could force a three-way tie atop the standings. After not playing for two cycles, Lyons and Front Range Christian have split the last two years, with each winning on the other’s field.
The Falcons put up a season-high 79 points last week and beat #37 Justice by 53. Their defense allowed more than 300 yards through the air, but also came up with two takeaways. Miles Dumbauld completed four of six passes for 169 yards and four scores in the 62-0 win by Lyons over #40 Gilpin County. Cooper Ucker caught three balls for 154 yards and three TD, while Malik Sigg-Brown rushed for 101 yards and two scores on three carries. Dumbauld added a pick-six to the tally.
#3 HAXTUN FIGHTIN’ BULLDOGS (7-0 OVERALL, 3-0 PLAINS) AT #10 SEDGWICK COUNTY COUGARS (2-1 PLAINS) FRIDAY 7:30PM
#7 AKRON RAMS (5-2 OVERALL, 2-1 PLAINS) AT #13 MERINO RAMS (3-4 OVERALL, 2-1 PLAINS) FRIDAY 7:30PM
What’s at stake? These two games are handcuffed together because there are so many possible impacts on the league chase. Haxtun wins the league with a win and a Merino loss. That’s about the only way the championship is decided this week. If those two teams win this week, they play for the division crown next week. Things can get really interesting if Haxtun loses, bringing a number of three-way tie scenarios into play.
Haxtun has not allowed a point in more than a month, with the Fightin’ Bulldogs picking up their fourth straight shutout, 48-0, last week at #23 Dayspring Christian. While Ryland Wolff had another strong day on offense, throwing for 135 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 87 yards and another score, it was once again the defense that starred. That unit picked off three passes, returning two for scores, and also recovered a fumble. Sedgwick County turned the ball over on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter after Akron scored to take a 36-28 lead. That was part of a five turnover night that saw the Cougars fall by that score. Haxtun will be looking for its third straight win over the Cougars after having dropped eight straight meetings in the series.
Anderson Filla was a workhorse for Akron in that win over Sedgwick County last week, rushing 31 times for 285 yards and five touchdowns. He converted the two-point run following three of those scores. On defense, Filla racked up a team-leading 15 tackles and recovered one of those fourth quarter fumbles by the Cougars. Brock Swedlund snagged a pair of interceptions to aid the Akron cause. Merino bounced back from a tough loss to Sedgwick County and beat #26 Caliche 58-6. The Rams used the running game to score their first five touchdowns and built a 46-0 halftime lead in the rivalry game. Akron has had the upper hand in the Clash of Rams, winning the last two meetings and seven of 11 since dropping into eight-man.
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