SIX-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – QUARTERFINALS
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Last weekend saw the initial playoff field cut from 16 to eight. After this weekend’s quarterfinal round, that will be cut in half again, as just four teams will remain in contention for the state title. Only three of the opening round games were decided be fewer than 20 points, with two of those being decided by just three total points. All games are listed in bracket order.
#8 SIERRA GRANDE PANTHERS (7-3) AT #1 STRATTON EAGLES (10-0) SATURDAY 1PM
Last Week: Sierra Grande outscored #9 Arickaree 52-14 over the final three quarters, including 30-0 in the fourth, to pull away for a 66-20 victory in the opening round. Aron Ojeda and Derek Martinez both had a pair of TD passes and Brian Ontiveros scored twice on the ground as well as hauling in two TD catches. The Panthers had two defensive touchdowns, a scoop-and-score by Carlos Lopez and a 79-yard pick-six by Tyler Kester. Stratton did its work early, building a 50-0 halftime lead over #16 Hanover before turning it over to the younger Eagles to finish off the 56-16 victory. Cyler Notter scored as a runner, receiver, and on a fumble return, while Charlie Tagtmeyer had three more TD passes, giving him 22 on the season. Brody Webb led the Eagles with eight tackles and an interception.
Ojeda is just 16 yards away from 1400 through the air this season and he has thrown 25 touchdowns against just one interception. With 585 yards, he’s also the leading runner for the Panthers. Kester is not far behind him with 530, along with a team-leading 13 touchdowns. Ontiveros leads five receivers with double digit catches (25), and his 429 yards and nine scores are also tops on the squad. Jadyn Martinez has five receiving TD, while Kester and D. Martinez each have four. Kester is far and away the leading tackler, as his 148 are second in the classification. J. Martinez needs nine to join him in triple digits. Orlando Maes (48), Ontiveros (36), and Jesus Reyes (34) round out the top five. Kester is responsible for eight of the Panthers’ 26 takeaways with five picks and three fumble recoveries.
Stratton has won 24 straight games, all with the sportsmanship clock rolling at some point. Tagtmeyer has five more touchdown passes (22) than incompletions (17) on the year. Notter averages just over 100 yards a game on the ground and is just 99 away from a second consecutive 1000-yards campaign. He has scored 37 touchdowns on the season: 22 rushing, 14 receiving, and one on defense. Stockton Fye (11) and Webb (9) have combined for 20 rushing touchdowns. Dawson Thompson hauled in his fifth receiving TD last week. Webb (75), Thompson (64), Notter (56), Von Isenbart (49), and Ethan Bohnen (44) are the top five tacklers for the Eagles. Notter has 16.5 sacks in his total, while Bohnen has seven. Tagtmeyer (8) and Isenbart (6) have combined for 14 interceptions, and Bohnen and Notter both have four fumble recoveries.
The Panthers and Eagles have not met in the MaxPreps era.
#5 WALSH EAGLES (8-2) AT #4 IDALIA WOLVES (8-2) FRIDAY 5PM
Last Week: Walsh found itself deadlocked with #12 Briggsdale 14-all at the half. The Eagles shut down and shutout the Falcons in the second half, with the defense putting two points of its own on the board in the 29-14 victory. Leyton Jones ran for 206 yards and three TD, while Lane Runkle had one on the ground. Those two combined for 31 tackles, 17 by Jones. Axeton Bishop joined them in double figures with 10 tackles, and Cole Tedder accounted for a safety. Idalia only ran two plays in its own territory against Eads, and the Wolves scored on both of those plays. Their defense came up with three interceptions, two by Kagen Hoyda, who returned the first for a pick-six less than two minutes in, setting the tone for what ended up being a 55-0 win. Hoyda caught three TD passes from Tarek Glanz, who had four on the day.
Jones pushed his season rushing total to 825 yards, with 15 touchdowns. Conner McDonald is next with 293 yards, while Runkle is second with five scores. Cody Malone has thrown for just over 600 yards and 14 touchdowns, with Jones being his primary target. Jones has caught 17 passes for 407 yards and eight scores. No one else is in double digits catches, and only Runkle has more than 100 yards (138). While Jones leads the defense with 89 tackles, he’s had lots of help on that side of the ball, as McDonald (77), Bishop (63), Runkle (54), and Ethan Barwick (52) make up the rest of the top five. The Eagles have recorded 27 takeaways, seven by Jones (6 int, 1 FR). McDonald has five on three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
With back-to-back four TD games, Glanz is now at 18 on the season, and he’s tallied 785 yards through the air. Hoyda has shown great chemistry with his QB, snagging 28 receptions for 370 yards and nine scores. Tate Towns and Gabe Kechter have combined for 25 catches, 300 yards, and five TD. Kechter leads the offense 1110 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, with Towns second in both categories (301 yards, 8 TD). The top four defenders for the Wolves are only separated by five tackles. Towns leads that group with 74, followed by Garret Drullinger (73), Kechter (71), and Hoyda (69). Glanz and Hoyda both have five interceptions and each has returned one for a TD. Kechter also has a pick-six.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Walsh and Idalia.
#7 BRANSON/KIM BEARCATS (8-2) AT #2 OTIS BULLDOGS (9-1) SATURDAY 1PM
Last Week: Branson/Kim trailed by two at the half against #10 Peetz (29-27) but the Bearcats were able to limit the guests to just one touchdown in the second half and escape the upset bid, 39-37. Kolter Cranson ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns, and Brock Doherty ran for one, threw for one, and caught one to help the Bearcats to gain the win. Will Doherty was one of four defenders with double figure tackles, recording a game-high 16. Cranson added 15. Otis had no need for drama in its 56-14 win over #15 Primero in a clash of Bulldogs. Otis jumped out to a 40-0 first quarter lead and had the sportsmanship clock rolling by the half, leading 50-0. Mitchell Stivers raced for 114 yards and two scores on just five carries. The defense got a pair of scores on pick-sixes by Sawyer Packer and Emiliano Varela, and Charlie Kendrick boosted the special teams with a punt return for a TD and a 27-yard field goal.
Cranson is second in the classification with 1607 yards and his 30 touchdowns are tied for tops. B. Doherty needs 88 yards to join him with 1000 for the season, and his next TD will give him 10 on the ground. When the Bearcats go to the air, Owen Doherty has thrown for 560 yards and eight TD, while B. Doherty has added 269 yards and three TD. The running backs lead the team in all receiving categories, with Cranson and B. Doherty combining for 29 grabs, 586 yards, and 10 touchdowns. B. Doherty is among the leading tacklers in the classification with 131. Cranson has added 92, Will Doherty has 70, and with 50, Cole Hofmeister is fourth on the team. Cranson also owns seven of the team’s 23 takeaways on five picks and two fumble recoveries.
Austin Hornung sits just over 1000 yards through the air on the season and the sophomore has tossed 17 touchdowns. Packer is the top threat with 26 catches, 452 yards, and 11 touchdowns. The Bulldogs have three backs with more than 400 yards on the ground, led by Erick Thorn with 831. The injured Tayte Smith has 615, and Stivers is at 454. Those three have 32 touchdowns between them, half belonging to Thorn. Kendrick leads the defense with 76 tackles, despite missing two games. Bohden Klinzmann is second with 72, and then there’s a pretty big drop-off. Klinzmann has a team-high five sacks, and Smith, who has not played in almost a month, has four and also owns six interceptions. The rest of the team has six.
This quarterfinal meeting will be the first time Branson/Kim and Otis will square off on the grid iron.
#6 CHEYENNE WELLS TIGERS (6-5) AT #3 GRANADA BOBCATS (9-1) SATURDAY 1PM
Last Week: After leading 22-12 just past the midpoint of the opening quarter, Cheyenne Wells outscored #11 La Veta 42-6 the rest of the way to advance with a 64-18 victory. Perry Chadwick had all four of his passes wind up in the hands of his own receivers, with three going for scores. Ethan Garay rushed for 166 yards and three TD and Trey Scheler added 77 yards and three touchdowns. Scheler, Bryson Hyle, and Corey Hill each had a TD reception. Garay rounded out his big day with four sacks, and Chadwick housed a kick return. Granada found itself trailing #14 Genoa-Hugo for a good portion of the second, and had to rally with junior QB Maddox Coleman sidelined by injury. The Bobcats took a late 39-32 lead and after the Pirates scored with less than a minute to play to get within one, Javier Tejada blocked the PAT kick to seal the one-point victory.
Chadwick is averaging 115 yards a game through the air and has a TD:INT ratio of 23:5. Carson Noe (20/481/10), Scheler (15/442/6), and Hill (13/187/4) are his top three targets, and Scheler also doubles as the top runner with 812 yards and 15 touchdowns. Garay went over 500 on the season in last week’s game and has reached the end zone four times. Scheler is the top tackler in six-man with 153, 113 of them solo. Chadwick and Chason Turner both have 63 total stops, and Hyle has 54. The Tigers only have 13 takeaways, nine coming on fumble recoveries. Noe has two interceptions to lead the unit. Jesse Harlow has converted 46 of 56 PAT kicks.
Granada’s numbers don’t include last week’s game, but Coleman had thrown for 1274 yards and 30 scores, and rushed for 597 yards and 12 touchdowns. If he’s not available, Jose Sanchez becomes the leading passer with 58 yards. That could mean extra work for Jonus Guevara, who was second on the team with 512 yards and six TD on the ground. Half of his 28 receptions have gone for touchdowns, and his 480 yards nearly match his rushing total. A potential absence by Coleman also impacts the defense, as he was leading the team with 69 tackles. Terrence Hainer (44), Tejada (40), Guevara (36), and Lupe Martinez (31) were ranked two through five on the squad. Guevara had eight fumble recoveries entering the postseason. Sanchez gives the Bobcats a solid weapon of their own in the kicking game, as he had converted 41 of 52 PAT kicks going into last week’s game.
Granada won the regular season meeting between these two squads, 58-24, almost two months ago. Coleman through for three scores, all to Guevara, and ran for three more. He also scored on a on a pick-six and a kick return. Scheler had 104 yards and a TD on only four carries, and also scored on a catch from Chadwick.
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