EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – QUARTERFINALS
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Six of the eight teams in this weekend’s quarterfinals were also quarterfinalists last season. All four of last year’s semifinalists are still in this field. There was only one upset in the opening round, and it came in the 8-9 match-up. Four leagues are represented, with the Plains having three teams, and the Central and Mountain each having two. Simla is the lone representative from the Black Forest. All games are listed in bracket order and will be played at 1pm on Saturday.
#9 SEDGWICK COUNTY COUGARS (6-4) AT #1 MANCOS BLUEJAYS (10-0)
Last Week: Sedgwick County was the lone lower seed to pick up a win in the opening round, as Jaxon Carlson led the Cougars past #8 West Grand, 56-26. The junior QB ran for 204 yards and four TD on six carries, and completed five of six passes for 192 yards and two more touchdowns. Brady Mollendor added 170 all-purpose yards, with two rushing touchdowns. He also picked off a pair of passes. Mancos raced out to a 46-0 halftime advantage in its opening round contest against #16 Fowler and the Bluejays finished with their fourth straight shutout, 52-0. Kail Wayman rolled up 209 yards and two scores on six carries, and Chris Medina added two more TD in the ground game. Jacob Martin tallied a sack and a fumble recovery.
The duo of Carlson and Mollendor combine to run for right around 180 yards a game in the rushing attack and have scored 25 touchdowns. Carlson has also thrown for 870 yards and 11 TD, with most of the damage going to Mollendor (18/335/4) and Noah Lopez (14/371/3). Carlson and Mollendor also find themselves atop the defensive board for the Cougars, with Carlson having 71 tackles and Mollendor with 63. TJ Lechman also has 63 stops. Mollendor’s seven interceptions lead the way, with Tate Renquist adding three and Carlson, two.
Wayman has accounted for more than 2100 yards from scrimmage for the Bluejays, with 1215 on the ground and 928 through the air. The senior has 26 rushing touchdowns and 12 passing. Levi Martin needs two yards to join him with 1000 on the season, and he’s added 16 touchdowns. Kaiden Wyatt leads the offense with 16 receptions and five TD, while Andrew Jaime’s 299 yards are the most on the squad. Wyatt (67) and Medina (63) lead the defense in tackles, with Wayman (58) and Martin (55) not far behind. Jaime and Medina have combined for half of the team’s 20 takeaways.
This will be the first meeting between the programs in the MaxPreps era.
#5 DOVE CREEK BULLDOGS (8-2) AT #4 LYONS LIONS (10-0)
Last Week: Dove Creek found itself in a wild high-scoring affair with #12 Vail Christian last week, with the Bulldogs leading 42-34 through three quarters. The Bulldogs got rushing touchdowns from Colten Fury and Taber DeJane in the fourth to pull away for the 54-34 victory. Fury finished with 209 yards and two scores on the ground, and 145 yards and three TD through the air. After being tied 6-all with #13 Akron with about three minutes left in the opening quarter, Lyons reeled off 34 unanswered points and ran away with a 60-12 victory. Miles Dumbauld threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns, and added two more scores on the ground. The Lions forced four turnovers in the contest.
Gage Buffington is 46 yards away from 1000 rushing on the season, and his 13 TD are tied with DeJane, who is second with 716 yards. Fury’s big day pushed him to 550, and he’s added 781 passing. DeJane (18/297/3) and Buffington (11/253/4) are his primary receivers, and the only two with more than four catches. Nic Aragon tops the defense with 76 tackles, followed by Buffington with 59 and DeJane with 50. Aiden Chadd (48) and Cody Alexander (47) round out the top five. Aragon is tied for second in the classification with 10 sacks.
Miles Dumbauld is eighth in 8-man with 1320 passing yards and his 19 TD have him tied for sixth. Malik Sigg-Brown is seventh in rushing yards with 1131, but that is third among runners still in the playoffs. He and Dumbauld have combined for more than 1900 yards and 35 TD on the ground. Finn Oetting has seven touchdowns in his 13 receptions. The Lions have a dynamic trio of tacklers, headlined by Camden Paznokas with 112. Keenan Young and Wyatt Fitzgerald have 96 and 73, respectively. Oetting (6) and Dumbauld (4) have 10 interceptions between them.
This will be the first meeting between these two programs in the MaxPreps era.
#6 BYERS BULLDOGS (9-1) AT #3 HAXTUN FIGHTIN’ BULLDOGS (9-1)
Last Week: Byers trailed #11 Sanford 16-14 at the end of the first quarter, but the Bulldog defense pitched a shutout over the final three quarters, and the offense scored a pair of touchdowns to pull out a 28-16 victory. The classification’s second leading rusher, Kaleb Willoughby, was 68 yards, but Chase Long threw for 195 yards and two scores. AJ Engle started the day with a 70-yard kick return for a TD. Haxtun used three Zach Statz rushing touchdowns and a pair of defensive scores to race out to a 50-0 halftime lead over #14 Calhan and the Fightin’ Bulldogs went on to win by that score.
Willoughby has racked up 1531 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground for Byers, and no other ball carrier is over 300 for the season. The Long to Engle connection has worked 34 times, covering 764 yards and resulting in 14 TD. Long has 1428 yards and 22 scores as a passer. Willoughby (78) and Kaiden Powell (72) are the only two defenders with more than 50 stops on the season, but the Bulldogs do have four players with 38 to 47. Engle’s ability to catch the ball has also translated to the defensive side, where he has six picks and three fumble recoveries.
Ryland Wolff has a shot at 1000/1000, as he enters the quarterfinals with 1123 passing yards and 893 rushing. He’s tossed 19 touchdowns and rushed for 17 more. Despite missing two games, Grant Statz is still second on the team with 779 yards and 11 touchdowns. Kailin Kelley and Z. Statz both have more than 400. Keegan Colglazier owns 21 receptions for 563 yards and 10 TD. Kelley leads the defense with 106 tackles, and the Fightin’ Bulldogs also get a ton of stops from Z. Statz (81), Colglazier (72), Wolff (68), and G. Statz (67). Wolff (5), Colglazier (4), and Kaiden Schelling (4) have combined for 13 interceptions, with three being returned for touchdowns.
Haxtun won three consecutive meetings with Byers between 2018 and 2021.
#7 MERINO RAMS (6-4) AT #2 SIMLA CUBS (10-0)
Last Week: For the second time this season, Merino was locked in a tight contest with #10 McClave. After losing the regular season game 16-8, the Rams were trailing 12-8 late last week, before they scored the go-ahead, and eventual winning touchdown, with under a minute to play. They avenged the earlier loss with a 16-12 victory. Simla’s defense pitched its fifth shutout of the season, blanking #15 Front Range Christian 42-0 last week. TJ Eurich ran for more than 150 yards and three scores, and also intercepted a pair of passes. The Cubs’ defense racked up eight sacks in the game.
Merino does not post stats until the end of the season.
Eurich is averaging just under 100 rushing yards per game and needs 130 to hit the 1000-yard plateau. Last week’s effort pushed hit TD total to 16. Caston Cox is the fourth-leading passer in the class with 1533 yards, but would take over the lead with right around 150. Brent Bowker has hauled in 31 passes for more than 600 yards and 11 TD, while Eurich has a line of 20/368/10. Treven Kochera has caught 16 for 359 and four scores. Defensively, the Cubs are led by Bowker (76), Eurich (69), Jared Hodgson (65), and Kochera (58) as the top four tacklers. Kochera leads the class with 18 sacks after adding 2.5 to his tally last week. Eurich (5), Cox (4), and Bowker (3) have picked off a total of 12 passes. Eurich has scored on a fumble return, pick-six, punt return, and kick return, and has 30 total touchdowns on the season.
These two storied programs have not played since 2015. Merino won three out of four games between 2012 and 2015.
MileHigh Prep Report 