SIX-MAN FOOTBALL STATE FINALS TEAM CAPSULES
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Once again, the day after Thanksgiving will see a champion crowned in six-man, as Stratton and Cheyenne Wells get together at the Neva and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl on the campus of CSU-Pueblo. It will mark the seventh consecutive year that Stratton, either on its own or as part of the now defunct co-op with Liberty, has made it into the championship game. It’s the second time in three years that the Eagles will play Cheyenne Wells. The Tigers won the 2021 title, while Stratton got the crown with a win over Fleming last year, to go along with a championship in 2018.
Stratton has won its last 26 games, all with a sportsmanship clock. The last loss for the Eagles was in the 2021 championship game against Cheyenne Wells. They defeated #4 Idalia 54-0 in last week’s semifinal round.
Cyler Notter ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries, and Stock Fye and Brody Webb each added a rushing score of their own. Webb caught one of the two TD passes thrown by Charlie Tagtmeyer, with Ethan Bohnen snagging the other. Von Isenbart also had a touchdown pass, as he connected with Gavin Ruhs. The Eagles outgained Idalia 335-84 on offense.
Isenbart and Webb each had six tackles to lead the defensive effort, while Notter had five. Ruhs, Leonel Ramirez, Drew Fox, Haxden Mills, and Dawson Thompson all recorded four stops in the contest. The Eagles hounded Idalia’s passers all afternoon, racking up 24 hurries in the game. Bohnen tallied 11 of them.
Cheyenne Wells has been red-hot lately, with five straight victories. That hot streak has been largely because of a defense that got stingy. The Tigers held three opponents to fewer than 20 points in their last five games, but last week, it was the offense that helped get the job done.
In the 66-60 upset of #2 Otis in the semifinals, the Tigers topped the 60-point mark for the third time during their winning streak, and the fifth time overall this season. Cheyenne Wells trailed 16-8 heading into the second quarter, but led 38-30 at the half. The Tigers gave up the lead with two unanswered scores in the third, and a Bulldog field goal early in the fourth made it a 54-46 deficit. The lead swapped hands three times down the stretch, with Cheyenne Wells grabbing it for good with around four minutes to play.
Perry Chadwick hit on nine of 16 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns in the win, with Carson Noe hauling in six balls for 237 yards and one score. Trey Scheler and Bryson Hyle also had a TD catch, each. Scheler powered the running attack with 211 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries, and Ethan Garay added 100 yards and three TD on 15 carries. The offense piled up 655 yards.
While the score might indicate that defense was optional, the Tigers still put together some solid numbers on that side of the ball. Scheler registered a team-high 13 tackles, giving the sophomore 181 on the season. He also had one of the three sacks picked up by the Tigers. Hyle and Chason Turner each had one, as well. Those two were tied behind Scheler with five tackles apiece. Noe tacked on four and Chadwick, three.
There is some symmetry to the season, as these two squads opened the campaign against each other. Stratton led 12-8 after the first quarter that first time around, but put together a 31-8 second to seize total control. The Eagles went on to a 65-16 victory.
Tagtmeyer connected on five of six passes for 177 yards and four touchdowns. Notter and Thompson were each on the receiving end of two scoring tosses. Notter (10 carries, 110 yards, 3 TD) and Fye (10 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD) both topped the century mark on the ground, and Webb added 61 yards on seven attempts, with an additional TD.
On the defensive side of things, Webb and Notter both had 12 tackles, and Thompson tallied 10. Isenbart picked off three passes to go with eight tackles. Mills and Fye each had a sack.
Cheyenne Wells struggled to get much going on offense, as the Tigers were held to 122 total yards from scrimmage. Chadwick threw for 98 yards and a touchdown to Noe, and he led the running effort with 16 yards. Garay added 15 in that phase. Chadwick accounted for the other score on a kick return.
Turner and Zach Dickey both had a fumble recovery for the Tigers on defense. Dickey led everyone in the contest with 16 tackles, while Scheler recorded 10. Jesse Harlow was good on both of his PAT kicks.
Stratton holds a 7-5 meeting in the series with both sides in 6-man. The Eagles have won six of the last eight, with both losses coming in the 2021 season. They are looking to complete a season sweep, just like Cheyenne Wells did in that season.
#1 STRATTON EAGLES (12-0)
COACH: Jesse McConnell
ASSISTANTS: Christian Hornung, Trey Thompson
LEAGUE: East champions (5-0)
POSTSEASON: #16 Hanover (56-16)
#8 Sierra Grande (45-12)
#4 Idalia (54-0)
POINTS FOR: 629
POINTS AGAINST: 139
| PASSING comp-att yards TD/INT | Charlie Tagtmeyer 33-52 740 24/1 | Jaxon Einspahr 6-9 101 1/1 | Von Isenbart 3-6 45 1/0 |
| RUSHING att/yards/TD | Cyler Notter (80/1117/27) Stockton Fye (49/560/13) | Drew Fox (62/485/5) Brody Webb (43/469/11) | Avery Archuleta (14/109/2) Grady Steerman (15/97/1) |
| RECEIVING rec/yards/TD | Notter (19/441/14) | Webb (7/150/3) | Dawson Thompson (5/124/5) |
| TACKLES | Webb (86) Thompson (71) Notter (65) | Isenbart (57) Ethan Bohnen (52) Haxden Mills (38) | Gavin Ruhs (37) Steerman (33) Fox (32) Tagtmeyer (32) |
| SACKS | Notter (19.5) | Bohnen (10.5) | Fye (4.5) |
| TAKEAWAYS | Tagtmeyer 6 INT Isenbart 5 INT Webb 2 INT | Notter 6 FF Bohnen 4 FF Thompson 3 FF | Bohnen 4 FR Notter 4 FR Notter 2 BLK PUNT |
#6 CHEYENNE WELLS TIGERS (8-5)
COACH: Myles Smith
ASSISTANTS: Blake Bogenhagen, Joel Carroll, Jason Scheler
LEAGUE: T-2nd East (3-2)
POSTSEASON: #11 La Veta (64-18)
#3 Granada (46-14)
#2 Otis (66-60)
POINTS FOR: 594
POINTS AGAINST: 469
| PASSING comp-att yards TD/INT | Perry Chadwick (67-130 1494 27/7) | Bryson Hyle (7-16 138 0/2) | Zach Dickey (3-14 24 0/2) |
| RUSHING att/yards/TD | Trey Scheler (135/1194/22) Ethan Garay (106/664/8) | Chadwick (37/281/5) Chason Turner (39/198/4) | Kelby Leonard (4/77/1) Kooper Brossman (19/63/1) |
| RECEIVING rec/yards/TD | Carson Noe (27/733/12) | Scheler (17/489/7) | Corey Hill (13/187/4) |
| TACKLES | Scheler (181) Chadwick (73) Turner (69) | Hyle (66) Hill (43) Noe (39) | Leonard (26) Garay (23) Dickey (18) |
| SACKS | Garay (6.0) | Scheler (6.0) | Turner (4.5) |
| TAKEAWAYS | Hyle 2 INT Noe 2 INT Chadwick/Scheler 1 INT | Turner 2 FF Hyle/Scheler/Daryon Campbell 1 FF | Turner 2 FR Scheler 2 FR |
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