EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL STATE FINALS TEAM CAPSULES
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
There’s a common theme in the three smallest classifications when it comes to this weekend’s state football championship games at the Neva and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl on the campus of CSU-Pueblo. All three are rematches of recent championship contests. In eight-man, it’s a throwback to the 2021 season, when Haxtun and Mancos squared off. Haxtun won that meeting, 40-0. Playoff weather awaits the two competitors, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-20s with a chance of snow for the 5pm kickoff on Friday.
Mancos rolled to its eighth straight victory since suffering a 28-22 loss to Haxtun on a walk-off pick-six, when the Bluejays doubled up #4 Lyons, 44-22, in the semifinals. The Bluejays had shutout their previous five opponents before the Lions scored on their first possession of the game.
The Bluejays held a 14-6 lead at the half, and 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter. Lyons scored the first two touchdowns of the final frame and grabbed a 22-20 lead following a second successful two-point conversion. Mancos ripped off the next 24 points, with a Broc Imel pick-six putting the Bluejays up two scores late in the contest.
Kail Wayman ran for 233 yards and five touchdowns to power the Bluejay offense. He also completed four of six passes for 60 yards with an interception. Chris Medina added 121 yards on the ground, and Andrew Jaime caught two passes for 49 yards.
Wayman had eight tackles to lead Mancos on that side of the ball, and he had one of the unit’s three interceptions. Medina, who tied Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle with seven tackles, also had a pick. Jacob Martin only had two tackles in the game, but both were sacks.
Haxtun’s defense has fueled its run through the playoffs, with the Fightin’ Bulldogs allowing a total of 20 points in their three games. Last week, they recorded four interceptions in a 30-12 semifinal victory over #2 Simla.
Keegan Colglazier returned his 40 yards for a game-changing touchdown. Ryland Wolff, who was injured in the quarterfinal victory, returned to pick off a pair of passes, and Zach Statz had the fourth. Grant Statz recorded 12 tackles, including two sacks, and Kailin Kelley racked up 10 stops. Corbin Anderson also got on the board with a sack.
Wolff played a huge role on the offensive side of things, running for 205 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed seven of 20 passes for 81 yards, but had two interceptions. Kelley added 78 yards in the running game.
A win in the finals would give Haxtun its ninth state championship, moving out of a tie for fifth with five other programs, and into a tie for fourth with Revere. Mancos is looking for its first championship. This is the 12th championship game appearance for Haxtun, and the second for the Bluejays.
This will also be the fourth meeting between the two programs, all in the last three years. Haxtun has won all three previous contests.
#1 MANCOS BLUEJAYS (11-1)
COACH: Josh Gardner
ASSISTANTS: Alan Matthews, Jarrod Wyatt, Justin Wyatt, Eldon Vannest
LEAGUE: Mountain champions (4-0)
POSTSEASON: #16 Fowler (52-0)
#9 Sedgwick County (38-0)
#4 Lyons (44-22)
POINTS FOR: 595
POINTS AGAINST: 126
| PASSING comp-att yards TD/INT | Kail Wayman 59-108 1103 15/5 | Evan Woody 6-9 151 3/1 | |
| RUSHING att/yards/TD | Wayman (173/1581/32) Levi Martin (99/1003/16) | Chris Medina (61/356/6) Jonah Ritter (32/192/2) | Broc Imel (8/107/0) |
| RECEIVING rec/yards/TD | Kaiden Wyatt (18/260/8) Andrew Jaime (15/414/4) | Medina (10/122/1) Brandon Vannest (9/185/4) | L. Martin (7/132/1) |
| TACKLES | Ka. Wyatt (85) Medina (83) Wayman (80) | L. Martin (57) Jaime (53) Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle (36) | Ritter (36) Vannest (31) Jacob Martin (30) |
| SACKS | Dainty-Guilfoyle (5.5) | J. Martin (5.0) | Vannest (4.5) |
| TAKEAWAYS | Jaime 5 INT Wayman 4 INT Medina 3 INT | Medina 2 FF Ka. Wyatt 2 FF Woody 2 FF | J. Martin 3 FR Medina 3 FR J. Martin 1 BLK PUNT |
#3 HAXTUN FIGHTIN’ BULLDOGS (11-1)
COACH: J.D. Stone
ASSISTANTS: Marc Bornhoft, Andy Wernsman
LEAGUE: 2nd Plains (4-1)
POSTSEASON: #14 Calhan (50-0)
#6 Byers (20-8)
#2 Simla (30-12)
POINTS FOR: 543
POINTS AGAINST: 110
| PASSING comp-att yards TD/INT | Ryland Wolff 57-112 1231 19/4 | Colin Cone 13-26 254 2/0 | |
| RUSHING att/yards/TD | Wolff (108/1187/20) Grant Statz (70/829/11) | Kailin Kelley (105/630/6) Zach Statz (53/530/4) | Cone (18/79/0) |
| RECEIVING rec/yards/TD | Keegan Colglazier (24/618/11) | Mason Bornhoft (11/271/2) | Kaiden Schelling (6/140/1) G. Statz (5/170/3) |
| TACKLES | Kelley (127) G. Statz (93) Z. Statz (91) | Colglazier (87) Wolff (80) Schelling (63) | Ryan Davis (45) Bornhoft (44) Cone (42) Seth Seger (41) |
| SACKS | G. Statz (10.0) | Josh Wright (4.0) | Colglazier (3.0) |
| TAKEAWAYS | Schelling 6 INT Colglazier 5 INT Wolff 5 INT | Z. Statz 2 FF Wolff 2 FF | Z. Statz 4 FR Bornhoft 3 FR Wright 1 BLK PUNT |
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