8-Man League Predictions & Preview (Ark Valley, Black Forest, Central League)

8-Man League Predictions (Ark Valley, Black Forest, Central League)

We move into the 8-man ranks and I will give my league predictions.  I will be doing 8-Man and 6-Man different than 1A and 2A because Kerry Sherman will have a full Season Preview out next week!  I am splitting 8-Man into two articles.  Good Luck to all teams this season.

Ark Valley League

1. McClave

2. Holly

3. Springfield

4. Rocky Ford

5. Swink

6. Las Animas

The Ark Valley league returns 5 of the 6 teams that competed in the league last season but add one team who is dropping from 1A to 8-man in Rocky Ford.  The Ark Valley league will be considered one of the tougher leagues in 8-Man.  McClave is my pick to win the Ark Valley League.  McClave went 7-3 last season with a trip to the playoffs.  McClave will look to build off last seasons success and push for a deeper run in the playoffs.  McClave returns key pieces on both sides of the ball in Ethan Bronniman, Tuff Kelley, Will Pacino, and Mason Barr.  McClave will have a few holes to fill mainly at RB but should be in good shape to improve this year.  Holly is my pick to finish in second.  Holly went 6-3 last season and missed the playoffs.  Holly will be looking for a playoff berth this time around but will have some key pieces to fill on the defensive side of the ball.  Offensively Holly returns Devin Eaton and look for Jessie Pizarro to break out this year.  Defensively Tripp DuVall will have to be a leader.  Springfield is my pick to finish in 3^rd.  Springfield went 4-5 last season and missed the playoffs.  Springfield had a bad start to the season losing 3 straight and that cost them a shot at the playoffs.  Springfield returns nearly their entire roster and should help them push for a league title and playoff berth.  Springfield returns key players in Colin Swanson, Marcus Sandoval, Colby Batterson, and Jett Konkel.  Springfield will have playoff expectations this year.  Rocky Ford is my pick for 4^th.  Rocky Ford makes the move from 1A down to 8-man football.  They return a young team that had some growing pains after going 0-9 last season.  Rocky Ford will look for QB Isaiah Gallegos to take a big step forward this year.  Defensively Rocky Ford returns key pieces as well with Cayson Van Dyk coming back along with Gavin Thompson.  It could be a learning year for Rocky Ford, but they will be a team to watch this season.  Swink is my pick for 5^th.  Swink went 3-6 last season, and they were hit by the injury bug.  They will be young this season but have key players back in Hayden Reynolds and Thomas Valdez.  New players must step up around these two, but Swink had a lot of experience with depth thru the season.  Las Anims rounds out the Ark Valley League.  Las Animas went 1-8 last season, and they will look to improve their record this season.  Las Animas has key pieces back in Braydon Ortiz and Orion Martinez on offense and can these two take a big step forward this year.  Defensively Las Animas will turn to Orion Martinez, Sam Deatherage, and Bryce Dupree to lead the defense.  Las Animas needs to take a big step forward this year to possibly take a shot at the playoffs next season.

My predictions for the Ark Valley League

League Champion: McClave

Playoff Contenders: McClave, Holly, Springfield, Rocky Ford

Dark Horse: Rocky Ford (Can they adjust to the 8-Man Game)

Preseason Player of the League: Devin Eaton Sr. Holly

Others to watch for: Ethan Bronniman Sr. McClave, Mason Barr Jr. McClave, Will Pacino Sr. McClave, Tuff Kelley So. McClave, Zack Owens Sr. McClave, Jessie Pizarro Jr. Holly, Dominic Torres Sr. Holly, Tripp DuVall Sr. Holly, Colin Swanson Sr. Springfield, Marcus Sandoval Sr. Springfield, Colby Batterton Sr. Springfield, Jett Konkel Jr. Springfield, Isaiah Gallegos Sr. Rocky Ford, Shayen Gonzales So. Rocky Ford, Cayson Van Dyk Jr. Rocky Ford, Hayden Reynolds So. Swink, Thomas Valdez Swink, Orion Martinez Jr. Las Animas, Sam Deatherage Jr. Las Animas, Braydon Ortiz So. Las Animas

Black Forest

1. Simla

2. Byers

3. Elbert

4. Calhan

5. St. Mary’s

6. South Park

The Black Forest League returns their 5 teams from last year’s Black Forest League, but Byers joins the league for this two-year cycle.  The Black Forest League could see 3 possibly 4 teams push for the playoffs this season.  Simla is my pick to win the Black Forest League.  Simla went 11-1 last season with a trip to the Semifinals.  Simla will be looking to replicate last season plus push for the state title.  Simla has a lot of key pieces back from last season but also have key holes to fill on defense.  Offensively Simla returns QB Caston Cox, RB TJ Eurich, and WR Treven Kocerha.  Defensively Simla returns just 2 of their top 7 tacklers and will lean on Eurich and Kocerha to lead the defense this season.  Byers is my pick to finish in 2^nd in league.  Byers went 9-2 last season and made a trip to the Quarterfinals.  Byers returns a lot of talent from last seasons team but will have some holes to fill possibly on the offensive and defensive line.  Byers will return key pieces in Chase Long, Kaleb Willoughby, AJ Engle, and Krayton Ebert.  Byers will be looking to push for that league title this season and a deeper playoff run.  Elbert is my pick to finish in 3^rd.  Elbert went 5-4 last season.  Elbert had a tough loss to Plateau Valley to end the year and dash their hopes for a playoff berth.  Elbert this season is hoping to push for the playoffs but will have to find an answer at the QB position.  Elbert could turn to Ethan Tesman at QB, and he will have plenty of weapons in Caleb Cornell, Eli Cornell, and Matt Dooley.  The defense for Elbert will be a strong point return key leadership in Matt Dooley, Jeremiah LaChausse, and Kaleb Morano.  Calhan is my pick for 4^th.  Calhan went 6-3 last season with a trip to the playoffs.  Calhan will have a big hole to fill at QB but return plenty of other key pieces to help push for another trip to the playoffs.  Calhan returns key pieces on both sides of the ball in Riley Cochran, Bryson Mosher, and Brock Burnside.  Calhan will have to find their groove offensively and find key leadership to push to make the playoffs.  St. Mary’s is my pick for 5^th.  St. Mary’s went 2-7 last season and will hope to build off the two wins this year.  St. Mary’s returns a key piece offensively in QB Michael Trechter and he also returns key weapons offensively in WR Ryan Strub and WR Wyatt Gevry.  Defensively St. Mary’s must improve, and they will look for Owen Jensen, Michael Trechter, and Lance Mathews to lead the defense this season.  South Park rounds out the Black Forest League.  South Park went 1-8 last season, and they are hoping to improve on last seasons mark.  South Park returns key pieces on both sides of the ball and lose just two seniors from last seasons team.  Gavin Street, Jaden Walker, Gavin Fabel, and Blake Basnett look to lead the Burros to an improved season.

My predictions for the Black Forest League

League Champion: Simla

Playoff Contenders: Simla, Byers, Elbert

Dark Horse: St. Mary’s (Can they improve enough to push for a playoff spot)

Preseason Player of the League: QB Caston Cox Sr. Simla

Others to watch for: TJ Eurich Sr. Simla, Wyatt Stanko Sr. Simla, Treven Kocerha Sr. Simla, Chase Long Sr. Byers, Kaleb Willoughby Sr. Byers, AJ Engle Sr. Byers, Krayton Ebert Jr. Byers, Caleb Cornell Sr. Elbert, Eli Cornell Jr. Elbert, Ethan Tesman Jr. Elbert, Matt Dooley Sr. Elbert, Riley Cochran Jr. Calhan, Bryson Mosher Jr. Calhan, Michael Trechter Jr. St. Mary’s, Ryan Strub Sr. St. Mary’s, Owen Jensen Sr. St. Mary’s, Gavin Street Sr. South Park, Gavin Fabel Jr. South Park

Central League

1. Lyons

2. Front Range Christian

3. Belleview Christian

4. Clear Creek

5. Gilpin County

6. Justice

The Central League returns 5 of the 6 teams from last season but this year add Clear Creek who drops from Class 1A down into the 8-Man ranks.  The Central League was one of the tougher leagues last season qualifying 3 teams into the playoffs.  I believe the Central League is WIDE open this year and I had a hard time figuring this league out.  Lyons is my pick to win the Central League.  Lyons went 11-1 last season with a trip to the Semifinals.  Lyons lose a good senior class and will have some key holes to fill at QB, WR, and a few Offensive Linemen.  Lyons does return a leader in RB Malik Sigg-Brown who rushed for over 1300 yards last season.  Lyons will see a QB battle but look for Kaion Kishiyama or Calvin Russel to seize control.  Lyons also has plenty of size coming up to help fill the holes on the offensive line.  Defensively Lyons will turn to Wyatt Fitzgerald and Malik Sigg-Brown to lead the defense this season.  Front Range Christian is my pick for 2^nd.  FRC went 6-4 last season and made the playoffs.  Front Range Christian will have a big hole to fill at QB but return most of the key pieces from last years team.  Whoever becomes to QB for FRC will have weapons outside with WR Luke Jerome and WR Caeden Whatmore coming back.  Defensively FRC returns the majority of their starters and will look for Caeden Whatmore, Gavin Gold, and Will Deering to lead the defense this season.  Belleview Christian is my pick for 3^rd.  Belleview Christian went 4-5 last season and missed the playoffs.  Belleview Christian will be heading into year 3 of their program after not having a team since 2017.  This will be a big year for Belleview Christian as they return key pieces on both sides of the ball to possibly push for the league title and playoff berth.  Some key players back for Belleview Christian are Collin Polson, Matthew Simonds, Ryan Reyes, and Tobin Galaty.  Clear Creek is my pick to finish 4^th.  Clear Creek will drop from 1A down to 8-man this season.  They return nearly their entire roster, and I had a hard time figuring out where to put them.  They are the one team who could shake this entire league up this season.  Clear Creek went 3-6 in Class 1A last season and missed the playoffs.  Clear Creek returns QB Jacob Young who threw for over 1400 yards last season as a sophomore.  He has weapons back this year as well with Logan Ginter and Noah Clark returning.  Defensively Clear Creek must make the biggest improvements and return top tacklers Asher Isaacson and Anthony Zacharias to lead the Clear Creek defense.  Gilpin County is my pick for 5^th.  Gilpin County went 0-8 last season with a young roster that looks to get this team back on the map and a playoff contender.  Gilpin County did not post stats from last season but have key players back in Landon Church, Connor Holloway, and Justin Johnson.  We will see if Gilpin County can that step forward this season.  Justice wraps up the central league.  Justice went 1-7 last season.  Justice lost some key pieces that led them last season and will be looking to rebuild this year.  Justice will be looking to break a streak of 2 wins or less seasons and push to challenge the teams in this league.

My predictions for the Central League

League Champion: Lyons

Playoff Contenders: Lyons, Front Range Christian, Belleview Christian, Clear Creek

Dark Horse: Clear Creek (Can they adjust to the 8-Man Game)

Preseason Player of the League: Malik Sigg-Brown Sr. Lyons

Others to watch for: Jonas Kuffman Sr. Lyons, Wyatt Fitzgerald Sr. Lyons, Jackson Davenport Sr. Front Range Christian, Luke Jerome Sr. Front Range Christian, Caedan Whatmore Sr. Front Range Chrisitan, Collin Polson Sr. Belleview Christian, Ryan Reyes Sr. Belleview Christian, Tobin Galaty Jr. Belleview Christian, Jacob Young Jr. Clear Creek, Nathan Guerrero Jr. Clear Creek, Logan Ginter Sr. Clear Creek, Asher Isaacson Sr. Clear Creek, Connor Holloway Sr. Gilpin County, Justin Johnson Jr. Gilpin County, Landon Church Jr. Gilpin County