EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK EIGHT
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
We’re counting down the weeks left in the regular season, and counting this one, there are only three remaining. League races keep heating up, and some could be decided next week. The rankings used in this preview come from Friday morning’s CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
FRIDAY
#2 MANCOS (5-1, 2-0 MOUNTAIN) AT #12 SANFORD (4-2, 2-0 MOUNTAIN) 6PM
Last week… Brandon Vannest powered Mancos past Vail Christian, 50-6, by rushing for 163 yards and five touchdowns. He also had a pair of sacks on defense. Jonah Ritter and Kaiden Wyatt recorded a dozen tackles apiece to lead that unit. Sanford kept its share of the league lead by defeating Sargent 52-20. JD Faucette and Trason Gartrell combined for 190 on the ground, and each scored twice. Gartrell added a 65-yard kick return for a TD.
Series history… Tied 8-8, with Mancos winning the last four.
#MCCLAVE (6-0, 2-0 ARK VALLEY) AT HOLLY (3-3, 1-1 ARK VALLEY) 7PM
Last week… McClave’s defense pitched its second straight shutout, 36-0 over Las Animas, and third in four games. Zack Owens put up 15 tackles, while Ryan Steinbrunn and JR Mungaray tallied 13 apiece. Three of Mungaray’s stops were sacks. Mason Barr snagged three interceptions. Holly had its two-game wining streak snapped by Springfield, losing to the Longhorns 52-6. Noel Lopez led the team with 12 tackles, while Jessie Pizarro added 11 to go with a pair of fumble recoveries. Drayden McCray added a pick.
Series history… After dropping seven straight meetings, McClave got a 20-18 win last year. Holly still leads 12-7 in the MaxPreps era (2004-current).
#4 DOVE CREEK (5-1, 1-1 MOUNTAIN) VS DOLORES (2-4, 0-2 MOUNTAIN) 7PM
Last week… Dove Creek outscored Norwood 28-8 in the second half to collect a 50-26 victory in Mountain play. Josh Kibel ran for 172 yards, and Nicholas Aragon added 152 on the ground, and both scored two touchdowns. Kibel tacked on a 49-yard scoop-and-score, while Liam Hassell returned one of his two interceptions for a TD. Dolores had the week off after dropping a tough 30-23 decision to Sargent. The Bears trailed 22-0 at the half and made a fierce rally, but came up short. Trayton Traweek tossed a pair of touchdowns, one apiece to Deven Winter and Michael Rantz. Winter and Rantz both had 13 tackles and a pick, and Davien Pawlicki gave the unit a third interception.
Series history… Dove Creek has won both meetings in eight-man, beating the Bears by a combined tally of 111-0 over the last two years.
#5 AKRON (5-1, 0-1 PLAINS) VS DAYSPRING CHRISTIAN (4-3, 0-2) 7PM
Last week… The Rams were dominated by #1 Haxtun in their league opener, 48-0. Worse than the loss on the scoreboard was seeing freshman QB Kolten Randel suffer a broken wrist. Anderson Filla was the only player to rush for positive yards in the loss, as he gained 94 yards on 15 carries. Filla led the defense with 15 tackles, while Caleb Poss added 12. Dayspring Christian fell to 0-2 in the league with a 38-12 loss to Merino. The Eagles were outscored 22-6 in the second half. Peyton Coleman threw a TD pass to Max Krehbiel and Elijah Martin added one on the ground.
Series history… DCA leads 10-6, but suffered a third straight loss to Akron just a few weeks back in a non-league affair. Filla ran for 196 and two scores, and Jace Curtis added 113 and a touch. Martin put 147 yards and a TD on the stat sheet for the Eagles.
#7 WEST GRAND (7-0, 4-0 NORTHWEST) VS #17 VAIL CHRISTIAN (4-2, 2-1 NORTHWEST) 7PM
Last week… The Mustangs got to within one win of claiming the Northwest crown with a 48-8 victory over Soroco. West Grand can lay claim to the title win a win this week. Jack Burton ran for 116 and a TD, while Blake Terryberry threw four touchdown passes. Jackson Steinle caught two of them. Joe Probst collected three of the team’s four interceptions in the contest. Vail Christian wasn’t able to sustain much momentum on offense in the 50-6 loss to Mancos. The Saints lost the ball on an interception and also surrendered two sacks.
Series history… West Grand picked up a 44-14 win last year to snap a three-game losing streak to the Saints. The Mustangs hold a slight 6-5 edge dating back to 2010.
#8 SIMLA (4-2, 1-1 BLACK FOREST) VS ST. MARY’S (4-2, 1-1 BLACK FOREST) 7PM
Last week… Simla found itself down 16-0 at halftime to Byers and could not get all the way back, eventually falling 36-16. TJ Eurich ran for 125 yards and both of the Cubs’ touchdowns on the night. Tatum Kochera caught four passes for 105 yards, but could not get into the end zone. Eurich and Kochera both recorded an interception. St. Mary’s got its first win, beating Calhan 24-20 in a thriller. Wyatt David scored three rushing touchdowns, and Jackson Beam caught a TD pass from Michael Trechter.
Series history… This is just the third meeting, with Simla winning the previous two by a combined score of 107-0.
#9 SPRINGFIELD (5-1, 2-0 ARK VALLEY) VS SWINK (0-6, 0-2 ARK VALLEY) Moved to Saturday at 1pm
Last week… Colby Batterton rumbled for 177 yards and four touchdowns to help guide Springfield past Holly 52-6. Gunnar Mackey also topped the century mark, gaining 114 in the ground attack. Batterton added a fifth TD on a pass from Colin Swanson. The long, difficult season continued to pile on Swink, as the Lions let a 30-14 halftime lead at Rocky Ford disappear into a 52-30 loss. Thomas Valdez rushed for just over 100 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, and the Lions also got a running TD apiece from Ryker White and Luke Hanagan.
Series history… Swink leads 2-1, but Springfield took a 34-20 win last year.
SATURDAY
#6 BYERS (6-0, 2-0 BLACK FOREST) AT #10 ELBERT (4-2, 2-0 BLACK FOREST) 1PM
Last week… Kaleb Willoughby ran roughshod over the Simla defense, piling up 266 yards and three touchdowns in the 36-16 Byers victory. He shared team honors with 13 tackles, a number matched by Jack Earl. AJ Engle helped the offense with a TD reception from Chase Long. Elbert made it three straight wins by hammering South Park 72-8. The Bulldog defense help the Burros to 113 total yards of offense, and also forced a pair of fumbles.
Series history… Split 1-1, first meeting since 2021.
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