EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK TEN by Kerry Sherman

EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – WEEK TEN

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

Two league titles are still up for grabs in this final week of regular season play in 8-man. The Plains and Central conferences will see their champions crowned this weekend, and for one of the champs, it could be their only way into the postseason. We are utilizing the Thursday morning release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index, as well as pulling all stats from MaxPreps.

THURSDAY

#2 MCCLAVE (8-0, 4-0 ARK VALLEY) VS ROCKY FORD (2-6, 1-3 ARK VALLEY) 7PM

Last week… McClave locked up the league title with a 42-26 win at Springfield. Ethan Bronniman combined for more than 300 yards of total offense, with two passing touchdowns and two more on the ground to help the Cardinals claim their third straight crown in the Ark Valley. Mason Barr added two rushing and one receiving. JR Mungaray (15) and Zack Owens (14) combined for 29 tackles in the win. Rocky Ford found itself in a track meet against Holly, with the Meloneers falling 90-76. Isaiah Gallegos threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns, three to Shayne Gonzales, and added 127 yards and two scores rushing. For good measure, Gallegos also returned a kick for a score. The teams combined for more than 1800 all purpose yards.

Series history… This is the first meeting between the two in eight-man.

#18 CLEAR CREEK (6-2, 4-0 CENTRAL) VS FRONT RANGE CHRISTIAN (4-4, 3-1 CENTRAL) 7PM

Last week… Clear Creek rolled to its fourth consecutive win, topping Justice 65-6. Jacob Young had four touchdowns in his five completions, with four going to Logan Ginter. Nathan Guerrero and Anthony Zacharias each reached paydirt on a pick-six. Front Range Christian kept its league title hopes alive by blowing past Belleview Christian 66-30. Gavin Gold threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns, two to Luke Jerome, and also ran for 163 yards and four more scores. Jerome also had a rushing touchdown. The Falcons recorded seven sacks in the contest, three by Haedan Morton.

Series history… Front Range Christian won four of six meetings in 1A, but this is the first time the two programs have hooked up in eight-man. Clear Creek is the undisputed champion of the league with a win, earning an automatic spot into the postseason bracket. With Front Range 10 positions out of an at large berth, the Falcons must win, giving them the league championship on the head-to-head tiebreaker, which would get them into the bracket.

FRIDAY

#1 HAXTUN (7-1, 3-0 PLAINS) AT #10 SEDGWICK COUNTY (4-4, 2-1 PLAINS) 7:30PM

Last week… Haxtun came back from its bye week and blitzed Dayspring Christian 62-0. Grant Statz (166/3), Zach Statz (113/1), and Coleman Firme (106/1) all topped the century mark on the ground, combining for five of the team’s six rushing scores. Ryland Wolff was credited with a punt return TD to help the cause. Sedgwick County turned the ball over twice and had a punt blocked in its 20-6 loss to Akron.

Series history… Haxtun has won the last three meetings, but it’s the Cougars who own a 12-8 edge overall in the MaxPreps era (2004-current). There are a number of possible outcomes for the Plains league title. The simplest has Haxtun taking it with a victory. If Sedgwick County wins, the Cougars can claim the crown with an Akron loss to Merino. That scenario has Sedgwick County getting the nod on the head-to-head tiebreaker with Haxtun. If Sedgwick County and Akron both win, it becomes a three-way tie.

#3 MANCOS (7-1, 4-0 MOUNTAIN) VS SARGENT (3-5, 1-3 MOUNTAIN) 6PM

Last week… The Bluejays secured the league title with a 46-16 win over Norwood. Mancos owns tiebreakers over both Dove Creek and Sanford, giving the program its second straight Mountain crown and third in four years. Brandon Vannest ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns, while Jonah Ritter added 109 yards and a TD. Kaiden Wyatt tallied 75 yards and two scores. Sargent got manhandled by Dove Creek in a 60-8 loss, as the Bulldog defense forced five turnovers, including a pair of pick-sixes.

Series history… Mancos has won six in a row, including a forfeit last year, to grab an 8-7 edge in the recent history.

#4 AKRON (7-1, 2-1 PLAINS) VS MERINO (4-4, 1-2 PLAINS) 7:30PM

Last week… Jace Curtis rushed for more than 100 yards and a TD, while also throwing a touchdown to Jakzon Livesay in Akron’s 20-6 win over Sedgwick County. Anderson Filla had another 100+ on the ground, and scored once. Merino had an extra week to prepare for the annual Clash of Rams, as last week was its bye. That group of Rams were coming of a rain-soaked 6-0 loss against Sedgwick County.

Series history… Akron broke a two-game slide in the series with last year’s 46-32 win. With that victory, Akron took a 7-5 lead in the series.

#6 BYERS (8-0, 4-0 BLACK FOREST) AT #16 ST. MARY’S (5-3, 2-2 BLACK FOREST) 7PM

Last week… Byers officially locked up the BFL title with a 62-6 win over Calhan. Chase Long threw for three touchdowns and caught another one from Quincy Eacret. Cameron Eastwood snagged a pair of TD receptions, giving the senior six on just nine catches this season. St. Mary’s received a forfeit from South Park, who has already surrendered one this week to Simla. The Pirates dropped a 55-0 decision to Simla two weeks ago, with a fumble recovery by Lance Mathews being one of the few highlights in the contest.

Series history… This is the first meeting between the two in eight-man. Despite currently holding a postseason spot, St. Mary’s is likely to be bumped out of the bracket by one of the two league champions sitting outside the top-16, barring an upset by the Pirates.

#7 DOVE CREEK (7-1, 3-1 MOUNTAIN) VS #12 SANFORD (5-3, 3-1 MOUNTAIN) 3PM

Last week… Josh Kibel made his biggest impact in last week’s 60-8 win over Sargent on the defensive side of the ball. The junior racked up a pair of pick-sixes to help the Bulldogs in the rout. Nicholas Aragon added another interception to go along with a pair of rushing touchdowns, and Trevan Ivie recorded three sacks. Sanford got three passing touchdowns and 140 rushing yards from Trason Gartrell in a 51-17 win over Dolores. Jared McCarroll snagged two receiving touchdowns, and Kaden Cary scored twice on the ground.

Series history… Dove Creek has won three in a row to tied the recent series at seven wins each. Last year, the Bulldogs outlasted the Mustangs 30-28, as Sanford could not convert the two-point try in the fourth quarter for a tie. The winner of this is the runner-up in the Mountain.

#8 WEST GRAND (8-0, 5-0 NORTHWEST) AT HAYDEN (4-4, 3-2 NORTHWEST) 7PM

Last week… West Grand was on a bye after beating Vail Christian 48-0 a week earlier. That win, coupled with other results in the league last week, gave the Mustangs the Northwest championship. Blake Terryberry threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more in that win over the Saints. Joe Probst caught three TD, and Walker Howell added one on the ground to go with a TD pass. Hayden collected a 34-8 win over those same Saints, with Joe Harris running for two touchdowns. Ryder Weber was huge on defense, picking up four sacks, and Carson Campbell was equally impactful, intercepting three passes.

Series history… Last year’s 40-0 win by the Mustangs gave West Grand an 11-6 edge in the series. Hayden had won the two previous meetings. The Tigers are in position to play spoiler, as a win likely takes away any opportunity for West Grand to host an opening round playoff game next week.

#9 SPRINGFIELD (6-2, 3-1 ARK VALLEY) AT LAS ANIMAS (5-3, 2-2 ARK VALLEY) 7PM

Last week… A bad third quarter, in which the Longhorns were outscored 18-0, was the difference in a 42-26 loss to McClave. Colby Batterton continued his strong play since missing the first two games of the season due to injury, piling up 131 yards and two scores on the ground. Batterton also had a 25-yard TD catch from Slayde Cohoon, and led the defense with 22 tackles. Wyatt Cohoon added 16 tackles. The Trojans evened their league record with a 48-12 win at Swink. Half of their points came in a decisive 24-6 second frame. Braydon Ortiz went for more than 200 yards through the air with four touchdowns. Two went to Nicholas Duran, while Jerome Ethridge and Giovanni Chavez had one apiece.

Series history… Springfield has won two straight and eight of the last nine.

#11 PLATEAU VALLEY (6-2, 4-1 NORTHWEST) AT SOROCO (1-7, 1-4 NORTHWEST) 7PM

Last week… The Cowboys picked up an important 54-20 win over Rangely, putting the Panthers firmly on the postseason bubble, while also helping their own positioning. Virgil Kuper powered the Cowboys with 317 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, plus 107 yards and a TD receiving. Hunter White collected three takeaways, with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Austin Grundy led the defense with 15 tackles and a forced fumble. Soroco broke into the win column by beating Lake County 48-36. Brayden Dudley had a big game on the ground, running for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Cavit Gregory scored twice and Joseph Cordova had a rushing TD to go with one passing.

Series history… Plateau Valley has won three straight, but the Rams own a 13-6 edge in the MaxPreps era.

#20 HOEHNE (5-3, 4-0 SIX COUNTY) AT WALSENBURG (4-4, 2-2 SIX COUNTY) 7PM

Last week… Hoehne officially put the Six County title in its back pocket with a 50-0 win over Custer County. That guaranteed the Farmers a spot in the postseason bracket. As things currently stand, they would be in as the #16 seed, bumping St. Mary’s. Anthony Sandoval ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns, while Brody Silvey caught five passes for 143 yards and two scores in the win over the Bobcats. Sandoval added a kick return for a touchdown. Walsenburg struggled to stop the run in a 47-12 loss at Fowler, as the hosts ran for just short of 300 yards. Giovanni Aldretti ran for 113 yards, returned a kick 89 yards for a touchdown, and racked up a team-high 15 tackles. Taylor Torres accounted for the other TD, rushing for one.

Series history… The Panthers have won two straight, but Hoehne holds a 4-3 advantage. That includes a win in the Spring 2021 state championship contest.