Class 1A Football Preview-Quarterfinal Round
By: Anthony Garcia
Playoff Football is upon us. The opening round in Class 1A saw just one upset in the first round with Holyoke upsetting Centauri. Plenty of big games on schedule for the Quarterfinal Round and the weather looks to be cooperative. Good Luck to all teams!
#1 Wray vs #8 Highland, Saturday 11/16 at 1pm
Wray moves into the Quarterfinals with a dominate victory in the opening round over North Fork 48 to 14. The scoring for the Eagles started quickly as they scored all 48 points in the first two quarters. Wray offensively racked up 404 yards of total offense. QB Casey Midcap accounted for 244 yards of total offense and 5 TDs. RB Samuel Meisner also pitched in 106 yards rushing and 1 TD and WR Aaron Tena had 92 yards receiving and 2 TDs. Defensively Wray was led by Bryson Lewis who had 10 tackles in the game. Samuel Meisner and Augustus Gdanitz were second on the team with 6 tackles.
Highland advanced to the Quarterfinals with a strong defensive effort and holding Flatirons Academy scoreless, 24 to 0. Highland had a strong defensive effort led by Wyatt Chase who had 9 tackles in the game. Elijah Elder and Ira Sittner also pitched in another 8 tackles in the game. Highland also had a pair of turnovers in the win. Offensively RB Wyatt Chase powered the rushing attack with 120 yards and 2 rushing TDs. QB John Bingley also had a solid day throwing for 118 yards and 1 TD and his main target was WR Brogan Palmer who had 65 yards receiving and 1 TD.
Series: These two teams have met 17 times since 2004. Wray currently leads the series 14 to 3 with their last meeting in 2023.
#5 Buena Vista at #13 Holyoke, Saturday 11/16 at 1pm
Buena Vista moved into the Quarterfinals with a defensive slugfest win over Burlington 21 to 7. Buena Vista played excellent on defense holding Burlington to under 250 yards of total offense. Abel Flowers and Carter Stromer lead the Demons in tackles with 11 apiece. Gage Collier was another big factor on defense with 7 tackles and 1 sack. Offensively Buena Vista did get going in the second half racking up 312 yards of total offefnse. RB Eli Schuknecht led all rushers with 139 yards and RB Tray Cardwell had the most carries with 17, 104 yards, and 1 TD. QB Hudson Wingo hit three passes for 61 yards and two of them were TDs.
Holyoke had the lone upset in the Opening Round. Holyoke made the trip down to Centauri and pulled off the 33 to 30 upset in OT. Holyoke led at halftime 10 to 8 and they would quickly see that lead evaporate in the second half as Centauri punched on across to go up 14 to 10. Holyoke would score on back-to-back drives to extend the lead to 24 to 14 going into the 4th. It was then Centauri turn to score back-to-back in the 4th quarter to take a 27 to 24 lead. With under a minute to go in the 4th Quarter Holyoke would hit a FG and send to OT. Holyoke made their stand on defense holding the Falcons to a FG and Holyoke would score two plays into OT and win.
Series: These two teams have not meet during the MaxPreps Era.
#2 Forge Christian vs #7 Meeker, Saturday 11/16 at 3pm
Forge Christian advanced into the Quarterfinals in a dominate 42 to 0 win over #15 Yuma. Forge Christian put up points quickly scoring 21 in the 1st and 2nd Quarter and getting the clock running. Forge Christian Offensively racked up 293 yards of total offense. QB Sullivan Strange was efficient going 7 of 10 for 81 yards and 1 TD. RB Euli Tafoya had a solid day rushing going 7 for 74 yards and 1 TD. Another big scoring factor in the game was Quentin Torres who took two punt returns to the house. Defensively Forge Christian limited Yuma to just 153 yards of total offense. Dante Vigil led all tacklers with 13 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 forced fumble. Euli Tafoya and Carson Craig also pitched in with 8 tackles a piece.
Meeker advanced into the Quarterfinals in a shootout win over Monte Vista 44 to 34. Defensively Meeker did struggle at times giving up 506 yards of total offense but Meeker made key stops on two-point conversions and forced a pair of turnovers in the game. Cade Blunt led all tacklers for the Cowboys with 21 tackles. Clay Crawford also pitched in with 13 tackles and 1 INT and Tristin Rollins also had 11 tackles and 1 sack. Offensively Meeker had a solid day racking up 376 yards of total offense and rushing. RB Cade Blunt had a huge day rushing for 290 yards and 3 rushing TDs. RB Clay Crawford had 38 yards rushing and 1 TD and QB Cade Mills also ran for 31 yards and 2 TDs.
Series: These two teams have not faced each other during the Maxpreps era.
#3 Limon vs #6 Wiggins, Saturday 11/16 at 1pm
Limon advanced into the Quarterfinals with a hard fought win over Platte Valley 20 to 10. Limon trailed early in the game 7-0 but 14 unanswered points proved to be the difference in the game for the Badgers. Defense was the name of the game. Camdyn Tacha continues his excellent freshman season tailing up 7 tackles and 1 TFL. Zac Carr also made an impact in the game recording 5 tackles, 2 TFL, and 1 sack. Limon did force 1 turnover and that was a INT by Jacob Jaklich. Offensively Limon had a good day racking up 320 yards of total offense. RB Jacob Jaklich lead all rushers with 101 yards and 2 TDs. RB Camdyn Tacha (13/93/0) and RB Skylur McCready (13/77/1) also pitched in big in the rushing attack.
Wiggins moved into the Quarterfinals with a dominate win over C.S Christian 49 to 12. Wiggins was excellent on offense racking up 472 yards. RB Jayson Lousberg ran wild, racking up 201 yards rushing on just 11 carries and 4 rushing TDs. RB Jorge Mendez was also in on the rushing attack racking up 138 yards and 1 TD. Defensively Wiggins smothered a high-powered offense holding them to just 12 points. Eli Kalous and Jorge Mendez led all tacklers with 10 apiece. Marcus Steinbar was also a factor in the game with 9 tackles and 1 INT.
Series: These two teams meet each other this season and are in the same league. Limon won the meeting 21 to 19. Limon leads the series over Wiggins 13-2 since 2004.
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