MileHigh Prep Report Preseason 6-Man Football Rankings
Practice got underway on Monday and we are a few weeks from Scrimmages and Zero week which will feature a few games. 6-Man should be a great year and look for some top teams to remain atop the Rankings. Good Luck to all teams going into 2025.
6-Man
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| #1 | Cheyenne Wells Defending State Champions | Cheyenne Wells is your defending State Champions. They defeated Stratton in the State Championship and will look to defend their crown this season. Cheyenne Wells lost 6 seniors from last season and has a few holes to fill. Cheyenne Wells will return plenty of talent and look to defend the crown. Cheyenne Wells offensively returns POY Candidate RB Trey Scheler along with QB Mason Marriott. Defensively Cheyenne Wells does lose some key pieces but return 4 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Cory Hill and Kelby Leonard are both back to anchor the Tigers defense. |
| #2 | Idalia Made the Playoffs, lost in the Semifinals | Idalia reached the Semifinals for the second straight year and fell to eventual state champions Cheyenne Wells. Idalia played Cheyenne Wells extremely close falling by just 4 and will look to take the final step this season. Idalia did lose 3 seniors last season, taking with them two of their top tacklers from a year ago. Defensively Idalia returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Hayden Drullinger, Hunter Drullinger, and Edward Keller are a few names to watch for the Idalia defense. Offensively Idalia returns POY candidate RB Gabe Kechter along with QB Broderick Kite. Idalia has all the pieces but can they close the deal this season. |
| #3 | Stratton Runner’s Up | Stratton made the playoffs last season falling in the State Championship to Cheyenne Wells. Stratton nearly defended their title, and they will be looking for revenge this season. Offensively, Stratton was hit hard by graduation losing two of their offensive linemen plus their leading two rushers from last season. Stratton does return POY candidate QB Von Isenbart, and he will be looking for new weapons like Gavin Ruhs, Nolan Notter, and Judson Isenbart to step up this season. Defensively Stratton also loses key leaders but returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 2 of their top 5. Von Isenbart, Nolan Notter, and Haxden Mills will look to lead the Eagle defense this year. |
| #4 | Otis Made the playoffs, lost in the Semifinals | Otis reached the semifinals for the second straight year falling to Stratton. Otis will lose 5 seniors from last year’s team and replacing those seniors will be key to finding success. Offensively, Otis returns RB Mitchell Stivers and QB Austin Hornung both will look to be leaders this season. Defensively Otis returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers but just 2 of their top 5. Cambric Klinzmann and Austin Hornung return to lead the Bulldogs defense. |
| #5 | Arickaree/Woodlin Made the playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Arickaree/Woodlin reached the Quarterfinals last season before falling to Cheyenne Wells. Arickaree/Woodlin is poised for a deep playoff run this season losing just 2 seniors from a season ago, but both were key leaders on defense. Defensively Arickaree/Woodlin returns 6 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Austin Wright, Luis Machado, and Keith Page are a few names to watch this season. Offensively Arickaree/Woodlin relies heavily upon POY Candidate QB Austin Wright. If players like Jorge Ramos and Keith Page can step up this offense, they could thrive this season. |
| #6 | Granada Made the Playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Granada made the playoffs last season falling in the Quarterfinals to Idalia. Granada lost 4 seniors from last season, taking with them key leadership on both sides of the football. Offensively Granada will be searching for a new QB, but they do return of RB’s in Fernando Cadena and Sebastian Pizarro both sophomores will be key for Granada this season. Defensively Granada does return some talent bringing back 5 of their top 8 tacklers, including 3 of their top 5. Cadena & Pizarro are also leaders on defense and will be joined by Alejando Perez who will look to step into a leadership role this year. |
| #7 | Sierra Grande Made the playoffs lost in the Quarterfinals | Sierra Grande made the playoffs last season falling in the Quarterfinals to Otis. Sierra Grande is losing a talented senior class taking with them 6 seniors and 3 key players on both sides of the ball. Sierra Grande offensively will be searching for a new QB but plenty of weapons will be available as WR Jadyn Martinez and WR Rolando Najera both return. Defensively Sierra Grande will be tough returning 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Martinez & Najera both return on defense along with Carlos Lopez and the three should form a solid core for the defense. |
| #8 | Fleming Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round | Fleming made the playoffs last season falling in the opening round to Arickaree 81-66. This was a huge step forward for Fleming and they will look for a deeper playoff run this season. Fleming lost just 3 seniors from last season but lost key leaders on both sides of the ball. Fleming defensively returns 6 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Fleming will look for Conner Marchant, Pierson Japp, and Mason Mollohan to lead the Wildcats this year. Offensively Fleming will have to replace a 2000-yard rusher but look for RB Conner Marchant and WR/RB Pierson Japp to step up this season. Fleming also returns QB Treyson Kirkwood to lead the offense. |
| #9 | Branson/Kim Made the Playoffs, lost in the First Round | Branson/Kim made the playoffs last season falling in the first round to Granada. Branson/Kim will be searching for another playoff run this year and losing 3 seniors should help this team be competitive this year. Offensively Branson/Kim lose a key leader at RB but look for RB Will Doherty and QB Cooper Winter to step up this season. Defensively Branson/Kim return 6 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Winter & Doherty are leaders on defense but joined by David Gamez who will look to step up this season. |
| #10 | Eads Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round | Eads made the playoffs last season falling in the opening round to Sierra Grande. Eads were hit by the injury bug last season, and they will look to avoid that and piece together a full season. Eads lost 4 seniors from last year’s team and leadership will need to be replaced. Offensively Eads returns RB Shaine Winder along with QB Adyn Hough and TE/RB Karsten Buller. The offense could be a huge threat if healthy. Defensively Eads returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Karsten Buller, Shaine Winder, and Gaige Rittgers will look to lead Eads this season. |
| #11 | Peetz Missed the playoffs, went 3-7 | Peetz missed the playoffs last season going 3-7. Peetz was young last season plus played a tough schedule facing 6 playoff teams. Peetz should build off the experience gained and push to make the playoffs this season. Peetz offensively returns QB Logan Vallier along with RB Dylan Wagner & RB Conner Schumacher. Peetz should see huge improvement on this side of the ball. Defensively Peetz should make the biggest improvement returning 7 of their top 8 tacklers and 4 of their top 5. Wagner & Vallier are back as leaders but look for Collin Fehringer & Tanner Wood to step up this year. |
| #12 | Cheraw Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round | Cheraw made the playoffs last season falling in the opening round to Otis. Cheraw was young at many positions last year and gained valuable experience for this season. Cheraw had just 3 seniors last year, but lost key leaders on both sides of the ball. Offensively Cheraw will return plenty of weapons with QB Rhett Dutton, RB William Ledbetter, and WR Colton Bruna. Defensively Cheraw returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Jacob Herman, Samuel Goheen, and Houston Yochum are the names to watch for Cheraw this year. |
| #13 | Prairie Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round | Prairie made the playoffs last season falling in the opening round to Idalia. Prairie had a few key injuries during the year that took some key pieces out but key leadership got them into the playoffs. Prairie loses 3 seniors from last season and takes with them over 2000 yards of offense. Prairie will be searching for some new weapons this year but look for Brennan Bringelson and Tyler Troudt to step up this season. Defensively Prairie returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Wyatt Walker, Dylan Chase, and Brennan Bringelson look to lead the Prairie defense. |
| #14 | La Veta Missed the playoffs, went 2-7 | La Veta missed the playoffs last season, going 2-7. They played with a young roster last season and gained valuable experience that should help power them this year. La Veta defensively should improve drastically returning 7 of their top 8 tacklers including 4 of their top 5. Theisen Tolbert, Kendall Ingram, and Tayten Medina will lead the La Veta defense. Offensively La Veta will look for QB David Roel, RB Sunny Kent, and WR Kaydyn Kent to break out this season. |
| #15 | Caliche Made the playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Caliche made the playoffs last season reaching the Quarterfinals before falling to Stratton. Caliche will have some reloading to do this year losing 6 seniors from last season. Caliche has plenty of key leadership roles to fill this season. Offensively Caliche will look for QB Avery Bell, RB Zachary Yost, and WR Riley Becker to break out. Defensively Caliche returns 4 of their top 8 tacklers including 2 of their top 5. Bell & Yost will also lead the defense but also look for Cooper Rockwell to step up this year. |
| #16 | Deer Trail Missed the playoffs, went 3-7 | Deer Trail missed the playoffs last season, going 3-7. Deer Trail will look to push for the playoffs this season and return the talent, but can they put everything together for a playoff berth. Deer Trail offensively returns QB Chris Manriquez-Bustamante, along with RB/WR Mursal Hussein, and WR Jayden Mingee. Can everything come together for Deer Trail offensively will be the question. Defensively Deer Trail returns 5 of their top 8 tacklers including 3 of their top 5. Mursal Hussein is back to lead the defense and look for Jayden Mingee and Preston Bertram to step up this season. |
| Other Teams to Watch | North Park, Genoa-Hugo, Wiley, Manzanola, Walsh, Primero, Flagler, Kiowa, Briggsdale |
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