SIX-MAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW – OPENING ROUND
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
The six-man postseason gets underway this weekend with eight opening round contests. Seven of those are on Saturday, with only Arickaree/Woodlin and Peetz squaring off on Friday night. The winners of this weekend’s games will advance to next week’s quarterfinal round. Games are listed in bracket order.
#1 IDALIA (10-0) VS #16 HANOVER (6-4) SATURDAY 1PM
Previous meeting… Idalia rolled to a 58-0 shutout of the Hornets back in week two. Broderick Kite hit on all five of his passing attempts for 111 yards and five touchdowns. Carson Helling, Hunter Drullinger, Grady Lengel, Kolby Morris, Gabe Kechter, and Jaasiel Estrada all had a receiving TD. Kechter added 109 yards and two scores on the ground. Bode Monahan had a team-high seven tackles for the Wolves, while Trace Wieser had one of the team’s three takeaways on an interception. Jace Morris and Hunter Drullinger added a fumble recovery apiece.
Hanover struggled to get its offense going, as the Hornets were held to just 60 yards from scrimmage. Nolan Sweazy threw for 33 of them. Thomas Griffin led the team with 16 yards on 11 carries, with a long of seven. Defensively, Sweazy and Edgar Vera-Wences had a sack apiece, and Jonathan Quiroz-Reyes picked off a pass.
Series history… Idalia leads 2-1 in the MaxPreps era.
#8 SIERRA GRANDE (9-1) VS #9 GRANADA (6-3) SATURDAY 12PM
Last week… Sierra Grande wrapped up the regular season with a 56-19 win over Flagler on a neutral field at Hanover. The Southwest division champs led 40-7 at the half and got the sportsmanship clock rolling in the third quarter on a Rolando Najera scoop-and-score. On top of his big day on offense, Jadyn Martinez had a early pick-six to aid the cause.
Granada broke away from a 14-14 first quarter tie with 28 second quarter points, and the Bobcats added 20 more in the third, as they laid claim to a 75-38 win over Bethune. Granada rolled up over 300 yards on the ground, with Sebastian Pizarro going for 225 and four touchdowns. Alejandro Perez added 106 yards and two TD. Angelo Martinez threw three touchdown passes, two to Syjer Freeman-Swindell and the other to Adam Hainer. Pizarro stacked up 17 tackles and scored on a fumble recovery, while Martinez had 15 tackles and a kick return for a TD.
Series history… Granada leads 4-0, with one of the meetings coming in the 2021 postseason.
#4 PEETZ (9-0) VS #13 ARICKAREE/WOODLIN (5-5) FRIDAY 7PM
Previous meeting… These two met back in week five, with Peetz claiming a 50-20 victory at home. Leading 8-0 after one, the Bulldogs outscored Arickaree/Woodlin 22-6 in the second to claim a 28-6 halftime lead. Logan Vallier threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns, both going to Tanner Wood, who also had a TD pass to Patrick Moreno, and a rushing touchdown. Dylan Wagner ran for 110 yards and two scores, and Parker Reker added a TD on the ground. Wagner led the defensive effort with 20 tackles and an interception.
Austin Wright led the Bison with 255 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and the senior also threw for 90 yards. Jorge Ramos caught four passes for 54 yards, and also tacked on 32 rushing yards. Wright topped the Bison defense with 11 tackles, two of them sacks. Keith Page added nine tackles.
Series history… Arickaree/Woodlin leads 6-5 in the MaxPreps era.
#5 OTIS (7-3) VS #12 FLEMING (4-6) SATURDAY 2PM
Last week… Otis concluded its regular season slate by breaking a three-game slide, taking down Eads 74-42, Austin Hornung threw for 427 yards and seven touchdowns, with three going to Mitchell Stivers, two to Gracen Bechtle, and one apiece to Gavin Price and Cambric Klinzmann. Stivers also piled up 233 yards and three touchdowns running the ball. Blake Stivers also found paydirt on the ground. Mitchell Stivers and Emiliano Varela both had an interception to help the defensive effort.
Fleming dropped its second straight contest to close out the regular season, falling to Caliche 30-26. The Wildcats got 133 yards and three rushing TD from Dylon Monroe, and Conner Marchant went for 92 yards and a touchdown. Marchant led the Fleming defense with 10 tackles. Ryan Brekel forced a fumble, and Dane Cunningham recovered one.
Series history… Otis leads 6-5 in the MaxPreps era, but the teams haven’t played since 2016. One of Fleming’s wins came in the 2011 state title game.
#3 CHEYENNE WELLS (8-1) VS #14 PRAIRIE (5-5) SATURDAY 1PM
Last week… Trey Scheler ran for 137 yards and five touchdowns on seven carries in a 56-0 win by the Tigers over Branson/Kim. Trevin Smith and Caden Muth each added a rushing TD, and Corey Hill caught one from Mason Marriott. Kelby Leonard had a team-leading 10 tackles, including a sack, and Kooper Brossman also recorded a sack. Camden Rand added an interception.
Prairie closed the regular season by snapping a two-game skid, as the Mustangs beat Kiowa 57-16. Brennan Bringelson ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, Liam Bringelson threw for two scores, and Tyler Troudt caught two TD passes. B. Bringelson and Tatum Bailey tied for the team lead with eight tackles apiece. B. Bringelson added two interceptions (one for a TD) and a fumble recovery, and Troudt also picked off a pass.
Series history… Cheyenne Wells leads 3-0, with two of the wins coming in the postseason (2020, 2021).
#6 EADS (7-3) VS #11 BRANSON/KIM (6-3) SATURDAY 1PM
Last week… A banged up Eads team lost its third straight outing, falling to Otis 74-42. Freshman Brantley Buller threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns, two to Anthony Paez and one to Johnathan Vasquez, and Karsten Buller ran for 138 yards and two scores. Paez added 70 yards and a rushing TD. Paez led all players with 15 tackles, and also had a forced fumble. K. Buller recovered a fumble, and Weston Mitchek blocked a kick.
Branson/Kim couldn’t get much going in its 56-0 loss to Cheyenne Wells, as the Bearcats were held to 92 yards of offense. The loss broke a two-game winning streak. Cooper Winter threw for 68 yards, and Will Doherty ran for 18.and caught three passes for 44 yards. Doherty also led all players with 11 tackles, and he picked off a pass. Winter added nine tackles, and Blake Olguin had a sack.
Series history… Eads won the only previous meeting, back in 2017.
#7 CALICHE (8-2) VS #10 WALSH (5-5) SATURDAY 1PM
Last week… Mason Hernandez racked up 30 tackles for the Buffs in their 30-26 win over Fleming, giving Caliche its fourth straight win. Hernandez also had a rushing touchdown. Zachary Yost ran for 120 yards and a touchdown, and also threw a TD to Tayten Gerk. Yost added another score on a kick return. Back on the defensive side of the ball, Caliche got 11 tackles apiece from Yost and Cooper Rockwell, and 10 from Grady Roth.
Walsh had its two-game winning streak snapped by Stratton, 26-6. Hudson Gourley threw for 142 yards and a touchdown, with Grady Mundell on the receiving end. Mundell hauled in four passes for 72 yards, and Woodrow Wright also finished with four receptions. Samuel Wright, Beau Foster, and Maddox Gourley had three apiece. W. Wright led a busy defensive unit with 16 tackles, while the Gourleys added 13 tackles and a blocked kick apiece. S. Wright tacked on 11 stops.
Series history… This is the first meeting between the two programs in six-man. The last meeting was back in 2013, when both were playing eight-man.
#2 STRATTON (8-2) VS #15 FLAGLER (7-3) SATURDAY 1PM
Last week… Stratton ran its winning streak to five in beating Walsh 26-6. Von Isenbart completed a touchdown pass to Gavin Ruhs, and also ran for a TD, while Drew Fox rushed for 123 yards and a score. The Eagles also got a rushing TD from Grady Steerman, who led the defense with 13 tackles, including a sack. Steerman also forced and recovered a fumble. Judson Isenbart added 10 tackles. Haxden Mills also had a sack to his credit, while Ruhs and V. Isenbart each intercepted a pass. For Isenbart, it was his 14th of the season, tying him for fifth-most in a single season. It was also his 30th career pick, placing him second all-time in state history, regardless of classification.
Flagler had won two in a row prior to last week’s 56-19 loss to Sierra Grande. Gabe Harvie threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns, one to Brayden Hill, and Keegan Isenbart scored one time on the ground for the Panthers. Cody Homm paced the defense with 10 tackles, including a sack. Harvie forced a fumble, and Jayden Hile recovered one.
Series history… Stratton (Stratton/Liberty) is 12-0 all-time against Flagler (Flagler/Hi-Plains) in six-man.
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