MileHigh Prep Report Way to Early 8-Man Football Rankings
With the Preliminary Leagues out for the 2026 Football Season we can now do something fun and for the first time. We present to you MileHigh Prep Reports Way to Early Football Rankings! These are looking at what teams are returning from the previous season. We won’t factor in coaching changes and players transferring (Mainly due to school year still going). We will factor in players returning, how teams finished the season, and moving classifications.
6-Man
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| #1 | Akron Runners Up | Akron is your back-to-back runners up and will look to climb the mountain this year. Akron will lose some key pieces but bring back plenty to make a push. Akron returns QB Kolten Randel and RB Jax Kusel but must find new top WR targets and other RBs. Defensively Akron returns 5 of their top 10 tacklers from a season ago but return leadership from last year’s defense. |
| #2 | McClave Made the Playoffs, lost in the Semifinals | McClave made it to the Semifinals last season falling to Haxtun. McClave will also look to push into the Finals and battle for a state championship. McClave will return plenty of key starters but will also have holes to fill mainly at RB, lineman, and on defense. Offensively McClave returns QB Drew Howe, RB Ryan Steinbrunn, and WR/TE Tuff Kelley. Defensively McClave will return 5 of their top 10 tacklers. McClave will look for new players to step up as they return just 2 of their top 6 tacklers from a season ago. |
| #3 | Simla Made the Playoffs, lost in the First Round | Simla made it to the playoffs last season but fell in the first round in a thriller to Norwood. Simla was very young last season starting mostly sophomores and juniors and they should make a jump to the top of 8-man next year. Simla returns QB Evan Guy, RB Ethan Kissam, and WR Tatum Kocerha. The offensive line for Simla could have the main question marks. Defensively, Simla returns 7 of their top 10 tacklers from last season including 4 of their top 6. |
| #4 | Sedgwick County Made the playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Sedgwick County made the playoffs last season falling in the Quarterfinals to Haxtun. Sedgwick County looks poised for a deep run again this year but have a few holes to fill mainly at QB. Offensively Sedgwick County returns RB Owen Harris and WR Noah Harens. Other weapons will have to step up next year. Defensively Sedgwick County could have a top unit in 8-Man as they return 8 of their top 10 tacklers including 5 of their top 6. |
| #5 | Stratton Runners up (6-Man) | Stratton was your runners up in 6-Man last season and make the jump into 8-man this year. Stratton returns a talented roster as they make the jump into 8-Man and will just have to make small adjustments to the 8-Man game. Stratton returns RB Drew Fox, RB/QB Judson Isenbart, RB Nolan Notter, and WR/TE Gavin Ruhs. The offensive line could also return all 3 players that played at that position. Defensively Stratton returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers from last year including 3 of their top 5. |
| #6 | Mancos Made the Playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Mancos made the playoffs last season, falling in the Quarterfinals to Akron. Mancos lose some key seniors from last year’s team but return leadership from last years Quarterfinal team. QB Michael Resner is back to lead the offense but will look RB James Potts and WR Traycer White to step up more this year. Defensively Mancos should still have a top unit returning 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 4 of their top 5. |
| #7 | Crowley County Made the playoffs lost in the First Round | Crowley County made the playoffs last season but fell in the first round to Akron. Crowley County jumped back into the playoffs last year and look to get back again. Crowley County does have holes to fill at QB and possibly one starter on the offensive line. Crowley County does return RB Levi Gibson, RB Cooper Salzbrenner, and back up QB Julian Marquez. Defensively Crowley County returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers from last season including 3 of their top 5. |
| #8 | Haxtun Defending State Champions | Haxtun is your defending State Champions. Haxtun lose a great senior class plus will have a new head coach this next year. Haxtun will look to reload and make another run. Haxtun will look for players like Eli Horton, Grant Firme, and Gabriel Becerra to step up on offense. Defensively Haxtun will turn to Austin Knox, Gabriel Becerra, and Baron Starkebaum to lead the defense. |
| #9 | Fowler Missed the playoffs, went 5-4 | Fowler missed the playoffs last year, falling in the league championship game to Crowley County and finishing the year 5-4. Fowler should be in the playoffs next year and return a team led by juniors. Offensively Fowler returns QB Brock True, RB Bronson Damgaard, and WR Layton Sharon. Fowler also returns at least 2 starters on the offensive line. Defensively Fowler could sport a top unit in 8-Man. Fowler returns 8 of their top 10 tacklers including 4 of their top 6. |
| #10 | Hayden Missed the playoffs, went 6-3 | Hayden missed the playoffs last year going 6-3. Hayden finished second in the Northwest League and was just outside of the playoff bubble. Hayden will have a big hole to fill losing their top RB but have other weapons back to lead the way. Offensively QB Peyton Johnson, RB/WR Carson Campbell, and RB Noah Weber all return. The offensive line could also return 2 starters. Defensively Hayden returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 4 of their top 6. |
| Other Teams to Watch (Not in Order) | Merino, West Grand, Norwood, Sanford, Calhan, Dolores, Clear Creek, Dove Creek, Hoehne, Las Animas, Del Norte, Center |
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