MileHigh Prep Report

MileHigh Prep Report Preseason 8-Man Football Rankings

Football practice kicks off Monday and we are almost complete with our preseason rankings.  Here is my top 16 preseason rankings.  8-Man will be a battle this year with plenty of talent returning.  Plenty of holes exist on many teams and I am very interested to see how 8-Man turns out.  We are doing a media poll once again if you are interested in voting shoot me a message.  We are also still looking for a few more sponsor/advertisers for the year, if interested shoot me a message.  I move to 6-Man Football next week. Good Luck to all teams this season!

8-Man

This is my top preseason rankings.  I will who I think makes the playoffs post in a few weeks.

Rank	Team	Notes
#1	McClave HS   Made the Playoffs, lost in the Semifinals	McClave reached the Semifinals last year one of their deepest runs in a while.  McClave kicks the year off ranked #1 and across the board seem to be the unanimous #1 team.  McClave will have a few holes to fill losing 8 seniors.  McClave will still be loaded with talent.  Offensively McClave will look for POY Candidate Kolten Randel to make a big difference after transferring along with POY Candidate Drew Howe.  Defensively McClave will return 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Ryan Steinbrunn, Tuff Kelley, and Kielan Mallard.
#2	Sedgwick County HS Made the Playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals	Sedgwick County made the playoffs last year, falling in the Quarterfinals to Haxtun.  Sedgwick County returns a loaded roster this year after losing just 3 seniors from last season.  Sedgwick County will have to find a new QB.  Offensively Sedgwick County returns POY Candidate Owen Harris along with TE Noah Harnes.  Defensively Sedgwick County could have one of the top units in 8-Man returning 8 of their top 10 tacklers including 4 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Owen Harris, Nathan Gonzales, and Cooper Edson.
#3	Simla HS   Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round	Simla made the playoffs last season falling in the first round to Norwood.  Simla brings back a talented roster losing 6 seniors mostly on the defensive side of the ball.  Offensively Simla returns POY Candidate QB Evan Guy, RB Ethan Kissam, and WR Tatum Kocerha.  Defensinvely Simla also will still be very good returning 7 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Connor Maranville, Ty Stanko, and Hayden Pfost.
#4	Stratton HS   Runner Ups (6-Man)	Stratton was your runners up in 6-Man last season falling in the State Championship to Idalia.  Stratton makes the jump up to 8-Man this year and should be a contender right away.  Stratton will lose just 3 seniors from a year ago but over 1500 yards passing and over 100 tackles do graduate.  Offensively Stratton will search for a new QB but look for POY Candidate RB Drew Fox is back as a leader along with RB/WR Judson Isenbart.  Defensively Stratton will also be stacked returning 7 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Gavin Ruhs, Judson Isenbart, and Nolin Notter.
#5	Mancos HS Made the Playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals	Mancos made the playoffs last year falling in the Quarterfinals to Akron.  Mancos has been a consistent team in the Quarterfinals, and they will look to take that next step this year.  Mancos lose some key pieces with 5 seniors graduating.  Offensively POY Candidate QB Michael Resner is back to lead the offense along with RB/WR James Potts and WR Traycer White.  Defensively Mancos is always a top unit and they return 7 of their top 10 tacklers including 4 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Michael Resner, James Potts, and Gavin Smith.
#6	Norwood HS   Made the playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals	Norwood made the playoffs last year, falling in the Quarterfinals to McClave.  Norwood had a breakout season a year ago and they will look to build on their success.  Norwood will have a few big holes to fill offensively losing over 2400 yards of total offense.  Norwood will look for RB/WR Cole Bray, RB/WR Daniel Zunich, and WR Holten McCluer to take a huge step forward this year.  Defensively Norwood should be a top unit returning 7 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Cole Bray, Jacob Davis, and Jackson McCabe.
#7	Fowler HS     Missed the Playoffs, went 5-4	Fowler missed the playoffs last season going 5-4 and being just on the outside looking in.  All four of Fowler loses came against Playoff teams so they know what it will take to make that run for the playoffs.  Fowler should have a stacked roster this season losing just 3 seniors from last year.  Offensively Fowler returns POY Candidate QB Brock True, RB Bronson Damgaard, and WR Layton Sharon.  Defensively Fowler returns 8 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Titus Ballard, Garrett Pharr, and Wade Clemmensen.
#8	Akron HS   Runners Up	Akron is your runner up from a year ago falling in the State Championship to Haxtun.  Akron lost a very talented senior class and will look for the upcoming sophomores and juniors to take a big step forward this year.  Akron lost 9 seniors from a year ago including a big transfer and lose over 3000 yards of total offense.  Offensively Akron should have a solid offensive line back and will look for players like Jax Kusel and Mason McCoy to take huge steps forward this year.   Defensively Akron returns 4 of their top 10 tacklers including 1 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Nolan Camacho, Trent Kautz, and Jefferson Hunt.
#9	Crowley County HS   Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round	Crowley County made the playoffs last year falling in the first round to Akron.  Crowley County will look for another playoff berth but will also look for a deeper run this year.  Crowley County will lose 6 seniors from a year ago.  Offensively Crowley County must find a QB and look for Julian Marquez to step into that role but the Chargers have some big weapons returning like POY Candidate RB Levi Gibson and RB Cooper Salzbrenner. Defensively Crowley County returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Cooper Salzbrenner, Ghett Hughes, and Krew Karney.
#10	Haxtun HS   Defending State Champions	Haxtun is your defending State Champions.  Haxtun defeated Akron to win the title last year.  Haxtun lost a very talented senior class and will look to reload under a new head coach.  Haxtun lost 11 total seniors from a year ago.  Haxtun will turn to Austin Knox and Gabriel Becerra to step up as leaders on both sides of the ball.  Haxtun will also look for players like Baron Starkebaum, Eli Horton, and Grant Firme to fill bigger roles this year and keep Haxtun as a playoff threat.
#11	West Grand HS   Made the Playoffs, lost in the First Round	West Grand made the playoffs last year falling in the first round to Mancos.  West Grand will hope to make another playoff run but also look to end a run of four straight years losing in the first round.  West Grand will lose 5 seniors from last year, taking their QB and top tackler.  Offensively West Grand will look for POY Candidate RB Landon Lockhart to be a leader this year but also look for WR Sanjay Geffers and RB Ruben Hatcher to play bigger roles.  Defensively West Grand returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Ruben Hatcher, Lance Eisenman, and Walker Howell.
#12	Merino HS   Missed the Playoffs, went 3-6	Merino missed the playoffs last year going 3-6 but played one of the toughest schedules in 8-Man Football.  Merino will look to make a playoff run this year.  Merino will lose just 4 seniors from last year.  Offensively, Merino must replace their top RB but QB Zavier Trenkle looks to take a huge step forward this year long with Isaac Poe and Bouxe Alva.  Defensively Merino returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 4 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Jordan Rose, Jordan Sherman, and Bouxe Alva.
#13	Hayden HS   Missed the Playoffs, went 6-3	Hayden missed the playoffs last year, going 6-3 and finishing 2nd in the Western Slope League.  Hayden will hope to push for the playoffs this season and have the talent back.  Hayden will lose 5 seniors from last year including their top RB.  Offensively QB Peyton Johnson is back to lead the offense along with Carson Campbell, and Noah Weber.  Defensively Hayden returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Carson Campbell, Ryder Weber, and Jarrett Davis.
#14	Sanford HS Made the Playoffs, lost in the Semifinals	Sanford reached the Semifinals a year ago, falling to Akron.  Sanford will be losing a talented senior class, taking 8 total seniors including over 3000 yards of total offense.  Offensively Sanford will be looking to reload and will look for players like Huntley Duran, Colton Reynolds and Kaden Cary to take a step forward this year.  Defensively Sanford returns just 3 of their top 10 tacklers but good leadership returns with all 3 being in the top 5 tacklers.  Key defensive players are Rylan Mortensen, Colton Reynolds, and Lucas Miller.
#15	Hoehne HS   Missed the Playoffs, went 4-5	Hoehne missed the playoffs last year going 4-5 and finishing 3rd in their league.  Hoehne is looking to get back into the playoffs this year and have talent back to do so.  Hoehne will lose 3 seniors from last year taking a key offensive/defensive linemen and their QB.  Offensively Hoehne returns POY Candidate RB Brody Silvey, WR Antonio Cantoria, and WR Bracyn Seeders.  Finding a new QB will be a huge key for Hoehne.   Defensively Hoehne returns 7 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Alec Baca, Brody Silvey, and Bracyn Seeders.
#16	Dolores HS   Missed the Playoffs, went 4-4 last season	Dolores missed the playoffs last year going 4-4 with a big reason they missed the playoffs was their non-league schedule was weak.  Dolores will hope an improved schedule will help them get into the playoffs and we will see if any kids from Dove Creek transfer to help bolster a good Dolores roster.  Dolores will lose just 4 seniors from a year ago but lose their top two WRs from last year.  Offensively Dolores will return POY Candidate QB River Wickstrom and he will look for players like Darren Hicks and Ethan Miles Brown to step up this year.  Defensively Dolores returns 6 of their top 10 tacklers including 3 of their top 5.  Key defensive players are Darren Hicks, Branson Lee, and River Wickstrom.
	Other Teams to Watch	#17 Calhan, #18 Clear Creek, #19 Plateau Valley, #20 Las Animas, Center, Lyons, Sangre/Sargent, Rangely, Holly, Vail Christian