EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL REPORT – WEEK EIGHT
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
There are just three weekends left in the 8-man regular season, and this one gives us several important contests involving teams in the current CHSAA rankings top-16. Three of those have top-10 teams squaring off as league play heats up.
FRIDAY
#1 WEST GRAND (7-0) VS SOROCO (2-4)
West Grand picked up another big win in the Western Slope last week, taking a 56-14 victory over #12 Vail Christian. Landon Lockhart ran for 100 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries, and also had a passing touchdown to Walker Howell, while Ruben Hatcher went for 115 yards and a TD on the ground. Howell added 80 yards and a rushing score. Hatcher paced the defense with 13 tackles. CJ Wolverton collected two sacks, and Lockhart picked off a pass. Soroco ended a four-game slide with a 50-0 league win over Lake County. The Rams led 36-0 at the half and got the sportsmanship clock started in the third quarter. West Grand has won all 16 games against Soroco since 2004, including a 56-0 victory last year.
#2 MCCLAVE (6-0) AT #8 FOWLER (5-1)
Co-leaders in the Arkansas Valley, McClave and Fowler will meet and the winner will hold the upper hand in chase to win the league. McClave had last week off after beating #11 Las Animas 50-0 two weeks ago. The clock was running by halftime with the Cards leading 44-0. Drew Howe ran for 137 yards and three scores, and Kolten Randel added 102 yards and three more touchdowns of his own. Tuff Kelley racked up 2.5 sacks, while Oliver Hemphill and Cash Phares each recorded 1.5. Randel tacked on a pick and a fumble recovery. Fowler rolled to its fifth straight win, as the Grizzlies beat Holly 70-12. Bronson Damgaard led the ground attack with 142 yards and two scores, while Brock True tallied 108 yards and two TD on the ground and 89 yards and two more touchdowns through the air. Bryce Froman was on the receiving end of both scoring passes. Gunner Houston registered three sacks and two fumble recoveries, and Garrett Pharr returned a punt for a TD. Fowler has won four of six meetings with McClave, but the teams haven’t played since 2021.
#3 SIMLA (6-0) VS CALHAN (2-4)
Simla topped the 50-point mark for the third straight outing, beating St. Mary’s 50-6 last week. Evan Guy threw for 194 yards and four touchdowns, with Ethan Kissam catching four passes for 115 yards and three TD. Kissam also ran for 87 yards and two more touchdowns. Ephraim Rasco recorded two sacks, and Tyson Pfost added an interception and a fumble recovery. Keygon Frihauf returned a punt for a TD to get the special teams on the board. Calhan lost for the second time in three weeks, as the Bulldogs lost its Black Forest game with #15 Crowley County by a 50-8. Simla holds a 7-1 lead in the series with Calhan, including wins in the last six.
#5 MANCOS (6-1) VS #6 NORWOOD (5-1)
Mancos moved to 2-0 in the Mountain with a 40-8 victory over #13 Sanford. Michael Resner had two TD passes and two TD runs, with a combined 254 yards of offense. James Potts added 120 yards and a touchdown in the running game, and Traycer White hauled in 10 passes for 132 yards and two scores. Gavin Smith and Levi Gardner led the Bluejays with 11 tackles apiece, and the defense came up with five takeaways. Since suffering a narrow loss to #4 Hayden in the season opener, Norwood has been on a hot streak, picking up its fifth consecutive victory 38-8 over #19 Del Norte last week. Jackson McCabe had a rushing TD and a passing touchdown to Holten McCluer for the offense. Hayden Branham scored a safety for the defense. Norwood broke a six-game losing streak in the series with a 40-6 win last year. That gave the Mavericks a 9-6 lead since 2010.
#7 SEDGWICK COUNTY (4-1) VS #9 STRATTON (4-2)
Sedgwick County kept its share of the lead in the Plains with a 44-20 victory at #18 Clear Creek last weekend. It was another big effort in the running game for Owen Harris, as he finished with 174 yards and four touchdowns. Noah Harens snagged a TD reception from Leighton Glende, and Nathan Gonzales added a rushing score for the Cougars. Gonzales and Liam Amendt tied for the team lead with nine tackles apiece. Stratton fell a game back of SedgCo and Akron in the league standings after falling 28-18 at #10 Akron last Friday. The Eagles led 12-6 at the half, but could not hold on. Corbin Notter rushed for one touchdown and also completed one to Judson Isenbart. Nolan Notter accounted for the remaining TD, as he ran for just shy of 100 yards in the game. Gavin Ruhs piled up 13 tackles, and Kiptyn Dempsey added 11. Stratton owns a 3-0 mark against Sedgwick County in the MaxPreps era, but the most recent contest was 20 years ago.
#10 AKRON (4-2) AT HAXTUN (2-4)
Akron got 123 yards and a rushing TD from Jefferson Hunt in that 28-18 win over Stratton last week. Jax Kusel added 68 yards and two touchdowns, and Mason McCoy had a touchdown on the ground as well. Hunt (18) and McCoy (14) led the Rams in tackles, while Trent Kautz (12), Kusel (11), and Eli Hart (10) were also in double figures. Haxtun suffered its second straight loss, and the third in four games, as the Fightin’ Bulldogs fell 36-14 to Merino in league play. Jace Bamford threw for 149 yards and a touchdown to Gabriel Becerra. Grant Firme added 84 yards and a rushing TD. Firme topped the defense with 16 tackles, while Becerra (14), Austin Knox (13), and Aspen Hart Starkebaum (10) reached double figures. Akron and Haxtun have played four times in the last two seasons, with Haxtun winning three of them. Two were for state championships.
SATURDAY
#4 HAYDEN (5-1) AT LAKE COUNTY (0-5)
Hayden stayed one game back of West Grand in the Western Slope with a 58-8 victory over Rangely. The Tigers led that one 44-0 at the intermission. Peyton Johnson racked up close to 340 yards of offense, throwing for 173 and a touchdown, and running for 164 and three more scores. Noah Weber tacked on 138 yards and two touchdowns in the ground game, and Ryder Weber caught one pass for an 84-yard TD. Jarrett Davis recorded 12 tackles, and Carson Campbell returned a fumble for a score. Lake County was shutout for the third time in five games when the Panthers were blanked 50-0 last week by Soroco. They’ve been held to just 14 points this season. Hayden has beaten Lake County each of the last two years, 58-6 last season.
Leave a Reply