EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL REPORT – WEEK NINE
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
So much is still to be settled as eight-man begins its penultimate weekend of regular season play. Several league championships look like they will go to the wire, and for a couple teams, getting the automatic qualifying spot as a league champion could be their only way into the postseason. We take a look at all of the games featuring the top-16 teams in the latest CHSAA rankings. The action gets underway on Thursday.
THURSDAY
#1 MCCLA VE (7-0) VS ROCKY FORD (2-6)
McClave took a big step towards locking up the Arkansas Valley title with a 66-36 win over #9 Fowler last week. The victory gave the Cardinals the tiebreaker over both Fowler and #12 Las Animas. Kolten Randel went for 144 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and also threw a TD to Tuff Kelley, and Cash Phares reached paydirt three times in the running game last week. Kelley also scored on a pick-six, one of four interceptions by the defense. Ryan Steinbrunn had two of the them, and Drew Howe had one. Steinbrunn tacked on a kick return TD. Rocky Ford suffered its fifth straight loss, falling to Holly 38-20 last Friday. The Meloneers have not tasted victory since Week Two and are winless in league play. This is the third meeting between McClave and Rocky Ford, with the Cardinals winning the first two. Last year was a 51-0 McClave victory.
FRIDAY
#3 SIMLA (7-0) AT #14 CROWLEY COUNTY (5-2)
Sole possession of first place in the Black Forest is on the line this week, with Simla visiting Crowley County. Simla comes in after beating Calhan 54-0 last week. The Cubs have outscored their first three league foes 163-6. Evan Guy threw for 194 yards and five touchdowns, three to Tatum Kochera (3/105) and two to Ethan Kissam (4/64). Jack Pyatt returned an interception for a score, while Logan Rayfield and Andrew Gardner also had an interception apiece. Crowley County has also overwhelmed its first three league opponents, with last week’s 60-12 victory over Elbert giving the Chargers a 182-20 edge in Black Forest play. With realignment, not only is this the first meeting between Simla and Crowley County as league foes, but it’s also the first game between them in the MaxPreps era.
#4 SEDGWICK COUNTY (5-1) AT MERINO (3-4)
Sedgwick County maintained a share of the lead in the Plains with its 50-0 shutout of #10 Stratton last week. Owen Harris piled up 209 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, and Leighton Glende added 136 yards through the air, and 44 on the ground. He scored twice in the running game, and tossed a TD pass to Noah Harens, who caught five passes for 124 yards. Harris topped the defensive effort with 10 tackles, and Nathan Gonzales added nine. Merino suffered its second league loss in a 50-16 defeat by Clear Creek last week. The game was tied at 8-all after the first quarter, but the Rams could not keep pace the rest of the way. This Plains rivalry between SedgCo and Merino is tied at 13 wins apiece since 2004, with the Cougars riding a three-game winning streak in the series.
#6 HAYDEN (6-1) VS SOROCO (2-5)
Hayden picked up its third straight win, all in Western Slope play, as the Tigers beat Lake County 59-6. The Tigers put 37 points on the board in the first quarter and never looked back. Peyton Johnson threw three touchdown passes, all to Carson Campbell, and also ran for another score. Karsyn Caster added one TD on the ground and one through the air. Noah Weber tacked on an 89-yard kick return touchdown. Aidan McAuliffe topped the defense with nine tackles. Soroco traveled to #2 West Grand last week and was dealt a 58-8 defeat. The Rams were down 52-0 at the half. Cavil Gregory rushed for 95 yards and atouchdown, but the rest of the offense only had two additional yards. Hayden has won six straight meetings with Soroco, and is 11-6 in the series since 2004.
#7 MANCOS (6-2) VS #19 DEL NORTE (4-3)
Mancos suffered its first loss in the Mountain division, as the Bluejays fell to #5 Norwood 24-22 last week. The Bluejays took a 22-8 lead early in the fourth quarter, but gave up two touchdowns in the frame to come up short. Michael Resner threw for 88 yards and two scores, and also ran for 78 yards and another TD. James Potts was on the receiving end of both touchdown passes, and he snared two interceptions on defense. Traycer White led the defense with 16 tackles, and both he and Resner added an interception. Del Norte had last week off following its own 38-8 loss to Norwood a week earlier. Liam Kreutzer ran for 95 yards and a TD for the Tigers in that game, which was their third straight loss. He was second on the team with 12 tackles, behind Asher Albright with 14. This is the first meeting between Mancos and Del Norte since 2019.
#8 AKRON (5-2) VS CLEAR CREEK (4-3)
Akron got 229 yards and four touchdown passes, plus 106 yards and a rushing TD from Jax Kusel in a 60-20 win at Haxtun last week. Jefferson Hunt caught three of the TD passes, totaling 116 yards, and also added 147 yards and three touchdowns in the ground attack. Trent Kautz hauled in four passes for 87 yards and a score. Hunt racked up 18 tackles, and Kautz added 11. Kusel and Trigg Weis had an interception apiece. Clear Creek, who is not eligible for the postseason, got its first Plains division win by beating Merino 50-16 last week. Merrell Harvey romped for 275 yards and six touchdowns for the Golddiggers in the running game, and he caught a 40-yard TD from Titus Canelos. Canelos recorded nine tackles (two sacks), and Emerson Walsh also had nine tackles, with three sacks, and he both forced and recovered a fumble. The only previous meeting between Akron and Clear Creek came in the 2024 postseason, which the Rams won 46-34.
#9 FOWLER (5-2) AT #11 SANFORD (4-3)
Fowler had its five-game winning streak snapped in last week’s 66-36 loss to McClave. Hilario Alvarez threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns, three to Bryce Froman, but the Grizzlies couldn’t get much generated in the running attack. Bronson Damgaard led the way with 58 yards and a TD in that phase. Titus Ballard and Taten Phillips had 11 tackles apiece, while Froman and Wade Clemmensen added 10 apiece. Sanford won for the third time in four games, beating #17 Dolores 56-22 in Mountain play. Huntley Duran did a good chunk of the damage, running for 144 yards and four touchdowns, and Rylan Mortensen added 148 yards and two scores. Ryan McCarroll chipped in with a TD pass to Kaden Cary. The Mustangs came up with six takeaways, including two picks by Duran, and two fumble recoveries by Roman Edgar. Colton Reynolds added a kick return for a touchdown on special teams. This is the ninth meeting between these two non-league opponents, with Sanford owning a 6-2 lead. That includes four straight wins.
#15 CENTER (7-0) AT SIERRA GRANDE (3-4)
Center continues to excel in its first season of eight-man, as the Vikings share the lead in the Big 6 Southern with #21 Hoehne, who they will play next week. The Vikings kept their portion of the lead with a 62-50 shoot-out victory against County Line (Sargent/Sangre de Cristo) last week. Jaiden Martinez stacked up 315 yards on the ground with six touchdowns. Devan Garcia added a rushing TD and one passing to Yanixan Padilla. Mario Mendoza tallied 13 tackles, one more than Padilla, and Martinez returned an interception for a TD. Michael Archuleta forced a fumble and recovered two. Sierra Grande’s first season back in 8-man has been a bit bumpier, but the Panthers improved to 2-1 in league play with a 64-16 win over Custer County last week. PJ Quintana tossed three touchdowns, two to Aden Gallegos, and Matthew Trujillo ran for one score. This will be the first meeting between Center and Sierra Grande.
SATURDAY#5 NORWOOD (6-1) VS #17 DOLORES (4-3)
Norwood ran its winning streak to six with the 24-22 victory over Mancos last weekend. The Mavericks trailed 22-8 early in the fourth, but came back with two touchdowns by Jackson McCabe, one rushing and the other passing to Keegan Tackett. They added two-point conversions after both to eke out the victory. Cole Bray scored the first TD of the game for Norwood on the ground. Tackett tied for the team lead in tackles with Jace Bonacquista, as each tallied 10. Dolores dropped its second straight, both in Mountain play, as the Bears fell to Sanford 56-22. River Wickstrom had a pair of TD passes, one apiece to Devlin Powell and Darren Hicks. Hicks caught five passes for 106 yards. Wickstrom (15), Branson Lee (14), Miles Brown (11), and Daniel Jacket (11) all had double figure tackles. Norwood has won the last four match-ups with Dolores.
#10 STRATTON (4-3) VS HAXTUN (2-5)
Stratton could not get its running game going in last week’s 50-0 loss to Sedgwick County, as the Eagles were held to 41 yards on 23 carries. Nolan Notter ran for 21 and Corbin Notter added 20. C. Notter threw for 125 yards, with Judson Isenbart catching four passes for 34 yards. Gavin Ruhs caught three, and N. Notter had two for 57 yards. Isenbart led the defense with 14 tackles, while Ruhs and N. Notter had 13 apiece. Emmett Bohnen added 11. Haxtun fell to 0-3 in the Plains with its 60-20 loss to Akron. Eli Horton threw for 237 yards and a TD, with Grant Firme four passes for 116 yards and the touchdown. Carter Imhof caught six passes for 53 yards, and Gabriel Becerra caught five for 63 yards. Becerra paced the defense with 16 tackles, while Austin Knox and Firme each recorded 14. This is the first game between Stratton and Haxtun since 2005.
#13 V AIL CHRISTIAN (5-2) VS RANGELY (3-4)
Vail Christian returns to action after having a bye last week. The Saints lost their game the week before to West Grand by a 56-14 tally. Rayman Romanin had a passing TD to Bode Owens, and Jaxon Hansen ran for another to account for the two scores by the offense. Hansen also led the defense with an interception. Rangely dropped its second straight in Western Slope action, falling to Plateau Valley 50-14 last week. The Panthers had troubles stopping the run, as Plateau Valley piled up 442 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Vail Christian has won five straight and seven of the last 10 against Rangely.
#16 FRONT RANGE CHRISTIAN (5-2) AT SOUTH PARK (1-7)
Front Range Christian leads the Central and also occupies the final playoff spot in the current rankings. The Falcons remained unbeaten in league play with a 69-6 win over Estes Park last week. They had the clock rolling in the first quarter, as they built a 42-0 lead. Lawson Edwards went for 167 yards and three touchdowns in the ground attack, and Jake Carlson added 138 yards and three more scores. Carlson and Rex Krause both had pick-sixes, and Zach Vandenberg added a scoop-and-score. South Park suffered its seventh consecutive loss of the season in a 48-0 shutout by #20 Lyons. Kyle Basnett had 42 yards passing and 42 rushing for the Burros. Zach Morris posted nine tackles, including three sacks, and Hunter Cravener recorded four tackles. Sam Sanders tacked on a sack. Front Range Christian has won all five contests with South Park since 2004, but none have been since 2021
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