It’s a big week in the 6-man football world as teams are set to dive into league play. There are two top-10 showdowns but make no mistake, each game has heightened importance starting this week.
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Stratton at Hi-Plains
Stratton has yet to let a team get within 40 points of a win so far this year and is easily the top team in the classification. Alex Cruz is running for 197 yards per game and he and Cyler Notter have combined to score 24 rushing touchdowns on the year. Expect the two backs to keep getting fed against a Hi-Plains team that has been slow out of the gate this season.
(3) Arickaree at (5) Genoa-Hugo (Saturday)
Arickaree hasn’t been blowing out teams to the level that Stratton has, but the Bison have looked very strong in 2022. In last week’s 59-20 win over Briggsdale, Logan Wright ran for 265 yards and six touchdowns. He’s averaging 226 rushing yards per game through four games.
Genoa-Hugo was the latest team to run into the brick wall that is Stratton. The 34 points the Pirates scored last week against the Eagles was the most the No. 1 team has given up all season. Trey Smith threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
La Veta at (4) Otis
Otis faced a bit of a tough test against Idalia last week but came away with a 46-26 win. Tayte Smith paced the offense for the Bulldogs as he rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns. He also grabbed an interception on defense as did Taylor Ringlein.
La Veta sits just outside the 6-man top 10 and a win would surely catapult the Redhawks up the rankings. Jessey Montunnas has thrown for 607 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
(7) Cheyenne Wells at (6) Granada
After having to forfeit a game against Fleming, Granada scored enough points for two games last week. The Bobcats beat Walsh 102-74 in one of the highest-scoring games in state history. Brandon Gonzales threw for 256 yards and eight touchdowns in the win.
After a slow start to the year, Cheyenne Well grabbed its second straight win week, beating Cherry 36-14. Ty Scheler and Blake Gilmore combined to rush for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
Cheraw at (8) Eads
The Eagles had a great all-around performance in their win over Kit Carson last week. Bo Arnold threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns while Porter Spady ran for 182 yards and four scores.
Cheraw has dropped its last three games all of which have been against teams ranked in this week’s top 10.
(9) Deer Trail at Kiowa (Saturday)
The Eagles remain undefeated after their 70-0 win over Manzanola last week. The team rushed for a total of 161 yards, although no individual had more than 35. Elvin Castro had four of the seven rushing touchdowns.
Kiowa got back to .500 with a 48-20 win over Miami-Royer last week.
Cotopaxi at (10) Branson/Kim
In last week’s win over Sangre de Cristo, Cole Hofmeister scored four total touchdowns, including a pix-6. He’ll do his best to find the end zone several times again as the Bearcats look to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Cotopaxi enters the game without a loss and a win against Branson/Kim will likely get the Pirates into the top 10 for the first time this year.
