6MAN FOOTBALL – FIRST ROUND PREVIEW

The opening round of the 6-man playoffs starts the month-long trek towards the state title with 16 teams in the mix. The field is comprised of six division champions and 10 wild cards who earned spots based upon their final RPI standing. This preview has the games listed in bracket order.
 
#1 STRATTON/LIBERTY (8-1) VS #16 MANZANOLA (5-3) SATURDAY 1 PM
The Knighted Eagles saw their unbeaten regular season ended last Friday with a 28-22 loss at #2 Kit Carson. Strength of schedule kept them as the top overall seed and they draw the champions of the South Central, Manzanola. Stratton/Liberty features a running attack that is powered by Jaret Lichty (993 yards, 16 TD) and Ethan Richmond (859 yards, 15 TD), and a defense that has recorded close to 60 tackles for loss. Manzanola began the season 4-0, but could only muster a 1-3 record in the second half of the year. The Bobcats have four players with at least 392 yards on the ground, led by Dominic Martinez with 754. Daniel Escareno (454 yards) and Aaron Sotelo (446 yards) have combined for 900 yards in the rushing attack.
 
#8 GRANADA (5-4) VS #9 MOUNTAIN VALLEY (8-0) SATURDAY 1 PM
In their first year of six-man, the Granada Bobcats finished second to Kit Carson in the South East division and earned the right to host their first round match-up. They scored at least 50 points five times this season, including a season-high 80 against Cheyenne Wells. The Bobcats scored 24 against Kit Carson, the most allowed by the Wildcats this season. Freshman QB Dominic Coleman threw for 914 yards in the first five games of the season, including 330 against Arickaree/Woodlin. Mountain Valley, champion of the South West, is one of only two remaining unbeatens in the field, but the Indians were hurt by a strength of schedule that was 29^th out of 30 teams. They still tallied at least 58 points in all but two contests. Salvador Vigil threw for 1118 yards and 20 touchdowns during the regular season, but it was the running game that really powered the offense for the Indians. Isaih Wellman finished the regular season with 1109 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Elijah Roberts added 867 yards and 18 scores.
 

#4 OTIS (6-3) VS #13 COTOPAXI (7-2) SATURDAY 1PM
Otis finished third in the East Central, but the third-ranked SOS helped the Bulldogs stay in the top four of the RPI. A win over Cotopaxi in the opening round could have the Bulldogs facing a rematch of the season-opener against Peetz. Otis’ offense, which scored at least 50 points in seven games, has been largely driven by Bryce Miracle. The senior has rushed for 1825 yards and 32 touchdowns, thrown for 743 yards and nine TDs, and caught nine passes for 334 yards and seven more scores. Ty Hunt has added a team-high 901 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he’ll be without the services of Cullen Glosson (21/505/8) who suffered an elbow injury last week. Cotopaxi had a rough close to the regular season, losing to Prairie 60-30 two weeks ago and then being pushed to the limit by Edison last week. The Pirates came from behind with 18 fourth quarter points to down the Eagles 24-21. Collin Whipple, who had only thrown for 31 yards all season, threw for 188 and three scores in the victory. Peter Belt leads the team with 778 yards through the air.
 

#5 PEETZ (6-2) VS #12 FLAGLER/HI-PLAINS (4-5) SATURDAY 1:30 PM
Peetz, who combined with Briggsdale to set a new single game scoring record (101-85) during the season, won the North division by going unbeaten against league foes. The two losses for the Bulldogs came against teams in the top half of the bracket, Otis and Stratton/Liberty. They have been led by senior Bryson Long, who has rushed for 1599 yards and 37 touchdowns. Long also has four TDs as a receiver and one on an interception, giving him 42 on the season. Flagler/Hi-Plains had to rally from behind to beat Briggsdale 57-52 to secure its playoff bid. The Thunder will have a different look from their earlier meeting with Peetz, won by the Bulldogs 58-26. Zayd Banks and younger brother Cody, who each scored a rushing touchdown in that contest, missed last week’s game with injuries.
 
#3 ARICKAREE/WOODLIN (6-2) VS #14 GENOA-HUGO (5-3) FRIDAY 7 PM
Arickaree/Woodlin finished the regular season with the top-ranked SOS, with all eight opponents making the playoffs. The losses for the Indian-Mustangs came against the top two seeds, but lopsided margins. Dual-threat QB Michael McCaffrey has sparked the offense with both his arm and his legs, and he’s had plenty of help from senior running backs Kevin Ramirez and Arturo Ramos. Genoa-Hugo won the Central division, earning an automatic spot in the postseason, but like several other teams in the field, the Pirates enter the postseason missing a key cog. Starting QB Greg Tidquist was lost to a jaw injury late in last week’s win over Eads and is not expected to be available. He had created quite the connection with Levi Miller, who has 31 catches for 442 yards and eight scores. Wyatt Miller leads the team with 662 yards rushing and 534 yards receiving.
 
#6 PRAIRIE (6-3) VS #11 IDALIA (4-5) SATURDAY 1 PM
One year after winning the North division, Prairie finished right behind Peetz for the crown this season. The Mustangs have dealt with their fair share of injuries, but they’ve still received a career season from QB Mitch Dollerschell. The junior came in with 680 career yards through the air, and he’s recorded 871 with 16 touchdowns so far this season. His top targets have been Walter Jordan (11/278/5), Garrett Lindell (11/225/4), and Devon Boling (12/180/1). The Mustangs will face the fifth of five teams from the East Central, Idalia, who finished fourth in the division, playing the fourth strongest SOS. The Wolves feature a 1-2 punch of Sam McGinnis and Yahir Enriquez in the offensive backfield. McGinnis is the power back, rushing for 1299 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Enriquez brings the speed. The freshman has gained 747 yards with 15 TDs.
 
#7 FLEMING (6-3) VS #10 CHEYENNE WELLS (5-3) SATURDAY 1 PM
Fleming overcame a 1-3 start to the season to finish third in the North division and earn a first round home game. Included in their 5-0 run to close the regular season were wins over playoff teams Manzanola, North Park, and Idalia. Brandon Williams (812 yards, 13 TD) recorded two of his four 100-yard rushing games down the stretch and had two more with 90+ yards. Brady Kuntz (499 yards) and Chris Goss (400 yards) give the Wildcats two more backs with 400+ yards on the ground. Cheyenne Wells has been in at least the semifinals each of the two previous seasons, but the Tigers find themselves opening on the road as they try to make it three-for-three. The Tigers finished third in the South East, allowing 144 points in a pair of losses to Granada and Kit Carson. Kyle Nelson (648 yards) and Quade Pelton (604 yards) both topped 600 yards through the air for the Tigers, and Pelton added 702 rushing. Jade Cozart is the third big weapon for Cheyenne Wells on offense, rushing for 512 yards and receiving another 525. He has scored 26 total touchdowns this season, including three non-offensive.
 
#2 KIT CARSON (8-0) VS #15 NORTH PARK (3-5) SATURDAY NOON
Kit Carson made a strong bid for the top overall seed, holding Stratton/Liberty to just 22 points last week, 30 below their previous season-low. In the end, the Wildcats were hampered by their strength of schedule. Where the Knighted Eagles faced eight playoff teams during the season, the Wildcats only had four such opponents. Still, the two teams many project to meet for the championship find themselves on opposite ends of the bracket. Kit Carson had scored at least 50 points in every game prior to its win on Friday. The Wildcats don’t feature one main back on offense, with Joe Bryan, Daniel Arnold, Jayden McCombs-Farmer, and Cordell Farmer all having rushed for more than 200 yards. Conversely, much of the damage this season by North Park has been done by Bryce Carlstrom. The senior has rushed for over 1500 yards and 23 touchdowns, to go with more than 300 yards passing and close to 100 more as a receiver.