6Man Football Preview – Week 8

Four of the six divisions have crowned a champion, and one more will do so this week, as the North will be settled when Fleming hosts Prairie on Friday. That’s one of four really important contests on the slate this week, with the other three all featuring non-league match-ups of teams inside the top 10 of the RPI.

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Third-ranked Fleming (6-1, 5th RPI) rolled to its fourth straight win by downing Briggsdale (5-2, 12th RPI) last week. The Wildcats allowed an opening drive touchdown by the Falcons and then went on to score 40 unanswered points to lead 40-8 at the half. Braylen Feather threw for 185 yards and three scores, two to Joel Muller, and Nolan Japp ran crazy over the Briggsdale defense, racking up 211 yards and four touchdowns. Kolten Houser helped the defense get on the board by recording a safety, and Kenny Bandy converted five of seven PAT kicks. On the season, Bandy is 40 of 49 in that department.

Prairie (5-2, 8th RPI) enters the contest off a disappointing 47-42 non-league loss to #5 Idalia (4-2, 4th RPI) last Thursday. The eighth-ranked Mustangs trailed 28-27 at the half, but had built a 42-28 lead with 7:15 to play. Idalia went on to score three times in a six minute span, including the game-winner with just over a minute to play. Andy Long tallied 234 yards and three touchdowns through the air, with David Speicher, Claytin Hove, and Parker Jaeger each hauling in a scoring toss. Jaeger also ran for 100 yards and two scores, and led all players with 15 tackles in the game.

Fleming has won 12 of the last 15 match-ups with Prairie, including three straight. The Mustangs last won in 2018 (60-13), as part of back-to-back wins in the series. Last year, both defenses stood tall, as neither offense recorded 250 yards in Fleming’s 32-8 victory. All of the scoring happened in the second half of that contest. The winner on Friday clinches the North division title, as both teams enter this week with a two-game lead over third place Briggsdale.

Friday night will also see a big non-league clash between #4 Granada (5-1, 3rd RPI) and #6 Branson/Kim (6-0, 10th RPI). The Bobcats will be hosting the contest and they will be on the field for the first time in two weeks. Last week’s opponent, Walsh (2-5, 19th RPI), was still dealing with COVID and had to forfeit. In their last game action, the Bobcats earned a 51-19 victory over Flagler (1-4, 23rd RPI). Dominic Coleman was only asked to throw four times in the game, and he completed two of those attempts, both for touchdowns. Younger brother Maddox hauled in one, and Javier Tejada caught the other. Jonus Guevara added two scores on the ground, plus one on a kick return. D. Coleman also returned a kick for a score.

Branson/Kim locked up the South Central division title with last week’s 71-0 win over Miami-Yoder (1-4, 24th RPI). The Bearcats led 44-0 after one quarter. Brody Doherty was three-for-three passing, for 30 yards and three scores, two going to Brock Doherty. Peyton Cranson ran for two touchdowns and returned one of his two interceptions for another score. Kolter Cranson also had a pick-six in the lopsided win. It marked the fourth straight game in which the Bearcats topped the 70-point plateau, and they enter Friday’s game having scored 404 points on the season.

This is just the second meeting between the two programs, with Granada claiming a 52-14 win last season. The Bobcats built a 52-0 halftime lead in that contest. D. Coleman hit four of five passes for 140 yards and four touchdowns, and added 116 yards and two more touchdowns on just five carries. Lupe Martinez had two receiving touchdowns for Granada, and Cade Smith had two rushing scores for Branson/Kim in the defeat.

One of Saturday’s big contests has Central division champ, #9 Genoa-Hugo (5-0, 9th RPI) visiting top-ranked Cheyenne Wells (7-0, 2nd RPI), who has locked up the South East division. The Pirates secured their division title last week, without stepping on the field, as Deer Trail (3-2, 21st RPI) wasn’t able to play due to a COVID issue. Saturday will mark Genoa-Hugo’s first game since beating Miami-Yoder 73-25 two weeks back. Sophomore QB Trey Smith has hit on better than 69% of his passes for 485 yards and 12 touchdowns, and the duo of Wyatt Miller (478 yards, four TD) and Colby Simmons (331 yards, seven TD) have combined for more than 800 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Simmons leads a deep defensive unit with 54 tackles, and Miller has six interceptions to his credit.

Cheyenne Wells found itself in a scoreless tie after one quarter in last week’s game at #10 Cheraw (4-3, 11th RPI). The Tigers then struck paydirt twice in each of the last three frames to score a 45-6 win that secured the South East division. Blake Gilmore continued his efficient season at QB, completing nine of 12 passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns, and Cade Mitchek racked up 131 all purpose yards. Rogelio Rangel was the only Tiger to find the end zone more than once, as he scored as a runner and as a receiver. Evan Worley had a game-high 16 tackles, including three sacks. He now has 12 sacks this season, and 23 in his career.

The Tigers have won four of five meetings with Genoa-Hugo, including all three in six-man. Last season, Worley ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-6 victory. Mitchek missed last season after having shoulder surgery just prior to the season starting.

South West champ, #7 Sierra Grande (5-0, 6th RPI) hits the road to visit Arickaree/Woodlin (4-2, 7th RPI) in another non-league clash. The Panthers have not played since Sept. 25th, when they beat Cotopaxi 56-0. Isiah Chairez has completed 38 of 54 passes for 761 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season, with Matthew Martinez having seven touchdowns on eight receptions. Chairez has also scored seven rushing touchdowns and is the team’s leading runner with 341 yards. Angelo Lucero, Damian Ferran, and Tyler Kester all have more than 100 yards on the ground, and the Panthers as a team are closing in on 1100 yards. Kester leads the defense with 49 tackles and 8.5 sacks.

Arickaree/Woodlin is tied with Idalia for second in the East Central and the Indian-Mustangs picked up a 62-0 win over Kiowa (0-6, 28th RPI) in non-league play last week. Logan Wright recorded his third 200-yard rushing effort of the season, tallying 200 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries. The junior has rushed for 1053 yards and 17 touchdowns on 98 carries this season. He’s also thrown for 346 yards and three more scores. Samuel Koolstra is the defensive leader, having recorded 79 tackles and two sacks this season. Wright is second with 60 tackles. Bryce Shaffer has three of the team’s five interceptions, all three have come over the last two weeks.

This will be the first meeting between the two programs during the MaxPreps era. The winner could potentially climb into the top five of the RPI.

Friday night will have an big game inside the East Central, as Hi-Plains (2-3, 18th RPI) hosts Otis (3-4, 16th RPI). The winner will be alone in fourth place in the division, but more importantly, solidify its postseason hopes. Otis features freshman running back Tayte Smith, who has 984 yards and 21 touchdowns, and is one of three Bulldogs with more than 100 passing yards as well. Fellow freshman Charlie Kendrick has recorded three non-offensive touchdowns this season, two on kick returns. Otis has returned five interceptions for scores, one by Kendrick and two by Smith.

Cody Banks is a dynamic player for Hi-Plains, who has flown somewhat under the radar in his career. The senior has had a hand in 15 offensive touchdowns this season, running for 10, catching three, and passing for two more. He has game-breaking speed, but will also deliver a thump in short yardage. He’s one of four defenders on the squad with more than 40 tackles, with his 43 being third behind Cooper Seaman (47) and Logan Cordell (46). Shannon King is the fourth member of the group, checking in with 42.

Hi-Plains has won seven of eight meetings in the series, but the most recent match-up came in 2016. That was a 54-45 victory for the Patriots. Four of the last five contests have been decided by single digits, including Otis’ lone win in the stretch, a 51-50 decision in 2014.

The North has another huge tilt on Saturday, as Briggsdale hosts North Park (4-3, 15th RPI). Not only is third place in the league at stake, but the winner all but locks up a postseason berth. Briggsdale opened the season with five straight wins, but the Falcons have now dropped their last two, both in league play. One thing working in their favor is that they’ve won the last two contests against the Wildcats, and are 5-4 against them overall. 

For North Park, this is the last chance to pick up major RPI points, as the Wildcats close out the regular season against Cotopaxi (2-4, 22nd RPI), while Briggsdale still has two games against teams in the top 13 of the metric. North Park picked up a 63-0 win over Pawnee (0-5, 27th RPI) last week, with Hunter Sessions completing all 10 of his passes for 181 yards and three scores. Gavin Pittington, Preston Gonzales, and Montgomery Ramsey all caught TD passes, while Ale Nugent, Cameron Gonzales, and Mak Crum each scored a rushing TD. Nugent added a punt return touchdown, and Jayden Dailey got into the end zone with a recovered fumble. The Wildcats have scored at least 63 points in each of their four wins, but they have scored a total of 47 points in their three losses.

Hanover (4-3, 13th RPI) and Walsh will be meeting at Cheraw on Saturday, as the two sides got together to add the game to their respective schedules. Hanover put a 92-60 beating on Eads (2-5, 17th RPI) last week, delivering a blow to the postseason hopes of the Eagles. It was the second straight win for the Hornets, who feature a running game led by David Brown and David Byers, and senior QB Dalton Sweazy who provides balance with his arm. Walsh counters with do-everything sophomore Landon Jones. Jones leads the team in rushing and passing, scoring, and tackles. Saturday will mark the first game action for Walsh since a 46-28 win over Kit Carson three weeks ago. The Eagles have been dealing with COVID concerns the last two weeks, leading to forfeit losses to Cheyenne Wells and Granada.

One other game of note this weekend happens on Friday, when La Veta (1-6, 29th RPI) will host Kit Carson (0-7, 26th RPI). Both teams had opponents drop out this week, and the two sides agreed to face each other. Records aside, this game bears mentioning, as it’s the first game for the Redhawks on their new field. Kit Carson went into remote learning earlier this week, in an attempt to avoid a COVID quarantine. They have received permission to practice and compete, as long as athletes test negative each day.

Stratton is ranked second and was staring at an open date but filled the slot on Thursday as they will host Peetz on Friday at 7:00pm.  Peetz was originally slated to meet Flagler.