Last week saw many of the top teams pass another round of tough challenges, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be tested again this week. While there are only two games pairing ranked opponents, four others have a top-10 team facing an opponent that is either just outside the rankings or is high in their respective league standings.
It’s becoming a broken record to mention top-ranked Stratton/Liberty and the Knighted Eagles facing top-10 opposition. Four of the first five opponents for the Knighted Eagles were ranked at the time of the contest, and all four are still in the poll. This week makes it five of six, as Stratton/Liberty hosts #9 Granada on Friday night at Liberty.
The Knighted Eagles are coming off a 59-22 victory over #7 Idalia (down from #5 last week), in which they led 42-8 at the half. Ethan Richmond and Jaret Lichty each carried the ball seven times for Stratton/Liberty and each scored on three of his carries. The duo combined for 216 rushing yards. Richmond added a kick return for a score and Lichty contributed a pick-6.
Granada has been scoring points in bunches, tallying at least 40 in every contest. Over the last four weeks, the Bobcats have scored 54, 56, 80, and 61 in compiling a 3-1 mark. Last week, they held Cheraw to 171 yards of total offense and registered three interceptions in a 61-20 victory over the Wolverines. This week is the renewal of one of 8-man’s top rivalries, as Stratton and Granada met four times in championship games between 1993 and 2006. Stratton won three of the four. Granada’s lone win was an epic 47-46 decision in 3 overtimes in 2006.
The other clash of ranked teams doesn’t take place until Saturday afternoon, when #6 Arickaree/Woodlin hosts Idalia in a critical East Central game for both squads. Arickaree/Woodlin won its league opener last Saturday at Flagler/Hi-Plains, 54-28, and a win keeps the Indian-Mustangs tied with Stratton/Liberty atop the standings. Idalia is one game back, tied with #3 Otis, and the Wolves tangle with the Bulldogs next week.
Arickaree/Woodlin has won three of the last four meetings in the series, including a 38-30 win on the road last season. Idalia’s Sam McGinnis ran for 234 yards and two scores in that loss. He has a talented freshman running mate in the backfield this season in Yahir Enriquez, who has rushed for just under 400 yards and eight touchdowns the last two weeks.
Second-ranked Kit Carson continues to chug along, putting up a lot of points and holding the opposition in check. Last week, the Wildcats dominated #8 Cheyenne Wells (down one spot from last week) 64-0. It was the second straight shutout by the Kit Carson defense, a group that has only allowed 20 points all season. This week, they take on a Walsh team that also posted a shutout last week. The Eagles blanked Eads 60-0 to remain one game out of the South East division lead.
The meetings with Kit Carson have not gone well for Walsh since dropping from 8-man. The Eagles did win the first clash in 2014, 76-52, but the last three have gone in favor of Kit Carson, the last two by a combined score of 122-20.
Otis won last week’s match-up with #4 Prairie 64-59 and on Friday, the Bulldogs visit a Briggsdale squad that gave up 101 points and over 400 rushing yards. That’s not good news when facing an Otis offense that features Bryce Miracle, who rushed for 278 yards and five scores last week. The senior is nearing 1100 yards on the ground for the season, and already has four games with more than 200 yards. Add in his passing and receiving numbers and Miracle has over 1750 yards from scrimmage.
The Otis defense had its share of troubles last week, too, surrendering 460 yards to the Mustangs. That is music to the Falcons’ ears, as they racked up 656 yards in last week’s loss. Ty Blickem accounted for a good chunk of those through the air, throwing for 386 yards and eight touchdowns. As a team, Briggsdale threw for 435.
Fourth-ranked Prairie will be in bounce-back mode for the second time this season. Following their opening loss to Stratton/Liberty, the Mustangs responded by beating Briggsdale 56-40 the next week. Coming off the loss at Otis, the Mustangs will host Weldon Valley on Friday in North division play. Weldon Valley opened the season with wins in each of its first two games, but the Warriors have since dropped their last three, all in league play, by a combined score of 206-46. Cole Hall has been a bright spot all season for the Warriors, throwing for 949 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Following that record-setting win over Briggsdale (most points by two teams), Peetz steps out of North division play this Friday as the Bulldogs will host Flagler/Hi-Plains. Bryson Long went crazy last week, rushing for 256 yards and six touchdowns, pushing his season totals to 1004 and 23. Flagler/Hi-Plains has dropped three straight, all in the East Central. Kyle Klann was injured in the loss to Otis three weeks back, and the Thunder has turned more of the offense over to sophomore quarterback Zayd Banks, who has an electric arm. Flagler/Hi-Plains still has plenty of weapons around him, so the Peetz pass defense could be in for another difficult challenge.
In another interesting non-league clash, #10 Mountain Valley will travel to Manzanola on Friday. The Indians lead the South West division, while Manzanola heads up the South Central. Mountain Valley racked up 483 yards on the ground in a 71-34 victory over Sargent’s JV last week, with four players gaining at least 75. The Bobcats were on the wrong end of a 58-14 decision against Fleming, allowing the Wildcats nearly 10 yards per rushing attempt.
Saturday sees two teams from the South East looking to rebound from lopsided shutout losses. Eighth-ranked Cheyenne Wells and Eads will square off after losing their games last week by a combined tally of 124-0. The Tigers are ninth in the most recent RPI standings, but that could change drastically, even with wins the next two weeks as Eads is 25th and Cheraw comes in at 18th.
