First place fights can be found all across the six-man landscape this week, with all six divisions likely crowning champions by the end of play on Saturday. The South West is the only one of the six where the top two challengers are not going head-to-head this week.
Thursday night sees the first of the key contests, as the North division showdown between #5 Prairie (7th RPI) and #4 Peetz (6th RPI) will square off for conference bragging rights. Last year, Prairie pulled out a last minute victory at home over the Bulldogs, 44-41, but it was Peetz who had the final celebration as state champions.
Bryson Long had the biggest impact of any returning Bulldogs in that contest last year, running for two touchdowns and catching two more. The now senior also recorded a dozen tackles. Two players from Prairie were also involved in big moments last year. Walter Jordan connected on four PAT kicks, including two in the fourth quarter, and Patrick Thompson recovered a fumble in the final stanza that helped the Mustangs finish the comeback.
For Prairie, this is the final divisional game, as the Mustangs round out the regular season against Cotopaxi (10th RPI) and Hanover (24th RPI), so a victory locks up the league crown outright. Peetz still has a date with Weldon Valley (25th RPI) inside the league, but a victory on Thursday guarantees a share of the division title and the Bulldogs would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mustangs.
Top-ranked Stratton/Liberty (1st RPI) can lock up a share of the East Central title with a victory at #6 Arickaree/Woodlin (2nd RPI) on Friday. Neither team can completely lay claim to the crown as each has an important league contest on tap next week. The Knighted Eagles still has to go against Flagler/Hi-Plains (15th RPI) while Arickaree/Woodlin has a key game at home with #3 Otis (5th RPI).
Stratton/Liberty overcame a slow start last week to put away #9 Granada, 52-12. The Knighted Eagles trailed for one of the few times this season as the Bobcats got a defensive stop to open the contest and then drove the length of the field for a touchdown. Stratton/Liberty then scored the next 52 points. Tyson Lichty threw five touchdown passes and younger brother Jaret rushed for 147 yards in the victory.
Arickaree/Woodlin also found itself in an early hole last week. The Indian-Mustangs trailed #7 Idalia 6-0 and 14-8 in the first half last Saturday, before roaring back to score the final 31 points of the contest. The defense took the starring role, limiting the Wolves to 98 rushing yards on 29 attempts. They will need another strong effort from that unit as they try to stop a three-game skid in the series. The Knighted Eagles have scored at least 54 points in each of the last three match-ups.
The South East division comes down to #2 Kit Carson (3rd RPI) and Granada (11th RPI). Kit Carson, who defeated Walsh (19th RPI) 58-20 last week, will have the home field advantage on Friday night. The 20 points scored by Walsh matched the total points the Wildcats had allowed in the first five games of the season combined.
Granada’s defense stood tall on the first two series in last week’s game against Stratton/Liberty, forcing the turnover on downs and a punt. However, the Bobcats struggled with the short passing game of the Knighted Eagles and their own offense struggled to convert at key times. A win this week gives the Bobcats a share of the league title and the head-to-head tiebreaker, but they still have a clash with Walsh next week.
Genoa-Hugo (14th RPI) finds itself in position to clinch the Central division title, as well as a playoff spot. The Pirates lead the division by a game over both Deer Trail (16th RPI) and this week’s opponent, Edison (20th RPI). Deer Trail owns a win over Edison, so the Eagles need a win to create a three-way tie for the title. Genoa-Hugo won last year’s meeting 73-25 behind six touchdowns from the departed Caid Smith.
Eighth-ranked Mountain Valley (4th RPI) has already locked up a share of the South West title, but the Indians can make it an unbeaten run through the division with a win over Cripple Creek-Victor on Friday. The Indians will be huge favorites in the game, as they’ve outscored opponents 301-95 while the Pioneers have been outscored 231-42, and have not scored a single point in two league games. Sophomore quarterback Salvador Vigil is on pace to throw for close to 1300 yards and 25 touchdowns this season for Mountain Valley.
Manzanola (18th RPI) and La Veta (22nd RPI) hook up on Friday, with each fighting for their playoff lives. With the current RPI numbers where they are, it looks like only the South Central champion will represent the division in the postseason, but there is an outside shot of the Bobcats getting in as a wildcard. Manzanola comes in having dropped a pair of non-conference games to Fleming (13th RPI) and Mountain Valley. Prior to those losses, the Bobcats had posted consecutive shutouts in league play.
La Veta is trending the opposite direction, winning its last three games and scoring 163 points during the streak. Dating back to their days in eight-man, the Redskins have won eight of the last 11 meetings with Manzanola. However, with both playing as six-man programs, the margin is just 2-1 in favor of La Veta.
Other big games this week include a top-10 clash inside the East Central with Otis visiting Idalia. Both teams are coming off losses, as the Bulldogs fell at #10 Briggsdale (12th RPI) 32-28 last Friday on a cold and wet night, and the Wolves lost the aforementioned game with Arickaree/Woodlin. Otis lost six turnovers in its loss. For Idalia, they’ve dropped two straight, but a win would help solidify a postseason berth. The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings and six of the last seven in the series.
In the North, Briggsdale looks to build on that upset win over Otis last week with a home game against Fleming. If the season ended today, both teams would be in the playoff field, but just barely. The winner will gain a bump in the RPI and when looking at the remaining schedule for both teams, that may be more important for the Falcons. They close out with games against North Park (21st RPI) and Flagler/Hi-Plains, while Fleming has La Veta and Idalia. Fleming has won 12 of the last 13 against Briggsdale, including the last four. The Wildcats have outscored the Falcons 253-43 during that stretch.
