2017 Class C 6-Man Playoffs (Quarterfinals)
Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:50 am
Playoff Bracket: http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/docu ... ket-C6.pdf
Top-Side of Bracket
Wibaux (#2 East) at White Sulphur Springs (#1 West)
Wibaux Key Players - QB/LB Tel Lunde (So.), FB/DL Chance Larson (Jr.), RB/LB Cade Dschaak (Jr.)
White Sulphur Springs Key Players - RB/LB Dawson Clayton (Sr.), RB/DB Will Collins (Jr.), QB/LB Will Syverson (Sr.)
Wibaux got one of the tougher #2 seed versus #3 seed matchups in the first round as they took on the #3 seed from the North, Geraldine/Highwood. The Rivals have been a consistent playoff team in the 6-man ranks for years and Wibaux is in their first year. Wibaux held a 25-14 halftime lead but that lead was only 31-30 after three quarters. The Longhorns scored 20 points to secure a 51-44 victory over a tough G/H Rivals team. The big three for Wibaux is QB Tel Lunde, FB Chance Larson, and RB Cade Dschaak and they combined to score every touchdown for the Longhorns in this game. White Sulphur Springs took care of business against Reed Point/Rapelje, winning 58-6. The Hornets have quietly been one of the most dominant 6-Man teams in 2017, going undefeated and winning their games by an average of 65-9 with three shutouts. They are led by the RB duo of Dawson Clayton and Will Collins who have put up numbers comparable to the 2016 Hot Springs duo of Trevor Paro and Kane Lawson. Clayton and/or Collins scored all eight touchdowns in the first round for WSS. Wibaux got Chance Larson back from injury and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Longhorns will need all hands on deck to try and contain one of the best offenses in Class C 6-Man. The biggest factor in this game is White Sulpur Springs schedule as the best team they played in 2017 was the team they beat in the first round, Reed Point/Rapelje. The 6-Man West conference was definitely down a year after losing Hot Springs as a member. On the other side of the state, Wibaux arguably played in the best conference in 6-Man (the East). However, I still see the Hornets moving on to the next round because Clayton and Collins are very tough to stop for four quarters. Prediction: White Sulphur Springs wins 48-36
Big Sandy (#2 North) at Bridger (#1 South)
Big Sandy Key Players - RB/LB Weston Allderdice (Sr.), RB/LB Kade Strutz (Fr.), TE/DL Duke Darlington (Sr.)
Bridger Key Players - QB/RB/LB Colter Zentner (Sr.), WR/LB Russell Zentner (Sr.), WR/LB Colby Zentner (Jr.)
As said above, the 6-Man East conference was arguably the toughest conference coming into the playoffs and the #3 seeded Richey/Lambert Fusion gave the #2 seeded Big Sandy Pioneers all they could handle. Behind QB Gabe Gonsioroski, RB Jeff Scholla, and RB Seth Prevost, the Fusion took a 26-21 lead into halftime. But Big Sandy running backs Kade Strutz and Weston Allderdice combined to score five touchdowns in the second half to win 55-32. The #1 seed out of the South, Bridger, had a much different game as they defeated Valley Christian 66-0 in the first round. As usual, multiple members of the Zentner family scored a lot of points for the Scouts and the defense pitched its third shutout of the season. I think this will be a good football game and the best one of the top bracket. Big Sandy has put up some impressive wins during the season and one of their two losses was a 19-7 decision to Valier (the #1 seed out of the North). Bridger's only loss and closest game of the season was a 48-47 setback to Westby/Grenora to open the season. Bridger is just too multiple in what they do on offense. Also, its key to note that both teams played Roy/Winifred during the season and Bridger won 65-0 while Big Sandy won 32-25. Prediction: Bridger wins 50-18
Bottom-Side of Bracket
West Yellowstone (#2 West) at Westby/Grenora (#1 East)
West Yellowstone Key Players - RB/DE Miguel Salinas (So.), TE/DL German Vazquez (So.), QB/DB Mac Hauck (So.)
Westby/Grenora Key Players - QB/DB Jeremiah Paine (Sr.), RB/DE Brian Field (Sr.), RB/LB Brandon Ledahl (Jr.)
West Yellowstone defeated Shields Valley 84-36 to give the #2 seed out of the West a shot at my #1 team in 6-Man, Westby/Grenora. The Wolverines have only one loss on the year but it was a 59-0 loss to White Sulphur Springs. West Yellowstone has a good group of sophomores in QB Mac Hauck and RB Miguel Salinas leading the way. Westby/Grenora comes in undefeated as they defeated Sunburst 66-31 in the first round. Record-breaking QB Jeremiah Paine totaled eight touchdowns (7 passing/1 rushing) to lead the Thunder. Sophomore WR Ridge Sargent caught five of those touchdowns while returning a kickoff 40 yards for another. The Thunder have a stable of running backs and wide receivers as Paine distributes the ball to several each game. On defense, they are led DE Brian Field, DL/LB Cole Berg and LB Brandon Ledahl. I believe West Yellowstone to be the weakest #2 seed in the 6-Man playoffs and Westby/Grenora to be the best team in 6-Man so I don't think this one will be close. Prediction: Westby/Grenora 72-6
Grass Range/Winnett (#2 North) at Valier (#1 South)
Grass Range/Winnett Key Players - RB/LB Caleb Hess (Jr.), RB/LB Zane Stahl (Jr.), TE/DL Chris Campbell (Jr.)
Valier Key Players - QB/LB Koltin Christaeans (Sr.), TE/DE Colten Curry (Sr.), RB/LB Wacey Running Crane (Sr.),
Grass Range/Winnett got five touchdowns from RB/LB Zane Stahl to lead the Rangers to a 50-12 victory. QB Caden McCarthy opened the scoring with a 47-yard run for GR/W which led to 28 unanswered points to start the game for the #2 seeded team from the South. Noxon got two touchdowns in the 2nd quarter to make the game 28-12 but it would get no closer. Meanwhile, the #1 team out of the North, the Valier Panthers, found themselves in a shootout with the #4 seed out of the East, the Jordan Mustangs. Most thought that the East was the toughest conference in 6-Man as teams like Savage and Terry didn't make the playoffs and were viewed as better than most of the #2 seeds in the 6-Man playoffs. Jordan came into the game with four losses but all were to playoff teams (Grass Range/Winnett, Richey/Lambert, Wibaux, and Westby/Grenora) so Valier should have known the Mustangs weren't battle-tested. The undefeated Panthers were in a dogfight from the very start, holding a 7-6 1st quarter lead and a 41-40 halftime lead. Both defenses struggled mightily in the first half but tightened up in the second as Valier outscored Jordan 20-19 to win 61-59 and advance. The Panthers were impressive on offense as QB Koltin Christaeans tossed three touchdown passes and running backs Wacey Running Crane and Trevor VandenBos combined to rush for five touchdowns. TE/WR and Griz commit Colten Curry was held to two touchdowns receiving in the contest. The Mustangs were equally as impressive as Jordan QB Keenan Murnion and his brother Edward Murnion combined to score all nine touchdowns for the visiting squad. Keenan scored seven touchdowns (5 passing/2 rushing) and Eddie scored five (3 receiving/2 rushing). The Murnion brothers hooked up for a 15-yard touchdown in the final minutes to make it a 61-59 game but the ensuing point after was blocked (counts for 2 in 6-Man) and Valier ran out the clock to win. Grass Range/Winnett has three losses on the year, falling to Geraldine/Highwood 64-39, Terry 43-22, and Bridger 49-14. Valier beat Geraldine/Highwood 40-38 during the year which is the only comparable opponent for each team heading into the quarterfinal matchup. I like the Rangers core four starters of Zane Stahl, Caleb Hess, Caden McCarthy, and Chris Campbell but Valier definitely has the more talented roster. Like last week, if Valier doesn't play better on defense, this will be another shootout for the Panthers. I'm going to assume the first round game woke up Valier and Coach Watson's squad will play much better in round 2. Prediction: Valier wins 40-26
Top-Side of Bracket
Wibaux (#2 East) at White Sulphur Springs (#1 West)
Wibaux Key Players - QB/LB Tel Lunde (So.), FB/DL Chance Larson (Jr.), RB/LB Cade Dschaak (Jr.)
White Sulphur Springs Key Players - RB/LB Dawson Clayton (Sr.), RB/DB Will Collins (Jr.), QB/LB Will Syverson (Sr.)
Wibaux got one of the tougher #2 seed versus #3 seed matchups in the first round as they took on the #3 seed from the North, Geraldine/Highwood. The Rivals have been a consistent playoff team in the 6-man ranks for years and Wibaux is in their first year. Wibaux held a 25-14 halftime lead but that lead was only 31-30 after three quarters. The Longhorns scored 20 points to secure a 51-44 victory over a tough G/H Rivals team. The big three for Wibaux is QB Tel Lunde, FB Chance Larson, and RB Cade Dschaak and they combined to score every touchdown for the Longhorns in this game. White Sulphur Springs took care of business against Reed Point/Rapelje, winning 58-6. The Hornets have quietly been one of the most dominant 6-Man teams in 2017, going undefeated and winning their games by an average of 65-9 with three shutouts. They are led by the RB duo of Dawson Clayton and Will Collins who have put up numbers comparable to the 2016 Hot Springs duo of Trevor Paro and Kane Lawson. Clayton and/or Collins scored all eight touchdowns in the first round for WSS. Wibaux got Chance Larson back from injury and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Longhorns will need all hands on deck to try and contain one of the best offenses in Class C 6-Man. The biggest factor in this game is White Sulpur Springs schedule as the best team they played in 2017 was the team they beat in the first round, Reed Point/Rapelje. The 6-Man West conference was definitely down a year after losing Hot Springs as a member. On the other side of the state, Wibaux arguably played in the best conference in 6-Man (the East). However, I still see the Hornets moving on to the next round because Clayton and Collins are very tough to stop for four quarters. Prediction: White Sulphur Springs wins 48-36
Big Sandy (#2 North) at Bridger (#1 South)
Big Sandy Key Players - RB/LB Weston Allderdice (Sr.), RB/LB Kade Strutz (Fr.), TE/DL Duke Darlington (Sr.)
Bridger Key Players - QB/RB/LB Colter Zentner (Sr.), WR/LB Russell Zentner (Sr.), WR/LB Colby Zentner (Jr.)
As said above, the 6-Man East conference was arguably the toughest conference coming into the playoffs and the #3 seeded Richey/Lambert Fusion gave the #2 seeded Big Sandy Pioneers all they could handle. Behind QB Gabe Gonsioroski, RB Jeff Scholla, and RB Seth Prevost, the Fusion took a 26-21 lead into halftime. But Big Sandy running backs Kade Strutz and Weston Allderdice combined to score five touchdowns in the second half to win 55-32. The #1 seed out of the South, Bridger, had a much different game as they defeated Valley Christian 66-0 in the first round. As usual, multiple members of the Zentner family scored a lot of points for the Scouts and the defense pitched its third shutout of the season. I think this will be a good football game and the best one of the top bracket. Big Sandy has put up some impressive wins during the season and one of their two losses was a 19-7 decision to Valier (the #1 seed out of the North). Bridger's only loss and closest game of the season was a 48-47 setback to Westby/Grenora to open the season. Bridger is just too multiple in what they do on offense. Also, its key to note that both teams played Roy/Winifred during the season and Bridger won 65-0 while Big Sandy won 32-25. Prediction: Bridger wins 50-18
Bottom-Side of Bracket
West Yellowstone (#2 West) at Westby/Grenora (#1 East)
West Yellowstone Key Players - RB/DE Miguel Salinas (So.), TE/DL German Vazquez (So.), QB/DB Mac Hauck (So.)
Westby/Grenora Key Players - QB/DB Jeremiah Paine (Sr.), RB/DE Brian Field (Sr.), RB/LB Brandon Ledahl (Jr.)
West Yellowstone defeated Shields Valley 84-36 to give the #2 seed out of the West a shot at my #1 team in 6-Man, Westby/Grenora. The Wolverines have only one loss on the year but it was a 59-0 loss to White Sulphur Springs. West Yellowstone has a good group of sophomores in QB Mac Hauck and RB Miguel Salinas leading the way. Westby/Grenora comes in undefeated as they defeated Sunburst 66-31 in the first round. Record-breaking QB Jeremiah Paine totaled eight touchdowns (7 passing/1 rushing) to lead the Thunder. Sophomore WR Ridge Sargent caught five of those touchdowns while returning a kickoff 40 yards for another. The Thunder have a stable of running backs and wide receivers as Paine distributes the ball to several each game. On defense, they are led DE Brian Field, DL/LB Cole Berg and LB Brandon Ledahl. I believe West Yellowstone to be the weakest #2 seed in the 6-Man playoffs and Westby/Grenora to be the best team in 6-Man so I don't think this one will be close. Prediction: Westby/Grenora 72-6
Grass Range/Winnett (#2 North) at Valier (#1 South)
Grass Range/Winnett Key Players - RB/LB Caleb Hess (Jr.), RB/LB Zane Stahl (Jr.), TE/DL Chris Campbell (Jr.)
Valier Key Players - QB/LB Koltin Christaeans (Sr.), TE/DE Colten Curry (Sr.), RB/LB Wacey Running Crane (Sr.),
Grass Range/Winnett got five touchdowns from RB/LB Zane Stahl to lead the Rangers to a 50-12 victory. QB Caden McCarthy opened the scoring with a 47-yard run for GR/W which led to 28 unanswered points to start the game for the #2 seeded team from the South. Noxon got two touchdowns in the 2nd quarter to make the game 28-12 but it would get no closer. Meanwhile, the #1 team out of the North, the Valier Panthers, found themselves in a shootout with the #4 seed out of the East, the Jordan Mustangs. Most thought that the East was the toughest conference in 6-Man as teams like Savage and Terry didn't make the playoffs and were viewed as better than most of the #2 seeds in the 6-Man playoffs. Jordan came into the game with four losses but all were to playoff teams (Grass Range/Winnett, Richey/Lambert, Wibaux, and Westby/Grenora) so Valier should have known the Mustangs weren't battle-tested. The undefeated Panthers were in a dogfight from the very start, holding a 7-6 1st quarter lead and a 41-40 halftime lead. Both defenses struggled mightily in the first half but tightened up in the second as Valier outscored Jordan 20-19 to win 61-59 and advance. The Panthers were impressive on offense as QB Koltin Christaeans tossed three touchdown passes and running backs Wacey Running Crane and Trevor VandenBos combined to rush for five touchdowns. TE/WR and Griz commit Colten Curry was held to two touchdowns receiving in the contest. The Mustangs were equally as impressive as Jordan QB Keenan Murnion and his brother Edward Murnion combined to score all nine touchdowns for the visiting squad. Keenan scored seven touchdowns (5 passing/2 rushing) and Eddie scored five (3 receiving/2 rushing). The Murnion brothers hooked up for a 15-yard touchdown in the final minutes to make it a 61-59 game but the ensuing point after was blocked (counts for 2 in 6-Man) and Valier ran out the clock to win. Grass Range/Winnett has three losses on the year, falling to Geraldine/Highwood 64-39, Terry 43-22, and Bridger 49-14. Valier beat Geraldine/Highwood 40-38 during the year which is the only comparable opponent for each team heading into the quarterfinal matchup. I like the Rangers core four starters of Zane Stahl, Caleb Hess, Caden McCarthy, and Chris Campbell but Valier definitely has the more talented roster. Like last week, if Valier doesn't play better on defense, this will be another shootout for the Panthers. I'm going to assume the first round game woke up Valier and Coach Watson's squad will play much better in round 2. Prediction: Valier wins 40-26