Class 8-Man, Division I
8M-I EAST
D4-#2 Little River (9-2) at D2-#1 Madison (11-0) – Madison
This semifinal should be a great showdown as No. 2 Madison faces No. 4 Little River. Coach Alex McMillian has continued to improve Madison – and looks to take the next step and bump the Bulldogs into a state title game. Madison went 2-7 in ’15, and then 3-6, 5-4, 9-1 and 11-1 with a Canton-Galva state semifinal loss last season.
Last week, Madison achieved their signature win with a 34-24 road win versus No. 1 Canton-Galva. The Bulldogs ended Canton-Galva’s 23-game winning streak. Madison, long known for turnover creation, forced six turnovers, was plus-four in turnover margin, returned a kickoff for a score and picked up an onside kick. Canton-Galva led 18-6 after the first quarter. Canton-Galva was plus-39 in total yards. Eagle junior standout Tyson Struber finished with 10 touches for 95 yards and two scores.
Madison quarterback Casey Helm completed 11 of 18 passes for 88 yards and a score. Bryson Turner had 12 touches for 121 total yards and a score. Ryan Wolgram picked off two passes. Brome Rayburn had eight tackles.
Little River, under second-year coach Kevin Ayers, is into its first semifinal since a runner-up showing in ’01. Ayers is 176-43 in 21 seasons.
Senior Graham Stephens is 26 of 50 for 398 yards with 10 scores against three interceptions. Senior Jayden Garrison is 28 of 47 for 532 yards and 11 TDs. Garrison has 112 carries for 1,259 yards with 28 scores. Stephens has 101 carries for 710 yards and 17 scores.
Little River has committed just five turnovers and is plus-18 in turnover margin. Madison has forced 30 turnovers and is plus-16 in turnover margin.
In district play, Canton-Galva beat Little River, 56-38. Little River was gained 56 more yards in the game, though committed two turnovers. The Redskins other loss came 42-36 in overtime to Clifton-Clyde in Week 2 when they committed two turnovers. The Redskins came back to beat Clifton-Clyde, 46-26, in the Round of 16 when it committed zero turnovers.
The game will ultimately come down to turnovers – and how many touches go to Garrison, who is an incredibly dynamic player. Madison holds a slight edge with its depth, but Ayers is one of the eight-man legends and could lead his third program to a state title game.
8M-I WEST
D7-#1 Leoti-Wichita Co. (11-0) at D8-#1 Hoxie (9-1) – Wichita County
Top-ranked Wichita County travels to No. 5 Hoxie in a Week 1 rematch. That was Hoxie’s only loss and Wichita County’s closest game this season. Wichita County won 54-20, its only win closer than the 45-point margin. Wichita County led 14-6 after the first quarter before a 32-8 second quarter. Then, Wichita County ran through a district that combined for one non-district loss.
Even in Week 2, Hoxie was looking for the rematch against Wichita County. Wichita County has never made a state finals and went to the state semifinals last fall. Coach Brant Douglas is 27-5 in his third season. Hoxie is 81-37 with a state title and a five-win improvement from ’19 with coach Lance Baar.
Senior Kayde Rietzke is considered among eight-man’s best quarterbacks. He has completed 69 percent of passes for 1,506 yards with 30 scores against five interceptions. He has rushed for 1,222 yards and 21 TDs. Senior Jesse Gardner has delivered 101 carries for 858 yards and 13 scores. Senior Sheldon Whalen has 40 catches for 678 yards and 18 TDs.
Senior Manny Chavez has been an excellent two-way player on a depth-laden squad that platoons. He has 33 catches for 472 yards and seven TDs and leads with 16 tackles for loss. Senior Waylon West has enjoyed a nice improvement and easily paces with 68 tackles.
Hoxie has enjoyed a huge turnaround in its passing game with junior Ashton Dowell. A second-year starter, Dowell was 11 of 33 for 175 yards with two scores against one interception in the loss. Hoxie averaged 4.6 yards per rush for 115 yards. Overall, Dowell has completed 86 of 163 passes for 1,505 yards with 21 scores against four interceptions. Junior Cade Gourley and Dowell lead with 704 and 632 rushing yards and combined for 20 rushing TDs.
Wichita County has 9.1 yards per play and Hoxie has 6.7 yards per play.
Hoxie has enjoyed strong line play with senior Harlan Obioha and junior Kaden Sekavec. Obioha, the team’s vocal presence, is 6-foot-10, 300 pounds and leads with 21 TFLs.
Hoxie has immensely improved behind Dowell and been very impressive in the playoffs, though Wichita County has statistically one of the best resumes in recent eight-man history.
Class 8-Man, Division II
8M-II EAST
D3-#1 Hanover (9-0) at D3-#2 Frankfort (7-1) – Hanover
Hanover will travel to Frankfort in what will be the fifth meeting between these two Twin Valley League rivals in the past three seasons.
It could have been the sixth, but their scheduled regular-season game on October 9th was cancelled as Frankfort entered a two-week quarantine period. The Wildcats then had an open date in Week 8 and thus didn’t play for the three weeks leading up to the playoffs. Since Frankfort has returned to the field, the Wildcats have showed now signs of rust having posted playoff win over Lakeside-Downs (60-14), Beloit St. John’s-Tipton (54-43), and Lebo (46-40).
In last week’s quarterfinal, Frankfort outscored Lebo in a tightly-contested game that featured nine lead changes. The Wildcats scored on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Cornelison to Aiden Gerstner with 5:36 remaining to break a 40-40 tie. Gerstner had a big night in hauling in 125 receiving yards and two scores. Cornelison passed for two scores and rushed for two more, while Ethan Armstrong led the Frankfort ground game with 158 yards and two touchdowns.
For the season, Cornelison has completed 55 percent of his passes for 783 yards and 15 touchdowns and added 764 rushing yards and 12 more scores. He has plenty of big-game experience in last year’s run to the second round of the playoffs which included a win over eventual state runner-up Axtell and a pair of close losses to Hanover.
Armstrong leads the Frankfort ground game with 868 yards and 16 scores, while Gerstner has contributed nearly 350 rushing yards to go along with his team-high 400 receiving yards.
On the other sideline will be another set of Wildcats. Hanover has been one of the dominant eight-man programs in the past decade posting a 112-16 record with three state titles and two runner-up finishes since 2010.
The Wildcats feature a suffocating defense that has allowed only 56 points all season. Jacob Klipp, a returning Kpreps All-State linebacker, again leads the team with 98 tackles including nine for loss. Philip Doebele has added 15 tackles for loss and Keagan Dimler 12 as the Wildcats have lived in the opponent’s backfield.
But as dominant as the Hanover defense has been this season, those same players are just as talented as an offensive unit in averaging more than 54 points per game.
Senior quarterback Jacob Jueneman has had an exceptional year in completing 74 percent of his passes for 984 yards and 17 touchdowns with only a pair of interceptions. Jacob has also rushed for 533 yards and 14 touchdowns – an average of nearly 10 yards per attempt.
When Jacob Jueneman looks to pass, he’s typically found returning all-stater Colin Jueneman, Dimler, or Emmitt Jueneman. Colin Jueneman has 23 catches for 364 yards and five touchdowns, while Dimler has 277 receiving yards and four scores. Emmitt Jueneman has 288 receivng yards and a team-high seven touchdown catches.
Colin Jueneman is second to Jacob in rushing with 524 yards and 12 scores while averaging a whopping 13.8 yards per carry. Tyler Bosner has also scored 12 times on the ground and has totaled 376 yards.
Given the explosiveness of Hanover’s offense, Frankfort will have to play a clean game and convert every opportunity it gets into points. Hanover has been exceptional at forcing turnovers and giving its offense a short field to work with. That was evident in last week’s 42-point first quarter in a blowout win over previously-unbeaten Colony-Crest.
Frankfort is looking for some revenge having lost twice to Hanover in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Frankfort finished 8-2 with both losses coming to the Wildcats. Hanover topped Frankfort 36-32 in the second round of the playoffs.
In fact, this will be the 15th meeting between the two since Frankfort joined the 8-Man ranks in 2008. Hanover holds a 13-1 advantage during that time – including two playoffs wins coming in each of the past two seasons. Hanover has defeated Frankfort twice in each of the past two years. Frankfort’s last win over Hanover came in 2011 – a 44-30 victory during a rare 4-4 year for Hanover. Hanover leads the all-time series 20-15.
8M-II WEST
D8-#1 Saint Francis (10-0) at D5-#1 Victoria (11-0) – Saint Francis
Both of these teams enter with multiple streaks. Each squad transitioned down from Division I this year. The only matchup in the team’s eight-man era came in Week 10 in 2018 when St. Francis defeated Victoria, 30-12, at home.
Both teams have outstanding coaches. St. Francis’ Nick Fawcett is 33-2, while Victoria’s Doug Oberle stands at 132-33.
Top-ranked St. Francis has won 22 straight contests outside of last year’s Division I state title game loss against Canton-Galva. Third-ranked Victoria has won 35 consecutive games as a Division II team dating back to the ’14 season opener. Victoria went 12-1 in ’14 and 12-0 in ’15 before it played Division I four straight falls. Victoria has also not lost a home playoff game since a Week 11 loss to Otis-Bison in ’11.
The key difference is likely size. Victoria is long known for its tough, physical play and defeating bigger opponents. The Knights have just two players above 180 pounds: 205-pound sophomore Tanis Brungardt and 200-pound senior Malachi Wilhelm, both starting offensive linemen. Brungardt has vastly improved and helped Victoria clear 320 rushing yards last week in a 44-26 road win versus Wheatland-Grinnell. St. Francis beat Wheatland-Grinnell, 62-16, in district play.
Victoria has its excellent backfield combination of junior Grant Schoenrock and senior running back Jayvon Pruitt. They have each cleared 900 rushing yards. Schoenrock, who has won a playoff game in each of his three years, has passed for 695 yards and accounted for more than 30 offensive scores. Sophomore Carson Werth has emerged as a multi-purpose threat. Senior center Trenton Engel has gamely looked to play through an ankle injury.
Saint Francis has its size and its well-known seniors with Shadyron Blanka, Jesse Baxter, Colton Neitzel and Adam Krien. All four players weigh at least 195 pounds. Sophomore Ben Busse has emerged as the starting quarterback and started at corner as the team’s most improved player. Josiah Sims has also come back and played well after he missed the first four contests. The Indians defeated Caldwell, 48-0, last Saturday. Overall, Blanka, arguably eight-man’s best overall player, has cleared 1,540 rushing yards.
St. Francis is distinctly bigger and should have the advantage, but Victoria should give the Indians their closest game all season.
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
