6-man football semifinals: No. 1 Cheyenne Wells, No. 2 Stratton set for title clash
When the dust settled on a semifinal Saturday, only two 6-man teams remained alive and ready to play for a championship next week.
Those teams that remained were the top two seeds – No. 1 Cheyenne Wells and No. 2 Stratton. The former won 64-24 over No. 4 Idalia in the semifinals. The latter won 78-26 over No. 3 Granada.
(1) Cheyenne Wells 64, (4) Idalia 24
Top-seeded Cheyenne Wells has been blowing out the competition all season and that trend didn’t stop, or even slow, on Saturday.
Against No. 4 Idalia, The Tigers posted yet another 40-point victory with a 64-24 win over the Wolves. The game may not have been a dire threat or a tough postseason test for the Tigers, but it was satisfying nonetheless. It also accomplished the team’s goal of getting them back into the title time.
“It was a really hard-fought, physical football game. We were able to keep their run game in check for most of the day,” Cheyenne Wells head coach Myles Smith to the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “They had a couple pass plays but we were able to keep them in check most of the game. It took some time to get going (offensively) but the guys stuck to the game plan and we were able to pound the football and kind of wear them down.”
The Tigers are back in the championship game after being eliminated in the semifinals last season. They will be playing for their first state championship.
(2) Stratton 78, (3) Granada 26
The Stratton football team sure picked a good time to have its best offensive explosion of the season.
In the 6-man semifinals on Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Eagles ended up closer to a 100- than 50-point scoring total in a 78-26 win over No. 3 Granada. As impressive as that scoring total was, on the flipside of that coin was a defensive effort by which the Eagles held a high-scoring Granada team to just 26 points.
“That first drive to start the game, they kind of ran it straight at us and it seemed like our kids needed to figure out they needed to buckle down,” Stratton head coach Jesse McConnell said. “Their offense is so hard to prepare for because they’ve got the Colemans that can really throw it, spread you out a little bit, and they can pound it right at you. So, our defense really stepped up today and played really well.”
As a consolidation program with Liberty, the Eagles have played in the last four championship games and have relied on that experience all season. They’ll do so again when they take on Cheyenne Wells in the title game.
Stratton played unbeaten Cheyenne Wells earlier this season on Aug. 27, losing 52-37 in what still stands as the closest any team has come to beating the Tigers in 2021.
