8-man football semifinals: No. 2 Dove Creek, No. 4 Simla to play for state championship
By Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com
Photo: Alan Versaw
On Saturday afternoon, the 8-man football state semifinalist took the field to decide who would face off for this year’s state title.
When the dust settled, the championship game competitors for next week’s title game were set. No. 2 Dove Creek will face No. 4 Simla in the state championship game next Friday at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl.
(4) Simla 27, (1) Haxtun 20
The reigning 8-man football state champions were prepared for a challenge on Saturday in the semifinals of the state playoffs.
Facing a likewise unbeaten team in Simla, it was clear the No. 1 Haxtun Bulldogs were facing one of their toughest opponents to date despite playing a gauntlet of ranked opponents that included a Class 1A team. The fourth-seeded Simla Cubs delivered that challenge, and then some.
In arguably the upset of the state playoffs, the Cubs grabbed and early lead and held it until the end of a 27-20 and a win over a dominant Haxtun team that appeared destined to head back to the state championship game.
“I’m super proud of the kids and the coaches,” Simla head coach David guy said on the Coloradopreps.com Scoreboard Show. “The coaches put together a good plan. The kids just flat executed it better than I could have ever dreams. Credit to Haxtun. Class kids. Class coaches. I mean, they are something else. Sometimes it’s a one-in-a-hundred shot and you gotta take your shot. I guess today it was that one time.”
The loss snapped a 26-game win streak for Haxtun and sent Simla back to the 8-man title game for the first time since 1995. The Cubs last won the title in 1985 when the Simla football team when won five championships in six years from 1980-85.
Between Haxtun and Simla, the two teams outscored their first-round and quarterfinals opponents by a combined 167 points.
The Haxtun football team is still sixth all-time with eight state championships, including the title they claim with a 40-0 victory over Mancos in last year’s championship game. It was Haxtun’s first state title since 2004.
(2) Dove Creek 44, (3) Mancos 14
League rivals Dove Creek and Mancos just can’t avoid one another.
In the 8-man state playoffs, the two teams reprised their conference rivalry with a clash in the semifinals. It was a rematch of a regular-season matchup that went 34-26 in Dove Creek’s favor back on Oct. 7. A lot had changed in the weeks since that first game and there was no guarantee the outcome would be the same. And with a spot in the state title game on the line, the stakes were far higher.
Still, the Dove Creek players held strong and walked away with a 44-14 victory following a big first half after which they led 28-0. The victory sent Dove Creek to next week’s state championship game, where the Bulldogs will play for a state title for the first time in school history.
“It was a big, big day for Dove Creek football and Dove Creek athletics,” Bulldogs head coach Shane Baughman said on the Coloradopreps.com Scoreboard Show. “It brings a lot of excitement, for sure… It’s great for the community. First time getting in. There’s such a big tradition, a football tradition here. We’ve kind of not been able to punch that final ticket into the championship game and we’re able to do that know and, yeah, the community’s just ecstatic right now.”
The Bulldogs will face No. 4 Simla in the state championship game after the Cubs upset No. 2 Haxtun on Saturday.
