Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Christian Seeking to Move Up in Eight Man Rankings

Stanberry remains in the driver’s seat in the Missouri 8-Man Coaches Association website’s poll, but Southwest Livingston and St. Joseph Christian showed that they belong in the conversation.

#1 Stanberry 62, #7 St. Joseph Christian 42 – Stanberry could not gain separation from the Lions for a long time, leading by only 30-28 at one point. Finally, they used a big run late in the third to pull away and get out of St. Joseph and do the W! W! W! chant. But the Lions, allegedly in rebuilding mode, played two tough games against the top two teams in eight man football.

#2 North Andrew 72, KC East 6 – Once again, the Cardinals faced little competition in a game that was moved to Thursday due to the chaotic weather.

#3 South Holt/Nodaway-Holt 66, Platte Valley 12 – Platte Valley showed flashes of potential despite the loss. Alan Ottman scored to put South Holt/Nodaway-Holt on the board, but Dan Collins’ squad struck back with a 55 yard strike from Patrick O’Connor to Regan Meyer to make it 8-6. Later, Tristan Freemyer ran back a kick off to make it 24-12. But what looked like a track meet turned into a rout as Josh Peterson’s squad took control in this halftime game despite the loss of Zach Walker. Brody Day ran 6 times for 169 yards.

#4 Rock Port 56, North/West Nodaway 0 – This was another halftime game. North/West Nodaway showed the ability to move the ball through the air, but could do little else right against Rock Port. As things stand now, a trip for Worth County back to the state title game will go through Rock Port, which is a district foe. Likely seedings are 1 – Stanberry; 2 – Rock Port; 3 – Worth County; 4 – Albany; 5 – East Atchison; 6 – North/West Nodaway. For Worth County to move up, they will have to knock off Stanberry, Christian, and North Andrew, all of whom are still coming up. They also have to take care of business against King City Friday night.

Rock Port continues to put up impressive numbers through the air. Jase Hughes completed 8 passes in 12 attempts for 256 yards. Tyler Jones had 3 catches for 107 yards. But teams can’t ignore the run; Caden Linthicum had 3 carried for 99 yards. For North/West Nodaway, Korbin Koch completed 9 passes in 18 attempts for 76 yards; Dakota Smyser had 5 catches for 54 yards. Tyler Bix had 4 carries for 24 yards.

#5 Worth County 56, Albany 14 – Maverick Hall of Albany was as good as advertised on the ground, running hard on kick returns and on the ground regardless of the score or situation. But he met his match in Wade Rush, who was credited with 21 tackles and was probably in on many more. Isaac Alarcon rushed 10 times for 155 yards and Cade Allee had his way through the air, throwing long strikes to Caleb Parman and Ryan McClellan. Isaac Alarcon continues to be the leading rusher in the state in eight man football, with 619 yards for the year. He is followed by Zac Smith (Norborne/Hardin Central) with 578 yards. Maverick Hall (Albany) is third with 493 yards.

#6 Southwest Livingston 54, #9 Mound City 40 – Southwest Livingston showed that they continue to belong in the conversation despite losing the Crowe brothers from their last several title runs. Mound City got off to a 3-0 start, but crashed and burned and had a long bus ride home after the long road trip.

#8 Greenfield 54, Pleasanton (KS) 6 – Greenfield continues to roll, but has not been tested against the top powers, being that they are in the south part of the state. Jerret Esposito ranks 8th for runningbacks. None of their future regular season games are against higher-ranked foes. But winning has a way of becoming a habit.

#10 King City 66, Pattonsburg 16 – King City took advantage of three picks to take out the hapless Panthers in the fourth quarter. Collin Breckinridge completed 12 passes in 17 attempts for 196 yards. B.J. Eiberger had 8 catches for 100 yards, while Drevin Breckinridge had 14 carries for 81 yards.

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