With each passing weekend in November, the games become that much tougher as the state tournament fields whittle in half.
For Mancos and Dove Creek, the state 8-man powers passed their first test on their march toward the state title with wins on their home field in the opening round of the postseason.
No. 1 Mancos (9-1) thrashed No. 16 Fowler (5-5) 52-0 to begin their path on the right foot, while No. 5 Dove Creek (8-2) outscored No. 12 Vail Christian (6-4) in a shootout, 54-34.
Plenty of Bluejays got into the act, including five different players accounting for the seven touchdowns for head coach Josh Gardner’s squad, as Mancos pushed the contest to running clock by halftime with a deluge of first half scores.
Senior Kail Wayman scored the game’s first two TDs on long runs in the opening quarter, before classmate Chris Medina added a third as part of a 22-0 first quarter explosion. From there, the Bluejays continued to keep the Grizzlies offense at bay, setting up three more quick scoring drives in the second quarter.
Senior Levi Martin, junior Kaiden Wyatt, and sophomore Jonah Ritter all found pay dirt in the victory, as Mancos advanced to the quarterfinals to face No. 9 Sedgwick County (6-4), who toppled No. 8 West Grand 56-26 in their playoff opener.
The win marks the third time in a row that the Bluejays have won their playoff opener, and this weekend will see the Bluejays playing in the state quarterfinal for a fifth straight year.
Meanwhile, Dove Creek leaned on a balance of air and ground attacks in their shootout victory over the Saints in their round of 16 matchup.
Senior Colten Fury put together a showcase, rushing for over 200 yards and passing for three touchdowns as Dove Creek pulled away in the second half.
Fury found classmate Taber Dejane for a pair of first half scores, while the Dove Creek defense picked up a safety as well to help the Bulldogs construct a 36-20 halftime lead. Sophomore Nic Aragon made his way into the end zone twice as well in the first half ambush to join fellow sophomore Josh Kibel among the Bulldogs finding the end zone for head coach Jason Fury’s group.
The Saints closed within one possession late in the third quarter, but Fury and Dejane both rushed for scores in the fourth quarter, while the Bulldog defense shut out Vail Christian in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.
The ‘Dogs extended their streak of advancing in the postseason to four straight years, and now hit the road to face No. 4 Lyons (10-0), who defeated No. 13 Akron, 60-12, to set up the first ever matchup between the two programs. Kickoff is slated for Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.
