2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

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VimSince03
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2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by VimSince03 » Tue Nov 01, 2016 5:23 pm

Playoff Bracket: http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/docu ... cket-B.pdf

Top-side of Bracket

Colstrip at Missoula Loyola - 1:00 PM, Saturday, 11/5

Colstrip Key Players: RB/DB Ben Galloway, QB Joel McRae, TE/DE Merlin Whitedirt, OL/DT O'Shon Old Mouse, WR/DB Clayton Currier, RB/LB Chad Naillon

Missoula Loyola Key Players: QB/S Kellen Round, OT/DT Joseph McElroy, WR/DB David Koppang, ATH Jacob Byrne, WR/DB Caden Sant, RB/LB Brady Needles

Colstrip comes into this game off a 46-40 win over Glasgow on the road. The Colts knew they were in a dogfight right away as the Scotties were up 14-12 at halftime. Colstrip exploded for 28 third quarter points (capped off by a 62-yard fumble return) to go up 40-27 entering the 4th quarter. After a Wersal 8-yard TD run to make it 46-40, Glasgow recovered the ensuing onside kick but unfortunately threw an interception the next play to end the comeback attempt. RB's Ben Galloway and Chad Naillon had huge games for the Colts as Galloway ran for 190 yards with a score and Naillon ran over 100 yards with four touchdowns. Scottie QB Darrin Wersal threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns while WR Luke Breigenzer snagged 10 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. All-State RB/LB Benji Phillips was held in check on offense, only gaining 48 yards rushing and one touchdown. Per the Great Falls Tribune and Glasgow AD Brenner Flaten, this was the second-highest scoring football game in Glasgow's 94-year history. Missoula Loyola drew a tough Baker team in the first round but the Rams exploited every Spartan weakness en route to a 49-6 blowout win. Ram QB Kellen Round was excellent in this game, going 17-23 for 189 yards and four total touchdowns (three passing/one rushing). The Rams did have one mistake in the first quarter letting WR Cleet Wrzesinksi catch an 84 yards score from QB Luke Gonsioroski which made it 14-6 after one quarter. But from there on out it was all Loyola as Round hit WR Caden Sant for two second quarter touchdowns to go up 28-6 at halftime. Baker couldn't get anything going in the second half. I noted prior to this game that Loyola was a very deep team and Baker was not. This weakness of Baker's really showed in this game. The Rams will be a tough team to slow down on offense and they have yet to let a team score more than 6 points on them this season. As for the Colts/Rams matchup, it will be more of the same story. Can Colstrip slow down Loyola's high-powered, balanced offense? Colstrip is bigger up front than Baker but no team has stopped Loyola this season. Colstrip is about the same team as Baker so I expect a similar result. Prediction: Missoula Loyola wins 38-6.

Fairfield at Manhattan - 1:00 PM, Saturday, 11/5

Fairfield Key Players: TE/DE Chandler Allen, WR/LB Cantor Coverdell, QB/DB Luke Batson, WR/FS Ryder Meyer, WR/DB Dawson Allen, RB/LB Griffen Lee

Manhattan Key Players: WR/FS Cole McCloud, QB/LB Kobe Grossman, RB/DB Tracer Stone, OL/DL Kellan Stevenson, WR/DB Michael Nehring, WR/DB Cal Holgate

As expected, Manhattan had to grind out a 34-16 win over Roundup. Manhattan QB Kobe Grossman was great all game finishing 19-23 for 333 yards and four total touchdowns (3 passing/1 rushing), hitting Cole McCloud for the games first touchdown. But after going scoreless in the 2nd quarter and trading touchdowns in the third, Manhattan only held a 13-8 lead entering the 4th. After going up 20-8 on a Michael Nehring run, Roundup responded again with a Brody Grebe pass to MaKale Kembal to close the score to 20-16. But QB Kobe Grossman and WR Cal Holgate hooked up for two 4th quarter touchdowns to break away from the Panthers. Holgate also had a pair of interceptions in this game as the transfer from Belgrade came up big. Fairfield took care of business against Bigfork as QB Luke Batson had a huge day. The signal-caller accounted for six total touchdowns on offense for the Eagles (4 passing/2 rushing) en route to a 56-12 win. Batson hooked up with senior WR Cantor Coverdell for the games first touchdown. After back-to-back touchdown runs by Batson, he hit Chandler Allen and Dawson Petermen for three more scores before halftime as all of Batson's touchdowns came before intermission. Fairfield was up 42-6 at the half. Bigfork's big four of QB Augie Emslie, RB Matt Farrier, WR Anders Epperly, and RB Logan Taylor accounted for nearly all the production on offense for the Vikings as they were outgained 238-458 by the Eagles. Farrier ran in a touchdown and had 46 yards rushing as the senior finished off a great career for Bigfork. Emslie passed for 184 yards with Epperly and Taylor accounting for 167 of those yards. Fairfield has now won 21 straight football games but will go on the road to Manhattan in this one. I do think Manhattan has some great athletes who can compete with Fairfield but Eagle QB Luke Batson is playing really good football right now. As he has gotten more comfortable at QB, Fairfield's offense has gotten better throughout the year. Also, Manhattan's struggling defense is a red flag going into this matchup. I see Fairfield moving on to set up a semifinal showdown with Missoula Loyola. Prediction: Fairfield wins 42-13.

Bottom-side of Bracket

Shelby at Eureka - 1:00 PM, Saturday, 11/5

Shelby Key Players: QB Aaron White, WR Andrew Johnson, RB/OLB Colt Pederson, TE/DE TJ Reynolds, OL/DL Marcus Irvin, RB/LB Zach Torgerson

Eureka Key Players: QB/FS Garrett Graves, WR/SS Austyn Sherwood, OL/DL Owen Davis, OL/DE Joe Fehr, RB/LB Cannan Smith, TE/DE James Dunn

The bottom side of the bracket produced two great games that came down to the wire. One of them was the Shebly/Huntley Project matchup where Coyote QB Aaron White ran in the winning score on the final play of the game to knock off the Red Devils, 40-37. White was fantastic throughout, throwing for five touchdowns and running in the game-winner. WR Andrew Johnson hauled in two of the scores while the other three went to Logan Watson, David Kelleher, and Zach Torgerson. The Shelby win overshadowed one of the season's best performances by a running back as HP's Lane Sumner totaled 318 yards from scrimmage (214 rushing/104 passing) and four touchdowns (three rushing/one receiving). The junior tailback almost singe-handily won the game for the Red Devils as large part of his production came in the second half. The Coyotes were up 22-14 at halftime but Huntley came back to take a 37-34 lead before Shelby won the game on the ensuing possession. Everyone knew Shelby would be a tough out as a Wildcard but I did not expect them to beat Huntley and get that much production through the air. White is one of the best QB's in Class B but I thought HP's defense would play better at home. Regardless, Shelby moves on to face Eureka, who handled the visiting Malta Mustangs 54-13 last Saturday. The Lions held a 41-0 lead at halftime as a handful of players scored touchdowns. RB Cannan Smith got the scoring started with back-to-back touchdown runs. QB Garrett Graves scored the next two touchdowns with a 28-yard scamper and 27-yard pass to Hank Dunn. Smith also added a 60-yard punt return to close out the first half. Senior RB Matt Anderso also had two rushing touchdowns for Eureka. Malta scored both of their touchdowns in the 4th quarter (a 6-yard Konner Kuehn reception and an 8-yard run by Trace Simonson). The Lions put up 402 yards in total offense while Malta only had 108. As for the matchup between Eureka and Shelby, this will be a rematch as the Coyotes beat the Lions 28-18 during the regular season. This game will be at Eureka and Lion head coach Trevor Utter is confident stating, "We’re not unhappy to play Shelby again." Regardless, the key to the game for Eureka will still be stopping the Coyotes passing attack which only a few have succeeded at (Fairfield & Cut Bank). The key to the game for Shelby will be forcing Eureka into passing situations as they have a strong offensive line and run game. Prediction: Eureka wins 33-30.

Whitehall at Ronan - 1:00 PM, Saturday, 11/5

Ronan Key Players: QB/LB Kasey Mack, WR/DB Ezekiel Misa, TE/OLB Aaron Misa, OL/DT Gray Cook, WR/FS Brendon Blood, RB/DB Collin McGuyer

Whitehall Key Players: QB/FS Braden Larsen, TE/LB Andrew Simon, WR/DB Wyatt Alexander, OL/DT Dawson Hoerauf, RB/LB Braden Smith, OL/DE Colton Noyes

Ronan got past a feisty Columbus Cougar team winning 43-29 thanks in large part to two fourth quarter touchdowns by QB Kasey Mack (who also threw a touchdown for the first score of the game). WR/DB Ezekiel Misa caught the first touchdown of the game from Mack and also returned a 55-yard interception for a score. Cougar QB Eddie Foos threw two touchdowns in the first half while RB Dylan Raihl and FB Chuck Miller ran for a score and caught a touchdown. The game was back and forth with Ronan holding a 22-14 lead at halftime. Columbus came back and took a 29-28 lead early in the fourth quarter on a field goal before Mack scored his two touchdowns. The Whitehall/Cut Bank matchup was predicted to be a knockdown, drag out battle and it didn't disappoint. After a scoreless first quarter, Cut Bank took a 7-0 halftime lead after a Tyrell Sylvester 23-yard touchdown run. That score would remain until 4:00 minutes left in the third as Whitehall QB Braden Larsen drove the Trojans down the field and scored on a 2-yard run. The Wolves responded with Sylvester returning the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown. However, Whitehall punched back with a Braden Smith 3-yard run to tie the game at 14-14. The fourth quarter was a stalemate even though Whitehall appeared to win the game on a Larsen to Alexander touchdown pass. The refs huddled and threw a flag on the play which sparked some confusion from Trojan coach Dan Lacey. The Trojan's 4th down attempt fell short and the game went into overtime. The Wolves took the ball first and was stuffed by the Trojan defense. Whitehall elected to kick a 27-yard field goal with kicker Andrew Simon looking for redemption from a missed extra point earlier in the game. He booted it through and Whitehall moved on. Cut Bank was heartbroken after the game as the Wolves turned the ball over five times and were outgained 173-154 in the defensive battle. Senior FB Peter Hamilton rushed for 88 yards to lead the Wolves. As for the Ronan/Whitehall quarterfinal matchup, Ronan definitely isn't a pushover in this one. Actually to compare similar opponents, the Chiefs beat Anaconda 42-6 during the regular season while Whitehall only beat them 28-27. However, Whitehall beat Columbus 47-0 while Ronan struggled with the Cougars last week. Ronan also lost to Jefferson while Whitehall beat them 33-18. If Braden Larsen gets in rhythm, this one could be a blowout. But I think Ronan can keep up if this one goes into a shootout. Its an interesting matchup. Prediction: Whitehall wins 34-22.
Last edited by VimSince03 on Wed Nov 02, 2016 11:28 am, edited 2 times in total.


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Bemiller49
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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by Bemiller49 » Wed Nov 02, 2016 9:50 am

That is going to be one epic battle on the top side of the bracket.



topey711
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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by topey711 » Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:54 am

I know it's disrespectful to the other teams, but it looks to me like the true state title game will be the semi-final game between Loyola and Fairfield. I just can't see anyone beating either one. Maybe someone can prove me wrong. Good luck to all teams.



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VimSince03
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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by VimSince03 » Wed Nov 02, 2016 11:39 am

topey711 wrote:I know it's disrespectful to the other teams, but it looks to me like the true state title game will be the semi-final game between Loyola and Fairfield. I just can't see anyone beating either one. Maybe someone can prove me wrong. Good luck to all teams.
Can't really understate what Loyola did to Baker last weekend. But again, hard to know because Whitehall beat Townsend by about the same margin of victory as Loyola. Eureka has a good rushing attack and good quarterback. Whitehall has a great QB in Braden Larsen who can sling it with the best of them. Anything can happen!

I still think Loyola is deep at too many positions for teams to compete. They wear teams down.


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Bemiller49
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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by Bemiller49 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:48 pm

It is nice to see some usuals and a couple newbees in the semis. Eureka seems like they are rolling pretty good.



topey711
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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by topey711 » Sat Nov 19, 2016 6:18 pm

Congratulations Eureka! You guys proved me wrong. And I couldn't be happier for you. It was a great game to watch. First state football title!



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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by ChiOCat » Sun Nov 20, 2016 5:06 am

topey711 wrote:Congratulations Eureka! You guys proved me wrong. And I couldn't be happier for you. It was a great game to watch. First state football title!
Finally!!!


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Re: 2016 Class B Playoffs (Quarterfinals)

Post by lutecat » Sun Nov 20, 2016 9:36 am



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