This week on the gridiron it was a mixture of playoff games and regular season finales for teams in the RPAC. before we get into it, check this week's scoreboard brought to you by MNB Realty.
In Class D1, Alma came into the playoffs as the #9 seed on the west side and had to go to Bridgeport, the #8 seed. Alma was unable to keep up with the Bulldogs falling, 70-20. The Cardinals close out the 2023 season with a record of 5-4. They had a number of electric plays all season on both sides of the ball.
Arapahoe was the #4 seed on the west and they hosted #13 seed Hemmingford in Class D1. Arapahoe won 52-22 and it was the RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup so you can read the story here. They move on and are the #8 seed in the re-seeding. They will play Ravenna on Friday at home with kickoff at 7:00 P.M.
Also in Class D1, Cambridge hit the road as the #10 seed on the west for a battle against #7 seeded Perkins County. Cambridge could not keep up with the Plainsmen and lost 56-6. Micah Gerlach was 15-23 with 113 yards passing in the game. Carson Trompke made his return and played a little quarterback and had 45 yards and a touchdown. Krayton Ruggles had seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown for Cambridge. The Trojans close out the season at 4-5.
Maxwell was the #15 seed in Class D1 and battled against #2-seeded Sandy Creek on the west side of the bracket. Maxwell fell in the game, 62-22. The Wildcats found themselves down early, 21-0 on the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Cougars built their lead even more and went up 43-8. In the second half, the Wildcats played a closer game against Sand Creek, they were outscored 19-14 in the final two periods. Jesse Reyes had 92 yards passing and two total touchdowns. Levi Huffman had 74 yards rushing. Jacob Copper had two catches for 15 yards, and one was for a score. Tyce Cumming added 85 yards receiving too. Maxwell finishes the season at 4-5.
The #1 seed on the west in Class D2 Dundy County Stratton played host to #16 seeded Elm Creek. The Tigers took care of business in a big way, winning 38-6. Lane Brown was 8-12 with 149 yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Latta did it all again, he had 163 yards rushing, two touchdowns, and 61 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Brodie Rogers had nine tackles on defense. The Tigers move on in the playoffs and are the #3 seed and will play #14 seeded Twin Loup at home on Friday at 5:00 P.M. Mountain Time.
Twin Loup was the #6 seed on Thursday on the west side of Class D2 and hosted #11-seeded Hitchcock County. The Falcons lost, 40-28. After two quarters of play, Hitchcock County was down just 34-22. But in the second half, the defenses shined as only 12-point total were scored. Hitchcock County's young team had a nice season finishing 4-5.
Now for D6, they finished the regular season this past week. Southwest and Paxton battled and the Roughriders won, 50-35. Southwest had a strong first half as they scored 24 points and led 24-0 at the intermission. In the second half, Paxton outscored Southwest 35-26 but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback. Southwest was led by Mitchell Stritt and his 179 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Nathan Rippe had 146 yards rushing and a score. Hunter Blume had 55 yards receiving and two scores. Paxton was led by Gunnar Foster and his 120 yards rushing and two touchdowns along with 46 yards receiving and a touchdown. Tanner Hebblethwaite had 112 yards passing and a score. Southwest is 7-2 and will be the #8 seed in Class D6 and will play #9 seeded Stuart at 5:00 P.M. on Friday. Paxton snuck into the playoffs and will play #1-seeded SEM on Friday in Sumner at 6:00 P.M.
Wallace had to face top-5 rated Arthur County this past week. Wallace needed a win to improve their playoff chances, but they lost 60-8. The Wildcats end the season at 3-5.
How about those Broncos? They played Brady in their final game of the season and won 63-52. Kreyton Wiese had a monster game with 301 total yards and seven total touchdowns in the win. They close out their season on a high note, and their final record is 2-6.
Check out the playoff brackets for classes D1, D2, and D6 below.
