Friday Football: Southwest Valley hosts Exira, Stanton plays CAM
Here is a preview of all the games taking place in 8-man District 8 for Friday night.
Exira-EHK at Southwest Valley
The game of the night is a non-district battle between a couple of top teams in District 7 and 8.
Southwest Valley is playing for the first time in two weeks. Their last game was a win over Lenox 47-16 on Sept. 27. The Timberwolves have won five of their first six games to start the season. With three games remaining, Southwest Valley is in the hunt to clinch a top two playoff spot.
As Fremont-Mills is on the schedule for next week, Southwest Valley does have a shot to win the district title, thanks to the Knights defeating Sidney last week.
Exira-EHK enters this week as one of six undefeated 8-man teams. All six of their wins have been by double-digit points, scoring at least 36 in each of those games.
Last week, they blew out Coon Rapids-Bayard 49-12. In the last three games, Exira-EHK has outscored their opponents 162-37.
Both teams can lay claim to the fact they both boast one of the top rushing attacks in 8-man. In fact, Southwest Valley (2,089 yards) and Exira-EHK (2.008 yards) have the fourth and fifth most team rushing yards in 8-man. Only Adair-Casey, Don Bosco and Springville have rushed for more yards as a team.
Exira-EHK's go-to back is Drew Peppers. Not only does Peppers lead District 7 in rushing yards with 1,144, but he also has 23 touchdowns, third most in 8-man.
Zach Barton has been the key back for Southwest Valley this season. He's fourth in District 8 in rushing yards with 719 and has nine rushing touchdowns this season.
CAM at Stanton
The Vikings look for two in a row when they host CAM Friday night at Don Hicks Valley View Field.
Stanton picked up its first district win last week with a 68-40 win over Essex/South Page. The win snapped a four-game losing skid.
Stanton plays a CAM team that is fighting to maintain its playoff spot in the District 8 standings.
CAM scored a big win over Lenox, 80-58, which gives them a big head-to-head tiebreaker advantage for the last few games.
Including Friday night, Stanton has three district games remaining. Next week, they play Sidney and the week following is their home finale against Nishnabotna. The Vikings need to win out for any playoff consideration.
Stanton quarterback David Sorensen had a big game last week and is a definite player to watch for Friday night. Last week, Sorensen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the road win against Essex/South Page. Cade Confer and Kyle Peterson are also players to watch for Stanton.
CAM's player to watch is quarterback Trace Ticknor, who threw eight touchdown passes and 390 yards in the air in last week's win over Lenox. Ticknor also had 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Essex/South Page at Sidney
Essex/South Page remains in search of its first win for the season. They had a halftime lead last week against Stanton, but the Vikings rallied in the second half to get the win and spoil the Essex Homecoming.
Dating back to last season, Essex/South Page has lost seven in a row. Acquiring that first win this season will be a bit tough Friday as they take on a Sidney team that lost its lead in the district thanks to a loss to Fremont-Mills.
The loss to Fremont-Mills was the first for Sidney this season. They sit second in the standings thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker win over Southwest Valley.
Sidney won last year's meeting 65-24.
Fremont-Mills at Nishnabotna
Fremont-Mills is rolling. They've won five straight, including last week over Sidney. Spencer Phillips has rose through the ranks and now leads the district in rushing yards with 977.
Nishnabotna meanwhile is the other winless team in the district, having lost all six of their games. The most recent loss came last week at home versus West Harrison, 25-16.
The Blue Devils have three more opportunities to get a win, including Friday night. Next week they play Essex/South Page and the week after, they play Stanton for a second time this season.