We are in late October, it's chilly, and it's playoff football time. In my humble opinion, there isn't much better than that. In Week 10 of the football season, there were a handful of teams whose season was still alive. It has been a really solid season for RPAC teams and a couple remain alive after this week.
The RPAC had two teams opening the playoffs in Class D6, one left in D1, and one in D2. Before we dive into the blog, let's take a look at the scores from Week 10.
Arapahoe
We begin in the Class D1 playoffs. #8 seeded Arapahoe hosted #9 seeded Ravenna for the second round of the playoffs. It was a knockout, drag-out, game in which the Warriors were able to prevail, 12-6, and move on to the quarterfinals, winning 12-6. It was slow going in the first quarter as the defenses shined and it was 0-0 going to the second quarter. In the second quarter, Trenton Roskop scored on a one-yard run and Arapahoe went up 6-0.
They clung to the narrow lead going to the intermission. In the third quarter, Ravenna tied things up with a score of their own and it was tied at 6-6 going to the final stanza.
In the final quarter, Arapahoe was able to score on a seven-yard run from full-back Rafe Hill and Arapahoe led 12-6. The Warriors were able to close it out with that score and move on.
Offensively, it wasn't the prettiest of games for Arapahoe but they got the job done, and the run game did lead the way. But for passing, Trenton Roskop was 5-8 with 50 yards. Grayson Koller had 37 yards receiving. On the ground, Will Cacy had 89 yards rushing, Rafe Hill had 53 yards, Grayson Koller added 46, Trenton Roskop with 31 yards, and Kade Fischer had 31.
All that matters for the Warriors is they won, and it was a gritty way to win.
They move to 9-1 this season and into the quarterfinals. They will play Stanton on the road on Friday, November 3rd. Stanton won over Summerland 60-30 on Friday and is now 9-0.
Dundy County Stratton
DCS was re-seeded as the #3 seed in Class D2 and they hosted #14 seeded Twin Loup. The Tigers took care of business once again as they beat Twin Loup handily, 48-14.
Ethan Latta was electric once again. 29 carries, 211 yards rushing, and six touchdowns. Lane Bybee was excellent on defense with 10 tackles for the Tigers.
Head Coach Mike Spargo and company just keep rolling and now they will have a team that historically is so good in the playoffs, Howells-Dodge. Howells-Dodge won over undefeated Ainsworth 32-12 in the previous round. DCS is now 10-0 looking to keep that record unblemished.
Southwest
In Class D6, Southwest was the #8 seed and hosted #9 seeded Stuart. Southwest. The Roughriders, could not keep up with Stuart as they lost 50-33.
Mitchell Stritt was effective on the ground with 102 yards and a pair of scores. Hunter Blume had a pair of catches for 76 yards and a score. Trenton Williams had seven catches for 70 yards and a score too.
Williams had 14 tackles and Nathan Rippe had 10.
It was an excellent season for Southwest where they experimented with some athletes at multiple positions and found a way to make it work. There is absolutely no reason to hand their head, and Head Coach Christian Arterburn coached that group hard and well.
The Roughriders close out 2023 with a record of 6-3.
Paxton
The Paxton Tigers faced a ton of challenges this season. From injuries to being down early in games, the list goes on. And many times they were able to tackle the challenge, and most importantly, did with without complaining.
A testament to the coaching staff and the kids. They snuck into the Class D6 playoffs as the #16 seed and ran into a buzzsaw, #1 seeded SEM. The Tigers fought hard, but lost, 52-0.
On offense, Paxton did find some success through the air as Tanner Hbblethwaite had 102 yards passing. Gunnar Foster was the leading rusher for Paxton as he carried it 13 times for 51 yards. Kobe Florum and Wyatt Walker were tackling machines. Florum had 12 tackles and Walker added 10. Paxton closes out the year at 4-5. #1 SEM will now play #9 Stuart on Friday.