Small-school football: Holy Family and Lyons still alive in playoffs
Nov. 15—Two weeks into the postseason, Lyons football has continued its dominance with little resistance from the teams it's faced. Nobody in 8-man seems to have an answer for the Lions' explosive offense.
Holy Family, up in Class 3A, started its playoff run a week later than the other six classifications due to the odd, staggered postseason schedule that separates 3A from everyone else. The Tigers made the best of it by pummeling Denver North in its playoff debut.
Both are still alive in the waning weeks of fall sports. Both will be presented with strong challenges this week.
No. 2 Holy Family vs. No. 10 Lewis-Palmer
Game details: Friday, 6 p.m., at Holy Family High School
The scouting report: The Tigers enter the second round of their playoff run with a strong resume behind them, having only lost one contest all season to Roosevelt in Week Four. They've shown little mercy toward most of their other opponents.
Holy Family has averaged 33.4 points per game while its defense has only allowed an average of 15. The Tigers boast a dual-threat offense that keeps their foes guessing, led by senior quarterback Rylan Cooney's 2,251 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. He's added to his own numbers with 644 rushing yards and 20 more touchdowns on the ground as the team, in its entirety, has run for 1,862 yards.
Senior running back Dominic Gabriel owns that category with 1,098 yards.
The Rangers, likewise, have put up strong numbers through their 2023 campaign with a 9-2 record, but haven't always faced the strongest of teams. Their offense is a bit more singularly-focused with only 484 passing yards and 2,690 rushing yards to lean on.
The Tiger defense will certainly have to find a way to stop the run if it hopes to live to see another week. Three Rangers in particular will serve as the main targets. Jayden Pagano leads all of Lewis-Palmer's offense with 984 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, followed closely by Luke DeBoer's 700 yards and 12 TDs. Kenton Kenley rounds out the trusty trio with 541 yards and 10 scores of his own.
A win on Friday night will send Holy Family into the semifinals against No. 3 Thompson Valley or No. 11 Northfield.
No. 4 Lyons vs. No. 1 Mancos
Game details: Saturday, 1 p.m., at Mancos High School
The scouting report: After a season of breezing past opponents, Lyons football will face its first true test of the fall. Naturally, it's the team that handed the Lions their exit in the second round of last year's playoffs.
Mancos has teetered at or near the top of Colorado's second-smallest classification all season long, having blasted nearly every opponent it has faced. Haxtun, however, proved there are weak spots in the Bluejays' armor when it beat them in Week Four.
Lyons, which has consistently put up large scores of its own, has yet to lose a game. The Lions have been able to attribute much of that success to two main actors: senior quarterback Miles Dumbauld and junior running back Malik Sigg-Brown.
Dumbauld has put together a senior season to make any player jealous, as he's accrued 1,483 passing yards, 983 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns spread between the two facets of the offense. Sigg-Brown has taken the reins of the ground offensive with 1,289 yards and 21 scores.
The Bluejay offense, likewise, has proven it can be versatile, but relies far more on the run. To date, Mancos has built up 3,030 rushing yards and 54 touchdowns. No player has proven more slippery than quarterback Kail Wayman, who owns 27 rushing TDs and 1,348 yards, along with 1,043 passing yards and another 15 scores through the air.
Shutting him down just may be the key to victory.
