The Otis High School football team is ready to make a run in the Class A-6 man playoffs.
The Bulldogs enter the postseason as the fifth seed in the 16-team playoff field. They will host 12th-seed Sierra Grande at 1 p.m. Saturday with a shot at advancing to the quarterfinals. They enter the postseason with a 7-2 record. They have not played since closing the regular season October 21 with a 75-38 non-league win over Walsh.
Sierra Grande went 7-3 in the regular season. Its last game was last Friday, a 62-26 loss to Granada, which is the third seed in the 6-man field.
“We have to be able to stop their run game,” Otis coach Garrett Pickett said. “This game will be won by the offensive and defensive lines. We have a veteran offensive line that blocks well, and they alsohave good hands that will allow us to pass the ball some.
“Defensively we have to make open field tackles and have multiple players on each tackle. Gang tackles are a must this week.”
The winner of Saturday’s game will get the winner of fourth-seed Cheyenne Wells or 13th-seed Cotopaxi next week in the quarterfinals. Top-seed Stratton is at the top of the bracket.
A third team from A-6 League 2 are the Arickaree Bison. They host 11th-seed Branson/Kim at 2 p.m Saturday. Genoa-Hugo also made the playoffs from League 2, sitting as the seventh seed hosting 10th-seed Cheraw in the first round, Saturday afternoon. Fleming is the second seed.
ARICKAREE
The first season as the Arickaree Bison has been a good one for the boys from southwestern Washington County.
Arickaree went 7-2 in the regular season, closing the regular season two weeks ago with a loss to top-ranked Stratton. The Bison enter the postseason as the sixth seed, on the opposite side of the bracket from Stratton.
They open the playoffs Saturday at 2 p.m. at home against 11th-seed Branson/Kim. Branson/Kim is 7-3, including going 6-0 in A-6 League 5, but closed the regular season last Saturday with a 41-8 loss to Cheyenne Wells, which is the fourth seed in the 16-team playoff field.
“They have good size,” Arickaree coach Paul Griese said, “but everyone we play is bigger than us.”
The winner on Saturday will play either third-seed Granada or 14th-seed Briggsdale in the quarterfinals, next weekend.
The Bison went 4-2 in A-6 League 2, including a win over Otis on October 14. Four League 2 teams made the playoffs, led by top-seed Stratton. Otis is the fifth seed and hosts 12th-seed Sierra Grande on Saturday. Genoa-Hugo, is the seventh seed and hosts 10ty-seed Cheraw, Saturday afternoon.