The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

It's playoff time and the Haxtun Bulldogs will host the first round of post-season play this weekend.

The 8-1 Bulldogs are set to face off against 6-2 Calhan on Saturday afternoon at Adam Wernsman Field. Haxtun entered the 16-team playoff bracket as the number three seeded team behind top ranked Mancos and second ranked Simla.

The top eight teams of the bracket earned hosting rights for the first round of playoffs. Calhan entered the bracket as the 14th seeded team. The Calhan Bulldogs finished the season as the second ranked team from the Black Forest League; the same league Simla took top honors in following the regular season.

The Bulldogs finished out the regular season with a home contest against the Merino Rams. The night also marked parent's night for Haxtun fall athletes.

The Rams went up 14-0 over the Bulldogs early in the contest, holding an advantage over Haxtun after the first two quarters of play. Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs put their first eight points on the board to narrow in on the gap.

Shortly into the final quarter, Haxtun took their first lead of the game with a second touchdown and the two-point conversion but as the clock ticked away, the Bulldogs struggled to keep the Rams out of the end zone. Merino put a late eight on the board for the final 22-16 win.

Haxtun registered a total of 210 yards; 127 on the ground and 83 from the air. Of a total of 39 plays, the Bulldogs completed five first downs against the Rams.

Junior Ryland Wolff connected with three of nine passes and one touchdown on Friday night. Sophomore Colin Cone connected with three of seven passes at the quarterback position.

Sophomore Zach Statz led the Bulldog ground game with 70 yards from 10 carries. Senior Kailin Kelley registered nine carries and 30 yards followed by Wolff with nine carries and 27 yards.

Senior Keegan Colglazier caught one 68-yard pass to lead the Bulldogs receiving stats. Wolff registered one catch for seven yards, Kelly caught one five yard pass and senior Mason Bornhoft had one catch for three yards.

Ryland Wolff #11 • Kailin Kelly #45

Three Bulldogs tallied sacks on the Merino quarterback including Colglazier, Wolff and senior Kaiden Schelling.

Junior Ryan Davis registered 18 total tackles, the team high, followed by Statz with 16 and Kelley with 13. Senior Brock Miller had a total of 11 tackles followed by Schelling and Colglazier, each with 10.

Kickoff with Calhan on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. According to MaxPreps, the Calhan Bulldogs went 3-1 in their respective league. The team's two losses come from top ranked teams West Grand and Simla. Calhan enters the post season with a 41-18 final regular season win over St. Mary's.

The winner of the Haxtun/Calhan contest will move onto quarterfinals against the winner of sixth seeded Byers and 11th ranked Sanford. That game is set for Saturday at Byers.