{"id":30479,"date":"2023-11-25T04:10:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T11:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-defeats-haxtun-40-0-for-colorados-eight-man-football-crown\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:20:14","slug":"mancos-defeats-haxtun-40-0-for-colorados-eight-man-football-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-defeats-haxtun-40-0-for-colorados-eight-man-football-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos defeats Haxtun 40-0 for Colorado\u2019s eight-man football crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mancos
Mancos High School celebrates its win Friday against Haxtun High School in the eight-man state finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

PUEBLO \u2013 Wiping away the disappointment of 2021, Mancos dominated Haxtun 40-0 on Friday night to win their first state title in football.<\/p>\n

As temperatures dipped into the low 20s at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl, the Bluejays left the Fightin\u2019 Bulldogs in the cold all night long.<\/p>\n

Mancos scored on the opening possession, then added three scores before halftime. Senior Kail Wayman\u2019s six touchdowns earned the Most Outstanding Player award, but the championship will belong to the team, coaches, school and community.<\/p>\n

After a narrow defeat to Haxtun (11-2) in mid-September, Mancos on Friday quickly showed the title game would not be in doubt.<\/p>\n

Wayman scored first on a 50-yard burst after a couple of Bluejays first downs. Strong blocking from the offensive line of sophomores Adam Martinez, Colten Vannest and senior Elliott Sam opened up a crease for the senior quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d been game-planning ever since we lost to them in the regular season every night at practice,\u201d said Vannest. \u201cWe just wanted to run right down the middle behind us big guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bluejays defense followed with back-to-back stops on fourth downs with Haxtun in Bluejays territory, as sophomore Jacob Martin brought down Bulldogs quarterback Ryland Wolff for a loss.<\/p>\n

Mancos then churned out a drive with runs from senior Chris Medina to set up coach Josh Gardner\u2019s offense inside the 10-yard line late in the first quarter. Wayman scored from 2 yards out to double the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe followed our game plan,\u201d said Medina. \u201cOur defensive line gave Wolff no time to throw the ball. Our outside did a good job containing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second quarter began with another defensive stop, and taking over at their own 35, Mancos took five minutes off the clock during a methodical drive down the throat of the Bulldogs defense.<\/p>\n

With Haxtun expecting a run up the middle, Mancos ran an option play, and Wayman pitched to senior Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle, who took the ball to the 7-yard line. Two plays later, Wayman scored his third touchdown from 5 yards out.<\/p>\n

As if an 18-0 lead wasn\u2019t enough, senior Broc Imel blew up a screen play, and his teammates forced a fumble deep in Bulldogs territory. After the lone takeaway of the night, Mancos followed with one of its two completed passes, as junior Brandon Vannest got free for a reception inside the 10-yard line. Wayman capped it with a 3-yard score, and the Bluejays ended the half with a 26-0 lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mindset for every game is that we\u2019re going to come out and pitch a shutout, and that wasn\u2019t going to change tonight just because it was the state championship,\u201d said Wayman. \u201cWe had a lot of changes up front from the first time we saw them \u2013 it was the same on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jays stopped Haxtun on the opening drive of the second half, with junior Kaiden Wyatt stuffing Haxtun senior Kaiden Kelley on a fourth-down run. Mancos marched down the field behind a couple of nice runs from sophomore Jonah Ritter, before Wayman\u2019s zigzagging run from 22 yards made it 32-0 midway through the third.<\/p>\n

Wayman then scored from 10 yards out and added the two-point conversion, forcing the game to the mercy-rule running clock. Senior Andrew Jaime\u2019s coverage of Haxtun receiver Keegan Colglazier kept the Bulldogs\u2019 pass attack at bay.<\/p>\n

The championship run had deep roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working ever since April, all through the summer,\u201d said Vannest. \u201cWe talked about not making too big of a deal about this one game \u2013 getting to play with our brothers. It\u2019s a big deal for the community and for the Western Slope \u2013 we\u2019re super-happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years ago, Mancos had never been to a state semifinal football game. Friday, the Bluejays advanced to that level for the third consecutive year.<\/p>\n

Sixth-year head coach Gardner\u2019s 52nd win will undoubtedly go down as memorable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all about us doing things the right way,\u201d said Gardner. \u201cWe decided a long time ago that we were going to be a first-class team, and not be individuals, and our boys really showed that today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSophomore year, we came here and lost by the same score,\u201d said Medina, \u201cand to come back in our final year and beat them means everything to us seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a dream come true,\u201d said Wayman. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve always had my mind on, and we\u2019re just so happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Coach
Coach Josh Gardner from Mancos High School gets soaked in water after his win against Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kail
Kail Wayman (1) of Mancos High School runs against Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cole
Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle (34) of Mancos High School falls short of a touchdown against Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chris
Chris Medina of Mancos High School dives for the ball against Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jonah
Jonah Ritter (22) of Mancos High School runs the ball against Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kail
Kail Wayman (1) of Mancos High School celebrates a touchdown with teammate Jonah Ritter (22) while playing Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mancos
Mancos High School wins the CHSAA State A8 Championship against Haxtun High School on Friday in the Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association 8-man State Finals at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium. (Laura Domingue\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Laura Domingue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

runs for six touchdowns as Bluejays avenge loss to Haxtun in 2021 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,445],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-30479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81095,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30479\/revisions\/81095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30479"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=30479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}