2026 Week 9 (Colorado)

I knew going into Week 9, I was going to be short-changed with what games I could get to. One, was just because of where I would be in the country. I couldn’t really turn down the offer, so instead I’d find myself in eastern Colorado with very limited options.

I could have, if I had the time, seen two games in Denver. Jefferson County has three stadiums: Jeffco Stadium, Trailblazer Stadium, and the North Area Athletic Complex Stadium (NAAC). This covers all of Denver and much of the suburbs. All games are played at these three venues. And both the NAAC and Jeffco had doubleheaders on Friday. While Trailblazer was hosting just a single game.

Or, I could be somewhere in Eastern Colorado. And if you’ve never been to Eastern Colorado, there’s a lot of land, and not a lot of people. I was also along US36. Which is a very barren stretch of road. As of now, there is exactly one school on the entire route from I-70 that has football: Idalia.

In 123 miles, there’s just four high schools. Woodlin, Arickaree, Liberty in Joes, and Idalia. Liberty had lost independent football and had rather long co-op with Stratton, located 27 miles south along I-70. That ended after the 2020 season and since then Liberty students operate as ‘free agents’, allowed to join any neighboring district’s football team. A change from the past that would require, like most states, a true co-op to be formed between schools.

Either way, there is no more football played at Liberty’s field along US36. Further west, there are Woodlin and Arickaree. Woodlin is a school covering the towns of Woodrow and Lindon. They last hosted a football team in 2011. While Arickaree hasn’t fared much better. Located in Anton, just east of Lindon, they had independent football before a co-op with Woodlin started in 2012. The Washington County Stampede was the co-ops name and covered much more than just football.

That co-op ended in 2020, as well when players from Woodlin became ‘free agents’. Arickaree, though trudged on. Having independent football from 2020 to 2025. However, 2026 lost their varsity team. They did play high school games, and finished up their ‘varsity’ season two weeks ago. However, it’s not listed on the state’s website as a varsity schedule.

Now, just east of Idalia is the state line with Kansas, where US36 makes a quick turn north and east to enter the Sunflower State. But, I also had seen St. Francis host Bucklin in a playoff game years ago. And the only other options were north or south of US36. And no one had a Friday night home game. The exceptions being Deer Trail playing at Genoa-Hugo. Now, I had never been to Genoa-Hugo, and they would be my last time on the US287 from Limon to Oklahoma that I hadn’t seen yet. I had seen Deer Trail at Weskan (KS) a few years ago. But it was a bit further than I wanted to, or possibly could get to, on Friday night.

And that left me, again, with Idalia. Not that I didn’t want to go to Idalia or a game. I had planned to, one day, stop here for a game. I had stopped and seen this field in the past. Located on the northeast corner of this very tiny town. And they were defending state champions.

The Idalia Wolves were 7-0, while the Otis Bulldogs were 5-1. Idalia was ranked #1 in the state in 6-man, while Otis was ranked #7 overall. In the entire state, there is 28 six-man teams playing football.

I didn’t get to the field until 7:05pm. Much later than I usually would like. It helped that the game was scheduled for 7:30pm. With a junior high game kicking off at 4:30pm earlier in the afternoon.

There was no apparent ticket for this game, as you could walk from the cars parked around the parameter to the field itself. As with many 6-man fields out west, the sidelines are only separated from the spectators by rope that is affixed to the top of steel posts staked into the ground. On the visitor side, there’s two small movable bleachers. While most of the crowd brought lawn chairs to set up behind the rope divider, or to just stand. Migrating down the field with the play on the field.

The home side was similar. Though with a two-story pressbox situated at midfield. Larger, more elaborate stands were setup on both sides of the field. Elevated from the field, with railings around all sides. With steps. Still, many just situated themselves along the sidelines. Or in the west endzone.

Because I had such a late start, I didn’t do much planning for this game. Maxpreps had both rosters. And as the introductions were made, it was clear the rosters were accurate. The only thing I did not know was if the field itself had a name. Which to the best of my sleuthing, had none. This isn’t uncommon. Virtually every field in Ohio has a name. Most in Pennsylvania have an official name.

For me, I have a formula. Unlike Texas Bob, who runs StadiumConnection and OhioStadiums, among other sites, I don’t give the stadium a name usually. For me, it’s much simpler. When the school is named for the town, it becomes: (TOWN) Field. With (TOWN) being replaced by the town’s name. It’s a field in the town. Ergo, Idalia Field is just as official as anything else it could be.

On the rare occasion that a school not named for the town has an unnamed field, it becomes: (SCHOOL) Stadium. Such as Reynolds in Pennsylvania. Who rather pointedly have refused to name their stadium after anything.

#45 – Idalia v. Otis

Now, I was expecting this game to be decent. It was a 50-20 prediction, according to Massey. And I was hoping it would be close. Idalia started off with a fumble. On the first good run of the day, it went cattywampus. Untouched, the QB just lost the ball and it was recovered by Otis as everyone scrambled for it. Though it couldn’t amount to anything. Idalia scored twice in the first quarter, touchdowns and accompanying PAT kicks, to go up 16-0.

Remember that, in 6-man, extra point kicks are worth two points due to their added difficulty. Blocking 6 players with only four linemen. While runs and passes are only good for a single point. As picking up three yards is incredibly easy.

The second quarter was more of the same. Three more touchdowns. Only one missed extra point. Which was going to setup a running clock. As Idalia held a formidable 38-0 lead.

It was interesting that while Idalia has a cheer team, there was no halftime performance. Which is not unexpected for a six-man game. Many schools this size lack bands. their student body so small that what males they have already participate in football. And same can be said for girls participating on the cheer team.

Instead, for halftime–something I had never seen before–was a kick for cash. For one dollar, fans were able to line up and kick short PAT-length field goal attempts. At first it was one, then two, but soon quite a few others had joined the line. It was an interesting way to raise some funds while also having some fun and something to watch for those at the game killing time between halves.

The third quarter kicked off, and the clock ran swiftly. With Otis being stopped on their one decent drive. Idalia, though, found the endzone, to go up 46-0.

The ten-minute fourth quarter took just about 15 minutes. Idalia added one more score. This time electing or the single point attempt. Otis, meanwhile, had one long sustained drive to end the game. So much so as to call timeout with 7 seconds remaining to have one final play for a touchdown. That play was an incompletion in the endzone. Securing the shutout for the defending State Champions, the Idalia Wolves. A 53-0 final.

Colorado 6-man Spotlight: #1 Idalia drubs #7 Otis, 53-0 (PHOTO GALLERY)

After the game, I was done for the weekend. There were no eastern Colorado games anywhere nearby. The lone game that had been scheduled was Bethune had Washington County (aka Arickaree) for an afternoon game but that was cancelled when Washington County had cancelled their season. At one point, a doubleheader was schedule at Aurora, quite far away, but it was reduced down to just a single game. With my schedule, it wasn’t enough for me to make the 150 or so mile drive west.

It was fun getting the single game in. Idalia is definitely a place I would like to return to in the future. But, it was disappointing to only get a single game after weeks of five or six games a week.

STATISTICS

This was my first time seeing Idalia play. And first game in Idalia. Giving my my 1,774th different team and my 588th different stadium.

As for expenses, there were none. I didn’t account for any travel expenses. As there were none just associated with football. No food purchased Friday. And no tickets or miscellaneous expenses. Aside from my time, there wasn’t any cost involved.

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

2026 Statistics (after Week 9):

45 Games
86 Teams
34 Stadiums
11 States

34 New Teams
23 New Stadiums

1774 different teams
588 different stadiums

1689 total games

NEXT WEEK

As with Week 9, I have no idea where Week 10 will take me. But it’s probably going to be somewhere in the middle of the country. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.