Steady Serrato has Fleming at cusp of repeat 6-Man Colorado title

Fleming football coach John King wastes little time relating his devotion to old-school traditions.

That means King wants his team to run the ball, and run it with authority. It is something the Wildcats have done as well as any team at the Class A 6-Man level, amassing more than 3,400 rushing yards in a ground game paced by senior Trevor Chintala.

But Fleming has a pretty good quarterback too. One who throws interceptions less frequently than lunar eclipses pass through the sky.

The steady play and stingy turnover rate of senior signal-caller Tanner Serrato has drawn the interest of several Division II programs, a rarity for a quarterback at the 6-Man level. Serrato will have one more opportunity to impress when the top-seeded Wildcats seek a repeat 6-Man state title against third-seeded Eads on Saturday.

"We ride Chintala pretty hard, because he's a workhorse," King said. "But we could ride Tanner more if we needed to. Part of it is me being old-school. I'm one of those guys who think three things can happen when you drop back to pass, and two of them are bad. But he's a good quarterback. He's getting looked at by colleges, and I never thought that would happen for a 6-Man quarterback."

Serrato, who visited Chadron State several weeks ago, is a four-year starter for the Wildcats. During his first two seasons, Serrato tossed seven interceptions in 211 attempts. That's an average of one every 30.1 attempts, an impressive number for any quarterback, much less one running the show as a freshman and sophomore.

Serrato has been even stingier the past two seasons, throwing no interceptions in 85 attempts last year and getting picked off just once in 101 attempts this season. Even with the still-impressive numbers from his first two seasons skewering his overall average, Serrato has thrown only one interception in every 49.5 attempts over the course of his career.

While Chintala and his 2,077 rushing yards define an offense that is averaging 60.7 points a game, having Serrato at the helm all but ensures the Wildcats of winning the always-critical turnover battle in the title match against Eads.

"We had five of six starters come back on offense this year at the same position," King said. "Right from Week 1 against a tough Stratton team we rushed for over 500 yards. We've continued to work hard and get better but that has been the key—the return of all that experience."

MaxPreps Colorado state football brackets

The 8-Man bracket has been set on its collective ears by No. 16-seed Granada, which is putting together one of the most scintillating runs in coach Manuel Gonzales' four-decade career. Now in his 40th season at Granada, Gonzales has won three state championships and has overseen his fair share of big wins. Yet few of those experiences compare to the run currently being put together by the Bobcats.

In the first round Granada knocked off the top-seeded defending champs from Dayspring Christian (Greeley), which had appeared in four of the previous five 8-Man title games while winning a pair of championships. Granada followed up that big win with a 20-18 win against eighth-seeded Dove Creek, setting up a semifinal date at No. 12-seeded Fowler on Saturday.

The other 8-Man semifinal features No. 6 Walsh visiting No. 2 Hoehne.

"As the No. 16 seed everyone is betting against you," Gonzales said. "Our thought was that we had to play the game of our lives to beat Dayspring Christian, and we did it. It was a big win for us and the community. Fowler has some very quick backs, and our defensive line will have to hold their ground."

The Class 1A and Class 2A brackets have also reached the semifinals. In 1A, top-seeded Buena Vista will seek a berth in the final against No. 4-seeded Wray. Third-seeded Cedaredge faces 10th-seeded Hotchkiss in the other semifinal.

The 2A semifinals features one of the blossoming intrastate rivalries in Colorado, as top-seeded Kent Denver (Englewood) takes on perennial power Florence.

Florence defeated the Sun Devils during the 2011 regular season and again in the state semifinals as the Huskies captured the 2011 state championship. Kent Denver returned the favor this season, handing Florence a 41-6 defeat on Sept. 7 behind 278 rushing yards from sophomore Jaden Franklin.

No. 3 seed Bayfield hosts No. 7 Platte Valley (Kersey) in the other 2A semifinal.