The prep football season for area prep teams is now in the books.

Dolores County High School ended its season with a 19-12 at Sargent in the first round of the Class A (11-man) State Playoffs at a game on Saturday, Nov. 4, played near Monte Vista. The no. 6-ranked Bulldogs finished with an 8-2 overall record.

DCHS head coach Ken Soper said his team just "didn’t play very well. We couldn’t defense the rush (196 yards on the ground by Sargent), but it was the pass that killed us. That one in the fourth quarter with no one around him did it."

Meanwhile, Montezuma-Cortez High School ended the regular season at home with a 48-12 loss to Moffat County on Saturday at Panther Stadium.

The Bulldogs, in their game against the Farmers, scored the first touchdown early in the first quarter. Dallas Daves ran in from 5-yards out. The kick failed but they had a 6-0 lead. However, it was short lived as Sargent’s Chad Cochran returned a punt for 68 yards. The point-after kick failed. The score was tied 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Sargent jumped out on top with a touchdown in the second quarter. Payson Edwards zipped in the end zone from 18 yards out. The pass conversion attempt failed. Sargent held a slim 12-6 lead at the intermission.

In the third quarter the Bulldogs came back and tied the game. Chris Kail caught a 5-yard pass from Keith Pierce. The kick failed.

Late in the quarter, Sargent’s Tyler Mitchell scrambled and then found Chance Parsons coming out of the back field. The pass play covered 58 yards to paydirt. Bryan Paulson booted the PAT.

"Just like last year at Wiggins, our special teams failed us. Wiggins ran a kickoff back on us last year and Sargent ran a punt back on us on Saturday. But we did not play well offensive or defensively," Soper added.

Playing in their final game were seniors Daves, Kail, and Terence Gardner.

"We had a good season at 8-2. We didn’t accomplish everything we wanted, but that’s the way it goes," he said.

In other 1A playoff action, Akron beat Ellicott 49-29, Limon stopped Lyons 31-14, Hayden upset John Mall 13-8, Peyton dropped Byers 19-14, Custer County shocked Plateau Valley 13-6, Nucla clobbered Las Animas 51-0, and Wiggins shutout Del Norte 28-0.

In this Saturday’s quarterfinals, Akron hosts Sargent, Limon hosts Hayden, Peyton hosts Custer County, and Nucla hosts defending champion Wiggins.

Montezuma-Cortez High School was the only other area school still playing football on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they ended the season where the season started — with a loss.

Seniors Josh Lee, Daniel Walker, Conrad Jacket, Kenny Brengle, Dan O’Neal, Tramaine Howard, Jake Gordanier, Nick Patterson, Frankie Ogo, Patrick Reed, and Ryan Gray played in their final game.

The Panthers played well for the first half and only trailed by a touchdown, 15-6. The TD came when Kevin Wayman tossed the ball to Walt Pape which was good for 54 yards. But Moffat County stretched its lead in the second half. Cortez did score once more when Wayman passed to Richard Yake from six yards out. Nate Foster rushed for 64 yards and Lee carried for 37. Wayman completed five passes for 76 yards.