GERALDINE — The 6-Man East flexed its cumulative muscles in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs on Saturday.
Top-seeded Wibaux rolled past visiting Big Sandy and Jordan and Richey-Lambert pulled road upsets at Hot Springs and Geraldine-Highwood, respectively, to send three teams from the conference into next week’s semifinal round.
Richey-Lambert and Geraldine-Highwood played a back-and-forth game that wasn’t decided until late Saturday. Seth Prevost scored the game’s final touchdown — his fifth of the day — to give the Fusion a 56-54 win.
Geraldine-Highwood took the lead on a 34-yard touchdown run by Zeke Davison in the early going and ultimately built a 22-13 lead. Richey-Lambert then scored 15 consecutive points to get its first lead of the game on a touchdown pass from Gabe Gonsioroski to Blake Lien.
The Fusion lead, however, would be short-lived. Geraldine-Highwood score three unanswered touchdowns to take a 41-28 lead with Mavrick McKinlay finding the end zone twice, including on a kick return to begin the second half.
Gonsioroski threw two more Richey-Lambert touchdowns in the second half, and Prevost added two more rushing, with his 14-yarder proving to be the difference.
Richey-Lambert (9-2) will now host Jordan (9-2) in next week’s semifinal round after the Mustangs got a 74-57 win at Hot Springs on Saturday. Richey-Lambert is the East’s No. 2 seed, and Jordan the third seed. The Fusion defeated the Mustangs 101-53 in the season opener for both teams.
The other semifinal will feature 6-Man’s two undefeated teams. Grass Range-Winnett rallied past West Yellowstone for a 58-36 win on Saturday, and Wibaux ran past Big Sandy 46-14. The Rangers (12-0) are the South’s No. 1 seed and will host East No. 1 Wibaux (10-0) on Nov. 10.
6-Man football scores
(Click the links for video highlights)
Jordan 74, Hot Springs 57
Richey-Lambert 56, Geraldine-Highwood 54
Wibaux 46, Big Sandy 14
Grass Range-Winnett 58, West Yellowstone 36
