The 2019 Kansas high school football season kicked off with eight ranked teams losing in Week 1. Let’s take a look at the Kpreps Top 5 to see what changed after the first week.
Class 6A
Derby remains atop the Class 6A poll after a 48-19 road victory at Garden City. Senior quarterback Grant Adler produced more than 250 yards of total offense, including 168 yards on the ground. The Panthers travel to Salina to take on the Salina Central Mustangs this week.
Gardner-Edgerton moves up one spot to No. 2 this week after a dominating 49-14 victory over traditional Class 6A East contender Shawnee Mission East. The Trailblazers got touchdowns from seven different players in the victory.
Despite an opening week loss, Blue Valley North falls only one spot from No. 2 to No. 3 this week. The Mustangs fell behind Class 4A’s top-ranked Bishop Miege 20-0 in the first quarter, but battled their way back to within 20-14 at halftime. Miege eventually held on for the 27-20 victory. Sophomore quarterback Henry Martin led Blue Valley North in passing for 360 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This week, Blue Valley North will host Blue Valley – ranked No. 5 in Class 6A last week.
Olathe North remains at No. 4 this week after holding off rival Olathe East, 27-21. The Eagles scored in each quarter in holding off the Hawks. Quarterback Arland Bruce, IV rushed for three touchdowns in the game.
Finally, Lawrence Free State enters the poll at No. 5 this week after a 45-19 victory over Olathe West to give new head coach Kevin Stewart his first victory. The victory was the first in school history under a head coach other than Bob Lisher, who retired after last season and had been the leader of the Firebird program since the school’s inception. Senior quarterback Colter Maldonado, back to Free State after starting at Coronado California last season, passed for 150 yards and three touchdowns, and added 79 yards rushing and another score.
Class 5A
Defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas looked every bit the favorite to repeat after dominating Blue Valley, 48-19. Blue Valley entered the game ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, but managed just 200 yards of offense against the Saints. Aquinas quarterback Blake Anderson rushed for a score and threw three touchdown passes in the first half as the Saints built a 41-0 lead. Aquinas will travel back to Blue Valley High School this week to take on Blue Valley Southwest.
Wichita Northwest remains ranked second this week after a 21-17 win over No. 3 Bishop Carroll. Quarterback Reagan Jones hit Zion Jones on what would become the game-winning touchdown pass with just under four minutes left in the game. Despite the loss, Carroll stays in the No. 3 spot in this week’s poll.
De Soto moves up one spot to No. 4 in this week’s poll. The Wildcats rushed for 300 yards in a dominating 51-19 victory over Leavenworth. De Soto will now travel to take on KC Wyandotte in the debut of new Bulldog coach R. J. Premis. Wyandotte did not play in Week 1.
Maize moves into the poll at No. 5 this week after a 47-0 shutout of Valley Center. Caden Cox rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and Camden Jurgensen passed for 130 yards and a score. Maize defeated Valley Center 49-0 in the opener a season ago.
Mill Valley, ranked fourth last week, falls out of the poll after a 28-21 loss to Blue Valley West.
Class 4A
Bishop Miege raced out to a 20-0 lead at home and then held off Class 6A’s second-ranked Blue Valley North Mustangs, 27-20. The Stag defense returned an interception for a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage, then Brison Cobbins rushed for two scores to increase the lead to 20-0. Quarterback Tim Dorsey passed for 165 yards and a touchdown – a strike to Phillippe Wesley that put Miege up 27-14 in the third quarter.
Goddard held off Wichita East 34-22 on Thursday night. The second-ranked Lions got 210 passing yards and four touchdowns from junior quarterback Kyler Semrad. Goddard travels to Ark City this week.
McPherson rallied from a 10-0 early hole to top Salina South, 29-17. Kaleb Hoppes had a hand in four touchdowns for the Bullpups, including a 99-yard scoring strike to Aaron Powell.
Paola moves up a spot to No. 4 this week with a dominating 48-21 win over Bonner Springs. The Panthers led 35-7 at halftime and cruised behind three total touchdowns from Garrett Williams.
Pittsburg enters the poll this week at No. 5 after a 40-0 shutout of Labette County. The Purple Dragon defense returned multiple interceptions for touchdowns in the victory. Pittsburg High has never lost to Labette County.
Louisburg, ranked fourth last week, falls out of this week’s poll after a 27-24 loss to Spring Hill.
Class 3A
The voting is already tightening up at the top of Class 3A. Two-time defending champion Sabetha remains on top this week narrowly ahead of No. 2 Andale. Sabetha opened with a 13-6 win over Nemaha Central, while Andale rolled past Mulvane, 43-7.
Marysville retains the No. 3 spot this week after the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought, 34-22 victory over North Central Kansas League rival Chapman.
Meanwhile there is a slight change at the bottom of this week’s 3A poll. Topeka Hayden moves up one spot to No. 4 this week, while Scott City falls a spot to No. 5. Both schools earned victories on Friday night. Hayden rolled to a 55-8 win over Topeka West, while Scott City struggled through turnovers to shut out Hugoton, 14-0.
Class 2A
Voting is also tightening up in the Class 2A poll. Phillipsburg retains the top spot this week, narrowly ahead of No. 2 Hoisington. The Panthers opened with a 40-22 win over Ellis, while Hoisington handled Pratt, 37-13. Phillipsburg will take on Class 1A No. 2 Plainville this week.
Conway Springs opened with a dominating 49-6 victory over Wichita Trinity to retain the No. 3 spot. The Cardinals will travel to take on another set of Cardinals at Cheney this week.
Finally, it’s War on 24 week as No. 4 Rossville will make the short trip to take on No. 5 Silver Lake. Rossville opened with a 28-8 victory over then 1A No. 5 Centralia, while Silver Lake defeated Mid-East League rival St. Marys, 38-12.
Class 1A
Top-ranked Smith Center led Thomas More Prep 13-0 at halftime and then steadily pulled away for a 34-0 victory. The Redmen tallied more than 400 yards of total offense in the win. Smith Center hosts rival Norton this week.
Plainville picked up an impressive win over Norton, 29-22 on Friday night. Jared Casey rushed for 213 yards, while Jordan Finnesy added 157 yards on the ground. The Cardinals have a big showdown with Class 2A No. 1 Phillipsburg this week.
Jackson Heights stays in the No. 3 spot this week after defeating Horton 46-8, while No. 4 Olpe had little trouble with Osawatomie in a 44-7 decision.
Finally, Valley Heights enters the poll after an impressive 52-7 victory over Troy to open the season. The Mustangs intercepted five Trojan passes in the win. Cole Coggins rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns. The Mustangs took the place of Centralia which dropped out of the poll after a 28-8 loss to 3A No. 4 Rossville.
Class 8M-I
In Class 8-Man, Division I, Canton-Galva opened as the top-ranked team and cruised past Little River, 70-23. Sophomore Tyson Struber scored four touchdowns in the game as the Eagles avenged a loss to the Redskins to open the 2018 season.
Saint Francis blanked Sharon Springs-Wallace County 46-0 on Friday night and remain ranked second. The Indians were supposed to play league rival Tribune-Greeley County this week, but the Jackrabbits are short on players. Sainty improvised and scheduled a game at Holly, Colorado.
Hodgeman County retains the No. 3 spot this week after a 54-6 win over Dighton. The Longhorns have a challenge this week when they host Medicine Lodge.
Defending champion Central Plains falls out of this week’s poll after a 36-30 loss to Central Prairie League rival Ness City. That leaves room for South Central to move up one spot to No. 4 this week. The Timberwolves rolled passed Bucklin, 56-8.
Finally, Madison enters the poll at No. 5 this week. The Bulldogs scored 51 points in the first quarter in beating Marais des Cygnes Valley, 64-8. Madison returned a punt and two interceptions for touchdowns in the contest.
Class 8M-II
Defending champion Hanover won its 39th straight game with a 58-14 decision over Pike Valley. The Wildcats led Pike Valley 20-14 at halftime before pulling away in the second half. Hanover opens district play this week by hosting Doniphan West.
Axtell remains at No. 2 in this week’s poll after a big victory over Beloit St. John’s-Tipton. Eagle quarterback Quinn Buessing passed for three touchdowns and ran for four more scores in the win. The Eagles have their district opener this week against Blue Valley Randolph.
Osborne stays in the No. 3 spot after starting the second Steve Tiernan era with a 58-20 win at Hill City. Darrien Holloway rushed for 161 yards and Mason Schurr added 159 more yards on the ground for the Bulldogs.
South Barber dropped its opener to Cherokee (Okla.) and falls out of this week’s poll. That means St. Paul moves up one spot to No. 4 after a 52-14 win at Sedan. Adam Albertini rushed for 229 yards and six touchdowns in the Indians’ win.
Finally, Hutchinson Central Christian enters the poll at No. 5 this week after a close, 40-34 win over Argonia-Attica. Garrett Burns provided the winning points for the Cougars on a short touchdown run with 14 seconds remaining. The Cougars will open district play this week at Norwich.
Visit the Rankings page each week to view a complete list of the top five teams in each classification and how they performed last week.
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