The regular season is complete and the brackets are set. Let’s check out the Kpreps Rankings to see how things stand as we begin elimination games this week.
Class 6A
Derby quickly turned their showdown with unbeaten Maize into a rout as the top-ranked Panthers handled the Eagles, 55-7.
Gardner-Edgerton moves up one spot to No. 2 this week after a 49-23 win over Shawnee Mission West on Friday night. For the second consecutive season, the Trailblazers earned the top seed on the eastern half of Class 6A.
Lawrence Free State leaps into the poll at No. 3 this week after a come-from-behind 31-30 win over cross-town rival Lawrence. Tyler Bowden rushed for 287 yards and two touchdowns ad the Firebirds rallied from a 21-10 halftime deficit to win. Lawrence drops to No. 4 in this week’s poll. The Lions got a huge game from Devin Neal, who rushed for 227 yards and three scores in the loss.
Finally, Topeka High remains in the No. 5 spot after rolling to a 60-13 win over Topeka West. The Trojans will open the bracket with a home game against Garden City.
Class 5A
Top-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas was idle this week, but the Saints secured the No. 2 seed on the east side of Class 5A. Aquinas will open its state title defense against the same opponent as last season – Topeka Highland Park. The Saints beat the Scots 69-14 in last year’s first round.
Second-ranked Wichita Northwest posted a second consecutive shutout in a 55-0 rout of Wichita Southeast. The Grizzlies earned the No. 1 seed on the west side of Class 5A and will host No. 16 seed Kapaun Mt. Carmel. The Grizzlies defeated the Crudaders, 45-0, back in Week 5.
Bishop Carroll moves up to No. 3 this week after a 44-8 win over Wichita South. The Golden Eagles are 6-2 on the season with losses to Wichita Northwest (21-17) and Derby (21-0). Carroll will host Valley Center in the first round of the 5A playoffs.
Mill Valley jumps in the poll at No. 4 this week. The Jaguars throttled Blue Valley Southwest 56-14 on Friday to improve to 5-3 on the season. The Jagaurs’ three losses have come to Blue Valley West, Bishop Miege, and St. Thomas Aquinas – each by seven points.
Fifth-ranked De Soto doubled-up Pittsburg, 28-14, to remain unbeaten. The Wildcats earned the No. 1 seed on the eastern side of Class 5A and will host No. 16 KC Turner this week. De Soto defeated Turner 71-0 back in Week 3 this season.
Maize falls out of this week’s poll after their 55-7 loss at Derby.
Class 4A
Bishop Miege remains in the top spot after rebounding from last week’s loss to St. Thomas Aquians with a 58-15 win over Blue Valley Northwest. With losses to Aquinas and St. James Academy during the regular season, Miege earned the No. 4 seed on the east side of Class 4A and will host Labette County in the first round this week.
Second-ranked McPherson rolled to a 49-0 shutout of Towanda-Circle. The Bullpups claimed the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail – IIII title with the win. Earning the top seed on the west side of 4A, the Bullpups will not take on 16-seed Abilene this week. McPherson defeated the Cowboys 48-3 back in a Week 4 game that was called as final after the first half due to weather.
Paola worked its way through a 16-8 win at rival Louisburg to snap the Wildcats five-game winning streak. The third-ranked Panthers shared the Frontier League title with No. 4 Tonganoxie, although the to teams did not meet during the regular season. Tonganoxie blasted Ottawa 62-7 and will now take on winless Baldwin for the second time in three weeks.
Fifth-ranked Andover Central escaped Ark City, 21-13, on Thursday night. The Jaguars earned the No. 2 seed on the west side of 4A and will host Towanda-Circle this week.
Class 3A
Top-ranked Andale got by far its toughest test of the season in a 29-22 win over Cheney. The victory gave the Indians the District 6 championship. The Indian defense held Cheney to 32 rush yards on 21 attempts, while Andale rushed for nearly 280 yards in the game.
Halstead retains the No. 2 this week after a dominating second half in a 54-14 win at Chapman. The Dragons led 16-6 at halftime, but exploded for 24 points in the third quarter to pull away. Halstead rushed for 417 yards in the game. The Dragons will host Wichita Collegiate this week.
Marysville stays at No. 3 after a 68-20 road-win at Hiawatha. The Bulldogs finish as the District 4 runners-up to Holton due to their head-to-head loss to the Wildcats. Marysville will get a tough test to open the bracket when they host Jefferson West (7-1).
Frontenac dominated Columbus in the battle of unbeaten teams in the CNC League. The Raider defense held the Titans to 20 yards of total offense on the night. Frontenac will host CNC rival Girard in the first round.
Finally, Colby stays one vote ahead of Topeka Hayden this week to claim the No. 5 spot. The Eagles completed an unbeaten regular season with a 56-7 blowout victory over Goodland. Colby will host Nickerson (4-4) in the first round.
Class 2A
Top-ranked Hoisington won the District 8 title with a 38-7 win at Norton. Wyatt Pedigo rushed for 293 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. The Cardinals will host Southwestern Heights (4-4) in the first round of the Class 2A bracket.
Second-ranked Silver Lake allowed points for the first time six weeks, but cruised to a 61-8 win over Oskaloosa. The Eagles will get Jayhawk-Linn (5-3) to open the 2A bracket.
Garden Plain remains ranked No. 3 spot after their 32-21 win over rival and previous No. 4 Conway Springs. The Owls grabbed a 14-0 lead and led 20-7 at halftime before holding off the Cardinals. Garden Plain will open the playoffs with a Thursday game against Fredonia (4-4).
Riley County enters the poll at No. 4 after a 40-12 win over St. Marys. The Falcons will look to make a run back to the 2A title game again this fall, and will begin with a home contest against Pleasant Ridge (3-5).
Humboldt remains at No. 5 after a 50-18 road-win at Southeast-Cherokee. Conor Haviland rushed for 339 yards and four touchdowns in the victory to push his season total to more than 1,800 yards with 29 touchdowns.
Class 1A
Top-ranked Smith Center rolled to a 34-0 victory over Ell-Saline. The Redmen captured the District 5 title in the process and will host La Crosse (5-3) to open the Class 1A bracket.
Second-ranked Olpe also won a district championship by defeating Hillsboro 55-21. The Eagles will be off this week as their first-round bracket opponent, Yates Center, has forfeited due to a lack of available players.
Third-ranked Plainville rolled to a 59-14 victory over Oakley. The Cardinals captured the District 6 title by holding the Plainsmen to less than 100 yards on the ground. Plainville will host winless Sacred Heart this week.
Centralia stays at No. 4 this week after handling Valley Heights, 38-20. The Panthers will host Troy to open bracket play. Centralia defeated Troy, 46-12, back in Week 5.
Sedgwick says in the No. 5 spot after a 42-7 win at Inman. The Cardinals claimed the District 7 title and will have a bye week to open the playoffs for a second consecutive season since District 8 only includes three teams.
Class 8M-I
Top-ranked Canton-Galva rolled to a fourth consecutive shutout with a 70-0 blanking of Herington. The Eagles have permitted points in only two games this season. Canton-Galva will open the playoffs against Chase County (4-4) – a team they defeated 46-0 back in Week 2.
Second-ranked Saint Francis won the Yoke with a 46-0 shutout of rival Atwood-Rawlins County. The Indians will host Washington County (4-4) this week.
Third-ranked South Central held off a good Argonia-Attica team, 17-0, to claim the District 2 title. The Timberwolves will host West Elk (4-4) to open the Division I playoff bracket.
Fourth-ranked Madison rolled to a 62-18 win over Chase County behind a huge night from Colton Fife. Fife rushed for more than 130 yards and five touchdowns as the Bulldogs remain 8M-I’s top scoring team at 62 points per game. Madison will host Solomon to open the bracket. The Gorillas defeated Madison, 30-26, in the second-round of last year’s playoffs.
Clifton-Clyde posted its third consecutive shutout with a 70-0 blanking of Lincoln. The Eagles will host Hoxie (4-4) to open the 8M-I bracket. Hoxie defeated Clifton-Clyde, 22-20, in the second-round of last year’s playoffs.
Class 8M-II
Osborne retains the top spot this week after a wild 40-34 victory over previously-unbeaten Thunder Ridge. The Bulldogs fell behind 26-6 in the first half as Thunder Ridge’s Reece Struckhoff rushed for four touchdowns before leaving with an injury. Osborne rallied to take the lead, but then trailed 34-32 late until Steele Wolters scored with under a minute to play to deliver the win.
Axtell moves back up to No. 2 this week after the Eagles 50-0 blanking of Doniphan West. Quinn Buessing returned for the Eagles and passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns after missing the better part of the last two weeks against Hanover and Frankfort with an injury.
Third-ranked Hanover claimed the highly-competitive District 3 championship with a 52-34 victory over No. 4 Frankfort. The two sets of Wildcats tied with Axtell atop the district standings, but Hanover had the most district margin points followed by Axtell and Frankfort. Hanover outscored Frankfort 16-0 in the third quarter to take a 36-28 lead and forced three total turnovers.
Finally, St. Paul remains in the No. 5 spot this week after a 64-14 win over Southern Coffey County. The Indians will open the 8M-II bracket against Hartford (3-5) this week. Hartford averages 38 points per game despite having been shut out twice this season.
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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