The semifinals brought ranking changes across the board. Notably, 4A St. James Academy’s win against Bishop Miege, 4A Arkansas City over McPherson and 1A Oakley’s victory versus Imman changed the rankings. Class 4A between St. James (7-4) and Arkansas City (6-6) is already guaranteed to have the lowest winning percentage by a winning team in state championship history, according to KSHSAA archives. SJA ended Miege’s bid for a state record seventh straight state title.
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.
Class 6A
1. Derby rolled over Junction City, 62-27, and moved into its sixth consecutive state title game. Derby went 4-1 in the last five and has won back-to-back titles. Derby will face Blue Valley North in the finals. Derby lost to BVN in ’17 and won the following year against BVN. Derby is 8-2.
2. Blue Valley North (7-2) defeated Olathe North, 30-20, and is into the third final in school history. North was 5-6 last season after its back-to-back trips to the state championships. Henry Martin has cleared 5,000 career passing yards as a junior.
3. Lawrence ended its season with a quarterfinal loss to Derby and completed its season 9-1.
4. Olathe North (8-2) lost only to Blue Valley North and Lawrence. ON fell, 30-20, to Blue Valley North.
5. Junction City (9-2) took its first loss since Week 1 with the defeat to Derby. Junction City had its first semifinal trip since its ’08 championship.
Class 5A
1. Wichita Northwest (10-0) came back to defeat rival Bishop Carroll, 41-21. Northwest did not face City League foes Kapaun Mt. Carmel and BC in the regular season, though played both in the playoffs. Northwest has only faced one non-Wichita Public School team all year. Northwest is the two-time 5A runner-up with state losses to St. Thomas Aquinas and Mill Valley.
2. Mill Valley (8-2) dominated rival St. Thomas Aquinas, 42-7, and held the Saints to under 100 total yards – and zero passing yards. MV is the defending 5A titlist and 3-0 all-time in state championship games with coach Joel Applebee.
3. Bishop Carroll (8-3) navigated a highly challenging schedule, though lost to rival Northwest in the playoffs for the third straight season – all by 20 points or fewer. BC defeated ranked teams Junction City, Kapaun and Maize.
4. Kapaun Mt. Carmel, possibly the state’s biggest surprise, quadrupled its win total from ’19 when it moved from 2-7 to 8-2 with new coach Weston Schartz. KMC fell in the quarterfinals to Wichita Northwest.
5. Maize finished its season at 9-2 with a quarterfinal 49-35 loss to Bishop Carroll. Maize defeated Derby in the regular season.
Class 4A
1. St. James Academy (7-4) advanced to at least the state semifinals for the first time in school history. SJA beat Bishop Miege, 36-35, in overtime after a regular season loss to the Stags. SJA also beat Miege by one, 28-27, in the ’19 regular season. Miege was looking for its state record seventh consecutive title.
2. Arkansas City provided another upset with a 28-27 victory versus McPherson, ranked No. 1 in 4A West. AC is 6-6.
3. Bishop Miege fell to St. James, 36-35 in overtime and finished 5-5.
4. Paola lost 45-35 to St. James in the second round of the playoffs and finished 9-1.
5. Tonganoxie went 9-2 with a regular season loss to Paola and a quarterfinal defeat to Bishop Miege.
Class 3A
1. Andale (11-0) defeated Wichita Collegiate, 49-0. The defending 3A champions, Andale has won 24 straight, the longest current run in Kansas.
2. Perry-Lecompton (11-1) will face Andale for the second straight year in the 3A title game. It marks the third all-time trip for P-L, which has never won a state crown. The Kaws beat Holton, 22-9.
3. Topeka Hayden (7-2) had its season end with a 20-7 loss to Perry-Lecompton in the second round of the playoffs.
4. Holton (9-2) took its only two losses to Perry-Lecompton this year.
5. Wichita Collegiate (10-2) had a four-win improvement and lost twice to Andale.
Class 2A
1. Rossville (12-0) beat Nemaha Central, 31-19, after a playoff loss to NC last year. NC was the defending 2A state champions. Rossville has been ranked No. 1 all year.
2. Hoisington (12-0) has its long-awaited trip to the state championship after its 26-20 win versus Beloit.
3. Nemaha Central (8-3) lost 31-19 to Rossville.
4. Silver Lake (6-2) lost 40-30 to Nemaha Central in the second round of the playoffs.
5. Osage City (9-2) fell 7-0 to Nemaha Central in the state quarterfinals.
Class 1A
1. Olpe (11-0) beat Lyndon, 14-12, in the state semifinals. Olpe is 1-3 all-time in state finals with its lone win in ’14.
2. Oakley (10-2) ran its game plan to near-perfection, slowed down the contest, played great defense and beat Inman, 9-0, to advance to the first state championship game in school history. Oakley has a plus-seven win improvement from last season. The Plainsmen had eight total wins in the last four years. Ethan Abell and Hunter Scheck combined for more than 190 rushing yards. Scheck scored the game’s lone touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Oakley beat Smith Center and Inman the last two weeks – after it lost to both squads in the regular season.
3. Lyndon (9-3) lost to Olpe, 14-12. Lyndon lost twice to Olpe by a combined eight points.
4. Inman (9-3) lost 9-0 at Oakley, though finished with its best season in the school’s 11-man history. Inman ran under 40 plays against Oakley’s ball control offense. Inman narrowly missed a deep pass for a score and missed a field goal for its best scoring chances.
5. Centralia (8-2) fell 26-14 to Lyndon in the state quarterfinals.
Eight-Man, Division I
1. Leoti-Wichita County (12-0) won its 11th straight game by the 45-point margin with a dominant 58-6 victory versus Hoxie. WC is into the first state final in school history.
2. Little River (10-2) is into its first final since ’01 behind another huge game from senior Jayden Garrison. Coach Kevin Ayers has taken its third team (Jetmore, Wallace County) to a state final. Little River beat Madison, 48-24.
3. Madison (11-1) lost, 48-24, to Little River and fell in the state semifinals for the second straight season.
4. Canton-Galva (10-1) fell to Madison, 34-24, in the state quarterfinals.
5. Hoxie (9-2) enjoyed a five-win improvement from last season and took both of its losses to Wichita County. Hoxie lost 54-20 in Week 1, and 58-6 in the state semifinals.
Eight-Man, Division II
1. St. Francis (11-0) trailed for the first time this season and was down 14-8 on the road before it came back to beat Victoria, 44-22. Shadyron Blanka produce 293 yards of total offense. SF is into the state title game for the second straight year and is looking for its first title. St. Francis lost to Canton-Galva in the Division I title last season.
2. Hanover (10-0) pulled away to beat Twin Valley League rival Frankfort, 74-26. The Wildcats advanced to the tenth state game in school annals. Hanover has won six state championships.
3. Victoria (11-1) fell to St. Francis, 44-22. Victoria had its streak of 35 consecutive wins in the Division II classification end. Victoria had a five-win improvement from last fall.
4. Frankfort (7-2) ended its wild season that featured just five regular season contests with a Hanover loss. The teams were supposed to meet in the regular season, but the game was cancelled. Frankfort went to the state semifinals for the first time since ’03.
5. Lebo (10-1) lost 46-40 to Frankfort in the state quarterfinals.
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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