The 2022 Kansas high school football season reached its conclusion last weekend as state champions were crowned in all nine classifications. Three schools were able to repeat as champions in 2022 (Mill Valley, Andale, Axtell) with two schools, Mill Valley and Andale, winning their fourth straight state football title. Axtell claimed its second consecutive title in Eight-Man, Division II.
Five teams highlighted as preseason No. 1’s in the Kpreps.com rankings brought home state titles this fall: Mill Valley (5A), Andale (3A), St. Marys (1A), Axtell (8M-II), and Cunningham (6-Man). Three other classifications were won by teams ranked second in our preseason poll: Bishop Miege in 4A, Nemaha Central in 2A, and Leoti-Wichita County in Eight-Man, Division I. Only Class 6A champion Manhattan began the year unranked in our preseason top five.
Let’s take a look at the final rankings for the 2022 season.
Visit our Rankings page to see the final Kpreps poll for 2022!
Class 6A
Manhattan completed an undefeated season with a 21-20, double-overtime win over Gardner-Edgerton in the 6A state championship game. After neither team scored on their first overtime possession, Jason Sanchez put Manhattan up 21-14 on the Indians’ second possession. Gardner-Edgerton answered with a touchdown and elected to go for the two-point conversion and the win, but the Manhattan defense stopped the conversion short to secure the win. Gardner-Edgerton finishes second in the Class 6A poll followed by Derby, Wichita Northwest, and Olathe North.
Class 5A
Mill Valley defeated Maize 28-14 in the Class 5A state championship game for a second consecutive season. The Jaguars captured their fourth consecutive state title and the program’s sixth state football championship in the past eight seasons. Davion Harris rushed for a touchdown and caught two touchdown passes from Hayden Jay in the game. Jay also connected on along scoring pass to Oliver Preston. Maize finishes second in the Class 5A poll followed by Hays, Hutchinson, and Bishop Carroll.
Class 4A
Bishop Miege won a state-record 11th state football championship by defeating Wamego, 35-14, in the 4A state championship game. Leading 21-14 in the third quarter, the Stag defense stopped Wamego on fourth-and-goal and shortly after Mac Armstrong hit Teryn Jackson on a 93-yard touchdown pass to put Miege up two scores. St. Thomas Aquinas finishes second in the Class 4A poll followed by Wamego, St. James Academy, and Eudora.
Class 3A
Andale claimed its fourth straight state championship and picked up its 51st consecutive win with a 28-0 decision over Holton in the Class 3A state championship game. The Andale defense limited Holton to 128 rushing yards in the game; 255 yards below the Wildcats average. Andale has now defeated its four opponents 136-7 in the last four state title game. Holton finishes second in the final Class 3A poll followed by Topeka Hayden, Girard, and Rock Creek.
Class 2A
Nemaha Central completed an undefeated season and captured its second Class 2A state football title in the past four years with a 33-17 victory over Kingman on Saturday in Salina. Cooper Hajek rushed for four touchdowns on the day as the Thunder led by as much as 33-3 in the fourth quarter before Kingman scored a pair of touchdowns. Kingman finishes second in the Class 2A poll followed by Southeast of Saline, Sabetha, and Hoisington.
Class 1A
St. Marys won the school's state football championship by scoring late to top Inman, 44-41. After a late Inman fumble, the Bears went on a game-winning 99-yard drive capped by quarterback Keller Hurla's 1-yard touchdown run with :13 seconds left. Inman finished ranked No. 2 in the poll followed by Centralia, St. Mary’s Colgan, and Olpe.
Eight-Man, Division I
Wichita County finished off an unbeaten season with a 54-36 victory over Little River in the 8-Man, Division I state championship game. Senior Erhik Hermosillo rushed for 242 yards and five touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes. It is the first state football title in Wichita County school history. Little River finished ranked No. 2 in the poll followed by Hill City, Burlingame, and Chase County.
Eight-Man, Division II
Axtell won its second-consecutive state championship with a 76-28 victory over Thunder Ridge on Saturday at Newton's Fischer Field. The Eagles trailed 28-24 before scoring 52 consecutive points. Senior quarterback Isaac Detweiler passed for 268 yards and seven touchdowns. The Eagles have now won 26 consecutive games. Canton-Galva finished ranked No. 2 in the poll followed by Thunder Ridge, Victoria, and Dighton.
Class 6-Man
Cunningham completed an unbeaten season with a 38-16 win over Ashland to claim the first-ever KSHSAA-sanctioned 6-Man state championship. Jack Ruckle rushed for a pair of short touchdowns in the third quarter to extend a 14-8 halftime lead to 30-8. Luke McGuire passed for 174 yards including a long touchdown pass to Lane Halderson. The state title is the first in school history for Cunningham. Ashland finished ranked No. 2 in the poll followed by Cheylin, Waverly, and Tescott.
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.
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
