Weather was once again a factor in Week 3 with wet field conditions impacting several games. All in all, it was a decent week for ranked teams. In fact, despite a couple of losses, there were no changes to the top five rankings in the four smallest classes. There was some movement in the larger classifications. It wasn’t a good week for Kansas schools as overall our schools were shutout in 15 games against Missouri schools. That includes an 0-10 record in the inaugural Sunflower-Suburban Showdown, a showcase pitting teams between the two conferences against each other. Let’s take a look at the top five in each classification.
Class 6A
There are a few changes in this week’s Class 6A top five as Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission East swap places at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Blue Valley avenged last year’s loss to Blue Valley North with a 25-7 win, while Shawnee Mission East simply turned the ball over too many times in a 26-20 loss to Missouri power Rockhurst. Both the Tigers and Lancer are chasing top-ranked Derby which blew past Maize 52-7 in Week 3. Junction City remains in the No. 4 spot, while Hutchinson enters the rankings at No. 5. The Salthawks host No. 1 Derby this week. Shawnee Mission West fell just outside the top five after a 35-21 loss to Blue Springs (Mo.).
Class 5A
Defending champion Mill Valley remains on top in Class 5A after a 40-24 win over Blue Valley Southwest. The Jaguars get a major test this week when they host Class 6A No. 2 Blue Valley. Wichita Heights continued its hot start with a 34-14 win at Dodge City. The Falcons move up to No. 2 in this week’s poll replacing St. Thomas Aquinas. The Saints fell three spots to No. 5 after a 48-21 road loss at 4A-I No.1 Bishop Miege. Another hot team, the Great Bend Panthers, climbed two spots to No. 3 in this week’s poll. Great Bend won at Wichita Northwest, 58-47 behind another stellar performance from senior quarterback Jacob Murray. The Panthers came in just ahead of No. 4 Bishop Carroll and No. 5 Aquinas in this week’s poll.
Class 4A-I
Buhler’s 45-21 home loss to Wichita Collegiate caused the most shake up in the Class 4A-I poll this week. The Crusaders, ranked third a week ago, fell out of the top five this week. As a result, Maize South moves up one spot to No. 3 this week, while Louisburg follows the Mavericks at No. 4. Basehor-Linwood enters the poll at No. 5 this week and replaces Buhler. The Bobcats have a road game at unbeaten Independence this week. Top-ranked Bishop Miege rolled past then Class 5A No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas, 48-21, while No. 2 Andale got a scare in a wild 61-52 win over Mulvane.
Class 4A-II
Top-ranked Holcomb blasted Ulysses 52-0 in GWAC play. The Longhorn defense limited the Tigers to only four first downs in the game. Frontenac remains in the No. 2 spot after the Raiders scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away from rival St. Mary’s Colgan, 28-7. Raider coach Mark Smith moved to 3-2 against his father, Colgan’s Chuck Smith, in the annual rivalry game. Wichita Collegiate moves up to No. 3 this week after the Spartans’ big win at Buhler. Collegiate led 45-7 before giving up a pair of late touchdowns to the Crusaders. Columbus enters the poll this week at No. 4. The Titans gritted out a muddy victory at Girard, 22-6. Finally, Colby enters the poll at No. 5 this week. The Eagles went on the road and beat last week’s No. 5 Hugoton, 24-21. Hugoton and Topeka Hayden both drop out of the top five this week.
Class 3A
There were no changes in this week’s Class 3A poll. Rossville remains on top after the Bulldawgs 50-25 win over Riley County was the schools’ 31st consecutive victory. Silver Lake remains in the No. 2 spot after a 41-0 blanking of St. Marys. The Eagles and Bulldawgs will each try not to look past Mid-East League opponents this week as the War on 24 awaits in Week 5. Third-ranked Hoisington posted a 41-0 shutout of Hillsboro. The Cardinals host Class 2-1A No.5 Washington County this week in a rematch of a Class 3A second-round playoff game from a season ago. Hoisington won that game 50-6. The Mid-Continent League make up the final two rankings spots with Phillipsburg coming in at No. 4 and Norton at No. 5.
Class 2-1A
The Class 2-1A poll also remains the same this week despite No. 2 Plainville’s 31-16 loss to Class 3A No. 4 Phillipsburg. The Cardinals stay in the No. 2 spot thanks to the strength of early season wins over Norton (No. 3 in 3A) and Smith Center. Meade, Lyndon, and Washington County round out spots number 3, 4, and 5. Washington County gets a major test at Class 3A No. 3 Hoisington this week. Troy remains the top-ranked team in 2-1A after beating Centralia 33-16.
Class 8M-I
In Class 8M-I, the votes between St. Francis and defending champion Spearville are so close that we might as well refer to them as No. 1 and No. 1A. St. Francis blitzed Hill City 66-18 last week, while Spearville beat Minneola 54-8. Burlingame remains in the No. 3 spot after an impressive 46-0 shutout of Lebo. Meanwhile, No. 4 Rural Vista and No. 5 Osborne both rolled to shutout victories, but both could get tested this week. Rural Vista hosts unbeaten Clifton-Clyde, while Osborne hosts 8M-II No. 3 Pike Valley.
Class 8M-II
Much like Class 2-1A, No. 2 Otis-Bison’s late loss to Central Plains didn’t cost the Cougars any spots in this week’s 8M-II poll. Otis-Bison led 28-26 with less than a minute to play before Central Plains scored to take the lead. The Cougars had a chance to win on the final play, but Central Plains intercepted the ball and returned it for a touchdown sealing a 40-28 win. Pike Valley remains just behind Otis-Bison in the No. 3 spot. The Panthers will get a big test when they visit 8M-I No. 5 Osborne this week. Hodgeman County and South Barber remain ranked fourth and fifth, respectively after posting big wins last week. Hanover, 8M-II’s top-ranked team, returned from an open date to hang a 50-0 shutout on Southern Coffey County.
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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