Believe it or not, we’ve already reached the mid-point of the Kansas high school football season. District play will kick off this week in both 8-Man classifications and Class 2-1A. Before long, we’ll be breaking down scenarios for awarding playoff bids. But there are still some great games to be played. Let’s check out this week’s Kpreps rankings.
Class 6A
There were a couple of big games in Class 6A last week that headlined the state schedule. Top-ranked Derby took down No. 5 Hutchinson 46-20 thanks to three consecutive touchdowns after the Salthawks pulled to within 25-20. Derby converted three Hutchinson turnovers into points in the first half in building an eleven-point halftime advantage. The other marquee game in the state saw No. 2 Blue Valley score 28 consecutive points to pull away from 5A No. 1 Mill Valley, 45-28. Shawnee Mission East remains ranked third this week after drilling Olathe North. Junction City remains in the fourth spot, but the Blue Jays needed a fourth-quarter safety resulting from a Washburn Rural botched punt snap in order to escape 22-21. Junction City’s rival, Manhattan, moves into the fifth spot this week after a 26-point win over Topeka High.
Class 5A
Despite the 45-28 loss to Blue Valley, Mill Valley remains in the top spot in Class 5A this week. The Jaguars continue a brutal stretch of their Eastern Kansas League schedule when they visit No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas this week. Aquinas remained in the poll after a 35-7 win over Blue Valley West on Thursday night. Wichita Heights, Great Bend, and Bishop Carroll hold down the 2, 3, and 4 spots, respectively. Great Bend rallied to knock off WAC rival Dodge City 34-27, while Carroll and Heights each rolled over City League opponents. Bishop Carroll hosts 6A No. 1 Derby this week.
Class 4A-I
The top two spots remain the same in Class 4A-I this week as Bishop Miege and Andale each posted victories. Miege used a strong defensive effort to top Blue Valley North 24-6, while Andale had little trouble with winless Wellington in a 47-7 win. Louisburg moves up to No. 3 this week after shutting out Eudora, 33-0. Meanwhile, Basehor-Linwood also moves up a spot to No. 4 this week. The Bobcats went on the road and dominated previously-unbeaten Independence 46-6. Mulvane sneaks into the rankings at No. 5 this week after the Wildcats rolled past Wichita Collegiate, 35-7. Maize South drops out of this week’s poll after a 21-14 loss to Buhler.
Class 4A-II
In Class 4A-II, two teams in last week’s top five lost in Week 4. We already mentioned Wichita Collegiate’s 35-7 loss to Mulvane on Friday night. As a result, Collegiate drops from No. 3 to No. 4 in this week’s 4A-II poll. Columbus moves up to No. 3 in this week’s poll after a 32-7 win over St. Mary’s Colgan. Pratt checks in at No. 5 this week ahead of the Greenback’s big showdown with 3A No. 3 Hoisington on Friday. Top-ranked Holcomb and No. 2 Frontenac each posted comfortable victories in Week 4.
Class 3A
It’s War Week in Class 3A as No. 1 Rossville will host No. 2 Silver Lake in the latest edition of the War on 24. The two rivals seem to always be ranked No. 1 and No. 2 heading into the War each year. Hoisington continues to impress in the No. 3 spot. The Cardinals dominated Washington County 47-6. Phillipsburg continues to roll with a 49-0 win at Oakley. The fourth-ranked Panthers travel to Ellis in Week 5. Meanwhile, Garden Plain enters the top five at No. 5 this week. The Owls have wins over Hesston, Wichita Trinity, Kearney (Neb.) Catholic, and Wichita Independent.
Class 2-1A
Top-ranked Troy was pushed before holding off Perry-Lecompton 25-22 on Friday. The Trojans begin district play against winless Doniphan West. Plainville sits in the No. 2 spot after blowing out Thomas More Prep, while Lyndon climbs to No. 3 this week after a 61-8 win over West Franklin. Lyndon’s movement up the poll came as a result of Cimarron upsetting last week’s No. 3 Meade 20-14. The win was the Blue Jays first over Meade since 2005. Smith Center is back in the poll at No. 4 this week following a 20-17 overtime win over Norton. The Redmen are one spot ahead of No. 5 Jackson Heights. The Cobras beat Maur Hill-Mount Academy 59-27 to improve to 4-0. Jackson Heights travels to Washington County this week.
Class 8M-I
A couple of changes occurred at the bottom of this week’s 8M-I poll. Osborne moves up to No. 4 this week after the Bulldogs stopped a late two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 34-32 win over 8M-II No. 4 Pike Valley. Following Osborne is No. 5 Central Plains. The Oilers have quality wins over Victoria and Otis-Bison already this season. Meanwhile, the top three in the poll all rolled to victories. Rural Vista fell out of the poll after a 74-72 overtime loss to Clifton-Clyde.
Class 8M-II
Hanover remains on top in 8M-II this week after a 48-0 shutout of Linn. Hodgeman County leaps up to the No. 2 spot in this week’s poll after the Longhorns drilled previously-unbeaten South Central, 66-22. The Longhorns begin that challenging District 6 by hosting Tribune-Greeley County (3-1). Otis-Bison falls one spot to No. 2 this week despite the Cougars rally to top Victoria 46-36. Pike Valley drops a spot to No. 4 after their two-point loss to Osborne, and Caldwell enters the rankings at No. 5 this week. The high-scoring Blue Jays blanked Flinthills 54-0, and are now averaging 62.5 points per game. South Barber fell out of the poll after a 40-26 loss to Argonia-Attica.
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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