Seven ranked teams lost during Week 4 action. How did those losses impact the Kpreps High School Football Rankings? Find out by checking out the Kpreps Rankings for Week 5!
Class 6A
Lawrence Free State brought some stability to the top of the Class 6A poll in dominating Shawnee Mission Northwest, 49-6. The Firebirds remain in the top spot for a second consecutive week after the No. 1 team had fallen the two weeks prior.
Shawnee Mission East stays in the No. 2 spot this week after a 45-14 win over Olathe North on Thursday night. The Lancers will play a “road” game at Shawnee Mission North this week. The Lancers and Indians share North’s field but East will be the visitors this week.
Derby has rebounded nicely from the loss to Goddard in Week 2. The Panthers had little trouble with previously unbeaten Hutchinson, blasting the Salthawks 61-18 on Friday. Brody Kooser had another big night with 185 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers will host Class 5A’s third-ranked Bishop Carroll this week in one of the marquee games in the state.
Topeka High’s 21-14 loss to Manhattan means that Blue Valley moves up a spot in this week’s poll to No. 4. The Tigers rolled past two-time defending Class 5A champion Mill Valley, 49-9, in a game where all the points were scored in the first half.
Wichita Northwest reenters the top five at No. 5 this week after 54-14 blowout win over Wichita West. The Grizzlies began the season ranked No. 5, but lost to Bishop Carroll 40-35 in the final seconds of the season-opener. On Friday, Breece Hall rushed for nearly 250 yards and two scores to lead Northwest to victory over the Pioneers.
Class 5A
Goddard took down their rival Goddard-Eisenhower 20-3 to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Lions remain at No. 1 in this week’s 5A poll as they prepare for a road trip to Salina South this week.
St. Thomas Aquinas rebounded from last week’s loss to Bishop Miege by rolling to a 47-14 win over Blue Valley West. The Saints will travel to Mill Valley this week. Aquinas beat Mill Valley 40-33 during the 2016 regular season only to see the Jaguars win the rematch 14-13 in the state semifinals on their way to the 5A state title a week later.
Bishop Carroll shut out Wichita East on Thursday night to remain unbeaten. The Golden Eagles now prepare for a road game at 6A No. 3 Derby this week. Derby won the 2016 meeting 49-13.
St. James Academy remains in the No. 4 spot this week after another close win. The Thunder held on to defeat Blue Valley Northwest, 17-14, a week after beating Gardner-Edgerton 17-6. The margin for error lessens this week when the Thunder take on 6A No. 4 Blue Valley in a home game to be held at Bishop Miege.
Finally, Shawnee Heights enters the poll at No. 5 after winning the battle of unbeatens in the Centennial League, 21-14 over Topeka Seaman. The T-Birds are 4-0 for the first time in 23 years and will be tasked with slowing down the explosive Topeka High backfield this week.
Class 4A-I
Bishop Miege improved to 4-0 with a 33-14 win over Blue Valley North. The Stags handed the Mustangs their third consecutive loss on the season. Miege will be heavily favored against winless Blue Valley West on Thursday of this week.
De Soto moves up a spot to No. 2 this week after another dominating Frontier League victory. The Wildcats defeated Paola 40-14 to improve to 4-0. This week the Wildcats travel across the state line to take on the Nevada (Mo.) Tigers who enter this week with a 3-3 record.
Voters have quite the dilemma with the remainder of the 4A-I poll as the three AVCTL-II teams have all beaten up on each other this season.
This week, Buhler moves up to No. 3 after handing Maize South its first loss of the season, 17-14. The Crusaders were the first time to score on the Mavericks all season, and led 17-0 before holding on for the three-point win.
Maize South drops from No. 2 to No. 4 in this week’s poll. The Mavericks remain one spot ahead of No. 5 McPherson who they defeated 9-0 earlier this season. McPherson, on the other hand, defeated No. 3 Buhler 33-21 to open the season.
Class 4A-II
Things are tightening up in this week’s Class 4A-II poll as the Columbus Titans hold on to the No. 1 spot barely ahead of defending champion Pratt. The Titans used a goal line stand and a 99-yard drive to salt away a 23-8 road win at St. Mary’s Colgan on Friday.
Meanwhile, Pratt moves up to No. 2 after the Greenbacks rolled to a 49-13 win over Lyons. Pratt will travel to Central Kansas League rival Hoisington this week. The Cardinals handed the Greenbacks their only loss of the season a year ago, 32-14, at Pratt in Week 5. Hoisington has had an extra week to prepare for the Greenbacks as the Cardinals Week 4 opponent, Washington County, forfeited due to injuries and low numbers.
Scott City drops a spot to No 3 this week despite a dominating 35-7 win over Hugoton. The Beavers held Hugoton to 64 yards of total offense in the win. Scott City hits the road this week with a road trip to Ulysses.
Wichita Collegiate lost for a second consecutive week and fell out of this week’s 4A-II poll. The Spartans lost 35-19 to Mulvane opening the door for Topeka Hayden to move up a spot to No. 4. Hayden routed Topeka West, 63-26 to even its record at 2-2. The Wildcats will take on Centennial League rival Washburn Rural this week.
Finally, Nickerson moves into the top five at No. 5 after an impressive 47-21 win at Hesston. The Panthers lone loss came two weeks ago 28-14 to Pratt. Nickerson gets another big test this week when the Panthers host high-scoring Larned in another Central Kansas League showdown.
Class 3A
The voting remains very tight atop the Class 3A poll among the top three teams, but we have some movement again this week. Nemaha Central remains in the top spot for a second consecutive week after a 35-14 win over Jefferson West.
This week’s change comes in Phillipsburg moving up to No. 2, trading places with Silver Lake. The Panthers rolled past Oakley 68-6, while Silver Lake rolled to a 41-14 win over Rock Creek. Silver Lake takes on rival Rossville in the War on 24 this week.
The final two spots in the poll now belong to the Central Plains League. Conway Springs retains the No. 4 spot after beating Medicine Lodge, 53-0. The Cardinals will hit to road to take on Wichita Trinity Academy this week.
Meanwhile, Garden Plain enters the poll at No. 5 this week, narrowly edging out Sabetha and Galena for the final spot in the top five. The Owls beat Wichita Independent 55-14 on Friday and will host Belle Plaine this week. Garden Plain has an impressive resume through four weeks with victories over Hesston, Wichita Trinity, and Kearney (Neb.) Catholic.
Marysville drops out of this week’s top five after a 22-16 loss to Concordia.
Class 2-1A
There are no changes again in this week’s Class 2-1A poll although the voting for the final four spots continues to tighten.
Smith Center retains a commanding lead in the No. 1 spot after dominating Norton, 43-0. The Redmen will be heavy favorites in a Mid-Continent League game at Oakley this week.
Jefferson County North remains unbeaten and in the No. 2 spot this week after a 50-8 win over Oskaloosa. The Chargers are averaging 52 points per game after scoring exactly 50 for the third time in four weeks.
Lyndon remains largely untested as the Tigers rolled to another Flint Hills League victory over West Franklin, 53-13. Lyndon will host Council Grove this week before traveling to Osage City in Week 6.
Valley Heights made the long trip to Ellis a worthwhile cause after rolling to a 56-20 win over the Railers. The Mustangs are averaging 55 points per game and giving up nearly 20 per contest.
Ell-Saline narrowly retains the No. 5 spot in the 2-1A poll this week. The Cardinals shut out Inman 35-0 on Friday, but may get a big test this week when they take on unbeaten Hutchinson Trinity in matchup of two of the three unbeaten teams in the Heart of America League.
Class 8M-I
We finally have some changes in the 8-Man, Division I poll this week, but not at the top. St. Francis remains in the top spot after the Indians routed Oberlin-Decatur County 54-8 on Friday. St. Francis will get a huge district test this week when the Indians host No. 5 Hoxie. Hoxie entered the poll after beating Atwood-Rawlins County 22-6 on Friday in the Kpreps Fan’s Choice for Game of the Week.
Defending champion Osborne’s 30-28 loss to 8-Man, Division II’s No. 2 Pike Valley drops the Bulldogs down to No. 4 in this week’s poll. Osborne led 28-12 after three quarters, but Pike Valley rallied to score the go-ahead points with under two minutes remaining.
Burlingame moves into the No. 2 spot this week narrowly edging out No. 3 Spearville by a vote. The Bearcats beat Centre-Lost Springs 58-12 on Friday as quarterback Dalton Sporing threw four touchdown passes. Spearville had little trouble in a 54-8 win over Ashland on Friday. The Lancers will take on unbeaten South Gray this week.
Victoria drops out of this week’s poll after the Knights fell 22-20 to 8M-II No. 3 Otis-Bison.
Class 8M-II
Defending champion Hanover and Pike Valley remain No. 1 and No. 2 in this week’s poll. The Wildcats shut out Linn 56-0, while Pike Valley rallied for the dramatic 30-28 win over 8-Man, Division I defending champions Osborne.
There is quite a bit of shuffling with the remainder of this week’s poll. Otis-Bison jumps two spots to No. 3 this week after a 22-20 win over then 8M-I No. 5 Victoria. The Cougars begin the brutal District 6 schedule against Sharon Springs-Wallace County this week.
Hodgeman County is also a member of that District 6. The No. 4 Longhorns rallied from a 20-8 halftime deficit to win at South Central, 30-27. Hodgeman County starts district play against Tribune-Greeley County (3-1) this week.
Finally, Hutchinson Central Christian falls a couple of spots in this week’s poll to No. 5. The Cougars routed another Heart of the Plains League opponent this week, 64-6 over winless Fairfield. Central Christian may not get tested until a Week 9 district showdown with Caldwell.
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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