The second season is here as districts kicked off last week. How did some of the district games impact this week’s Kpreps poll? Here is the Kpreps Rankings for Week 8!
Class 6A
There are no changes in this week’s Class 6A poll, but the top two teams each survived a challenge. Top-ranked Lawrence Free State trailed Olathe East 28-10 in the third quarter before rallying to win 38-31. Junior back Jax Dineen rushed for 293 yards and four touchdowns to help the Firebirds remain unbeaten.
Similarly, the No. 2 Shawnee Mission East Lancers found themselves in a shootout with Lawrence on Thursday night. The Lancers eventually pulled away for a 62-40 victory behind 261 yards rushing and four scores from Milton Braasch.
Derby remains in the third spot this week after a dominating 59-14 victory over Salina South. The Panthers led 46-0 at halftime and cruised to their sixth victory.
Fourth-ranked Wichita Northwest also cruised to its sixth victory. The Grizzlies played on Thursday night and ran past Wichita North, 67-6. Three different Grizzly backs rushed for more than 100 yards in the game with Breece Hall going for a team-high 205 yards.
Finally, Manhattan remains in the fifth spot this week with a 38-7 win at Emporia. The Indians have now won sixth straight games since a season-opening loss to Shawnee Heights.
Class 5A
Top-ranked Goddard throttled Valley Center 57-7 to remain unbeaten on the season. The Lions led 37-7 at halftime in cruising to the victory. Freshman quarterback Kyler Semrad, filling in for the injured Blake Sullivan, passed for 201 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions to lead Goddard to victory.
St. Thomas Aquinas blasted Blue Valley Southwest 61-27. The Saints avenged a surprising regular-season loss to the Timberwolves towards the end of the 2016. Aquinas will host Eastern Kansas League rival Blue Valley this week.
Bishop Carroll retains the No. 3 spot after defeating Wichita Heights, 35-14. The game was basically even until a Heights turnover gave the Eagles a short field. Heights then played the remainder of the game without standout quarterback K’Vonte Baker. Wichita Heights drops one spot to No. 4 this week despite the loss.
Shawnee Heights reenters the poll at No. 4 this week. The Thunderbirds improved to 6-1 with a dominating 53-6 victory over Topeka Highland Park. Shawnee Heights will host Emporia this week.
Class 4A-I
Bishop Miege rolled to a 63-6 victory over Eudora to remain unbeaten. The Stags will now host No. 2 De Soto this week in the premier game in Class 4A-I this week. De Soto rolled to a 7-0 start by winning 52-7 at Spring Hill.
Andale leaps into the No. 3 spot this week after shutting down previous No. 3 Buhler, 17-6. The Indians are unbeaten on the season, but remained just outside the top five at No. 6 all season.
Maize South remains in the No. 4 spot after a hard-fought 31-23 win over Augusta. The Mavericks remain one spot ahead of McPherson since defeating the Bullpups 9-0 back in Week 2. McPherson picked up an impressive road win, 48-6, at Hays.
Class 4A-II
The Pratt Greenbacks picked up their 15th consecutive victory by beating Hugoton, 42-14. Two of those 15 straight wins have come against No. 4 Holcomb. The Greenbacks defeated Holcomb 35-28 in the 2016 regular season and 21-14 a few weeks later in the Class 4A, Division II state semifinals.
Pratt will travel to No. 4 Holcomb this week. Holcomb defeated Kingman 36-0 on Friday to earn a third consecutive shutout. The Longhorn defense is giving up a little more than eight points per game.
Holcomb’s only loss came to No. 2 Scott City back in Week 2. The Beavers remained unbeaten this week with a 42-14 victory over Colby. Scott City will finish the regular season with road trips to Goodland and Concordia.
Columbus remains ranked third this week after posting a 41-0 shutout of Baxter Springs. The Titans are battling through some injuries right now, but have a chance to, in all likelihood, claim a district title with a victory at Frontenac this week.
The Smoky Valley Vikings posted a solid performance in their first week in the top five. The Vikings shut out Rock Creek 36-0 to improve to 6-1 on the season. Smoky Valley will host one-win Chapman this week.
Class 3A
Nemaha Central won the Big 7 Conference showdown with Sabetha 21-7. The Thunder held Sabetha to less than 170 yards of total offense in beating the Bluejays for a ninth consecutive time in the regular season.
Phillipsburg remains unbeaten as the Panthers put up 81 points in an 81-33 victory over Thomas More Prep on Friday. Phillipsburg will host Norton this week with a chance to wrap up an undefeated Mid-Continent League title.
Silver Lake rolled to a 68-0 district victory over Oskaloosa. The Eagles will travel to Perry-Lecompton (5-2) this week in a game that will likely decide both playoff spots out of District 3. Silver Lake defeated the Kaws 21-19 last season and 39-38 in overtime during the 2015 season.
Conway Springs defeated rival Garden Plain 26-6 to remain unbeaten on the season. Trenton Jones rushed for more than 260 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The Cardinals will host undefeated Cheney this week as part of the brutal District 10 schedule. Garden Plain falls out of this week’s poll and will travel to Chaparral (5-2) this week.
Galena enters the top five this week at No. 5. The unbeaten Bulldogs won their district opener over Cherryvale, 41-8. Galena cruised to a 41-0 halftime lead in defeating the Chargers (5-2).
Class 2-1A
Smith Center remains the No. 1 team in Class 2-1A after beating Sacred Heart, 78-0. The Redmen led 48-0 at half and rushed for 550 yards in the game.
Lyndon narrowly edges out Jefferson County North for the second consecutive week to retain the No. 2 ranking. The Tigers beat fellow Flint Hills League member Northern Heights, 49-6. Jefferson County North rebounded from a 12-6 win over Christ Prep last week by rolling past Doniphan West, 54-8.
A pair of traditional powers enter the poll this week in the final two spots. Centralia takes over the No. 4 spot this week after blasting Wabaunsee 50-6. The Panthers are 5-2 on the season with losses to two of Class 3A’s top teams in Sabetha (28-6) and No. 1 Nemaha Central (13-0).
Another set of Panthers also enters the poll this week. The St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers take over the No. 5 spot after rolling to a 42-0 shutout at Yates Center. Colgan led Yates Center 42-0 at halftime and the two teams played with a running clock in the second half. Colgan is also 5-2 on the season with losses to Class 3A No. 5 Galena (16-0) and Class 4A-II No. 3 Columbus (23-8).
Ell-Saline and Valley Heights drop out of this week’s poll. Ell-Saline trailed winless Republic County at halftime before eventually winning 27-8. Valley Heights lost for the first time this season 44-40 to Jackson Heights. Despite remaining unbeaten on the season, the Cobras did not receive enough votes to crack this week’s top five.
Class 8M-I
For the second consecutive week, Burlingame is the No. 1 team in Eight-Man, Division I by a single vote over Spearville. The Bearcats rolled to a 70-0 victory over winless Valley Falls. Spearville posted a solid 64-16 victory over previously-unbeaten Satanta.
Defending champion Osborne picked up the most impressive victory of the week by holding off Victoria, 36-30. The third-ranked Bulldogs improved to 3-0 in the loaded District 4 and will take on an explosive Bennington (5-2) team this week.
Saint Francis remains in the No. 4 spot this week despite not playing. The Indians had an open week on their schedule for a second consecutive season. Saint Francis will travel to Quinter this week. The Bulldogs have lost 26 consecutive games.
Hoxie continues to keep pace with Saint Francis and Atwood-Rawlins County in District 8. The No. 5 Indians outscored WaKeeney-Trego 66-30 on Friday to improve to 6-1 on the season. Hoxie will travel to Hill City this week to take on the Ringnecks who enter this week having won their last four games.
Class 8M-II
Hanover hasn’t given up a point since September 8th. The top-ranked Wildcats cruised to a fifth consecutive shutout in defeating Frankfort, 60-0. Hanover has allowed only 12 points this season.
Pike Valley stays in the No. 2 spot this week after finishing off Mankato-Rock Hills 28-22 in overtime on Monday night. The Panthers also blasted Tescott 50-16 on Friday to improve to 7-0.
Otis-Bison used a strong defensive performance and consistent run game to beat Dighton, 54-8. The Cougars lost a close game to the Hornets last season and Dighton advanced to the playoffs and eventually the state title game.
Hodgeman County won its fifth straight game in beating Sharon Springs-Wallace County, 27-6. The Longhorns improved to 3-0 in the competitive District 6, but have a challenging final two weeks with games against Dighton (6-1) and Otis-Bison (6-1).
Fifth-ranked Hutchinson Central Christian cruised to another big victory. The Cougars beat South Haven 78-28 and will be heavily favored again this week against one-win Burrton. Central Christian’s first (and only) challenge of the regular season will come Week 9 when the Cougars travel to Caldwell (7-0).
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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