We have reached the final week of the Kansas high school football season and the state championship games are set in each classification. Kpreps will release one final set of state football rankings after the state champions are crowned. Let’s take a look at the Kpreps.com rankings for November 20th. Check out our complete Rankings for further details.
Class 6A
Derby advanced back to the Class 6A state title game for the third consecutive season with a 53-41 win over Wichita Northwest. Northwest held a two score lead for much of the first half before the Panthers scored three consecutive touchdowns to lead 32-28 in the third quarter. The Grizzlies then took a lead on a long touchdown pass and threatened to score again, but Derby stopped Northwest running back Breece Hall on fourth-&-goal from the 1-yard line. Derby then drove 99 yards to take a 39-35 lead and added two more scores to pull away.
Blue Valley North moves up to No. 2 in this week’s poll after a 44-37, double-overtime victory over Blue Valley. The Mustangs matched Blue Valley’s score in the first overtime on a Graham Mertz 10-yard run, then took the lead on a 1-yard Mertz sneak in the second OT. The Mustang defense then tackled Blue Valley for losses on first and second down and forced two incomplete passes to end the game. This will be Blue Valley North’s first appearance in a state football championship game in school history.
Lawrence Free State comes in at No. 3 in this week’s poll followed by Wichita Northwest, and Blue Valley.
Class 5A
Saint Thomas Aquinas takes over the top spot in Class 5A this week after advancing to the state championship game with a dominating 55-21 win over Mill Valley. The Saints ended Mill Valley’s bid for a third consecutive 5A state championship by rushing for 389 yards and forcing three Jaguar turnovers. Mill Valley, ranked fourth this week, had ended the Saints’ season in the semifinal round in each of the past two seasons.
Bishop Carroll moves up a spot to No. 2 this week after the Golden Eagles knocked off last week’s No. 1 Goddard, 29-17. The Carroll defense intercepted Goddard quarterback Blake Sullivan four times in the game. Carroll quarterback Braden Howell scored on a 7-yard touchdown run late in the game to expand the Eagles’ 22-17 lead to two scores. Carroll will take on Aquinas in the 5A state title game at Pittsburg State’s Carnie Smith Stadium in a rematch of the 2014 state championship game won by Carroll, 39-7.
Goddard, Mill Valley, and Maize round out the remainder of this week’s Class 5A poll.
Class 4A, Division I
Bishop Miege trailed De Soto until mid-way through the second quarter and then pulled away for a 56-24 victory. The Stags are back in the Class 4A, Division I state title game for the fourth consecutive season where they will take on No. 2 Andale. Andale escaped McPherson with a 20-13 victory on Friday despite just 22 rushing yards on 33 attempts. Instead, the Indians turned to the passing game as Ethan Baalmann threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns. The Andale defense forced five McPherson turnovers in advancing to the fourth state championship game in school history.
The remainder of this week’s Class 4A, Division I poll has De Soto at No. 3, McPherson at No. 4, and Buhler at No. 5.
Class 4A, Division II
Holcomb takes over the top spot in this week’s Class 4A, Division II poll after the Longhorns dominated Scott City, 34-13. The Holcomb defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the first quarter and held Scott City to 60 rush yards on 32 attempts.
Frontenac climbs up the poll to No. 2 this week after the Raiders advanced to their first state championship game in football since 2000. Frontenac broke a 21-21 halftime tie with Topeka Hayden by returning two interceptions for touchdowns – 94 and 97 yards – in defeating the Wildcats, 37-21.
Scott City, Hayden, and Smoky Valley round out the remainder of the 4A-II poll this week.
Class 3A
Marysville moves into the top spot this week after the Bulldogs went on the road and eliminated Phillipsburg, 30-24. Sophomore Atreyau Hornbeak rushed for three touchdowns including the game winning score with 3:32 remaining to lift the Bulldogs to the state title game for the first time since 2009.
Marysville opponent in Hutchinson will be the Sabetha Blue Jays. Sabetha mvoes up to No. 2 this week after a 17-14 road win at Silver Lake. The Blue Jays rushed for 288 yards in the win and intercepted Silver Lake three times. This will be Sabetha’s first state title game appearance since winning the Class 4A title in 1997.
The rest of this week’s Class 3A poll has Phillipsburg at No. 3 followed by Silver Lake and Galena.
Class 2-1A
Top-ranked Smith Center cruised to the school’s first state title game appearance since 2009 with a 51-0 blanking of Plainville. Jesse Staples rushed for 238 yards and two scores as the Redmen racked up 519 yards of total offense – all on the ground.
St. Mary’s Colgan remains in No. 2 spot this week after surviving a 15-12 battle with Olpe. The Panthers are back in the title game for the first time since 2010. Colgan and Smith Center met in the 2-1A state title game in 2004, 2005, and 2007 during the Redmen’s run of five consecutive state championships.
The rest of this week’s 2-1A poll includes No. 3 Olpe, No. 4 Centralia, and No. 5 Jefferson County North.
Eight-Man, Division I
Hoxie makes the jump to the top spot in this week’s poll after the Indians went on the road to win at Spearville, 44-20. Hoxie advances to the schools’ first state football championship game since 1981 when the Indians finished runner-up to Silver Lake in Class 3A.
Meanwhile, Saint Paul rallied to knock off a higher-ranked team for a second consecutive week. The Indians scored the game’s final 23 points in beating No. 1 Burlingame 43-34. Quarterback Braven Born passed for 170 yards and four touchdowns to help St. Paul reach a state title game for the first time since winning an eight-man title in 2002. This will be St. Paul’s seventh all-time appearance in a state football championship game.
The remainder of this week’s Eight-Man, Division I poll includes No. 3 Burlingame, No. 4 Spearville, and No. 5 Osborne.
Eight-Man, Division II
Hanover advanced back to the state championship game for the fourth consecutive season with a 36-24 win over previous No. 2 Pike Valley.
The Wildcats will try to win a second straight eight-man title when they take on No. 2 Hodgeman County. The Longhorns blasted Otis-Bison 42-16 behind a big night from quarterback Jacob Salmans. Salmans rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 104 more yards and two scores as Hodgeman County avenged a 58-26 loss to Otis-Bison just three weeks ago.
Rounding out this week’s Eight-Man, Division II poll is No. 3 Pike Valley, No. Otis-Bison, and No. 5 Mankato-Rock Hills.
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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