Two of the state’s top-ranked teams will begin the 2010 season against traditional powers from outside of the Sunflower state. The six-time defending champion Hutchinson Salthawks will open their season at home against powerful Rockhurst from Kansas City, Missouri, while 2-1A’s #1 ranked Meade Buffaloes make a trip down to Canadian, Texas to take on the powerful Wildcats.
This will mark the third consecutive year that Hutchinson will open with the Rockhurst Hawklets. The series begin in 2008 with a 28-21 Rockhurst win in Kansas City that snapped Hutchinson’s 36-game winning streak. The Salthawks were hurt by over 100 yards in penalties, and were unable to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Josh Smith was ruled to have fumbled while crossing the goal-line in the third quarter on what would have been the game’s tying score.
Last season, Hutchinson returned the favor in a big way by racing out to a 42-14 halftime lead en route to a 55-27 blowout victory. Smith rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries, including a 58-yard score on the first offensive play of the game. The hometown Salthawks physically out-played the Hawklets, especially up-front, in rushing for 475 yards. Hutchinson did not attempt a pass.
This season’s matchup features a young Salthawk team against a veteran group from Rockhurst. The Hawklets are the #1 ranked team in Missouri Class 6, and opened their season last week with a 7-6 win over Blue Springs South in a showdown of two of the Show-Me state’s best. Rockhurst has won eight state championships in the school’s history with the last coming in 2007.
The Meade Buffaloes under Scott Moshier have not been afraid of traveling outside of the state to find opponents. Two years ago, the Buffaloes traveled 780 miles round-trip to Appleton City (Mo.) to notch a 42-7 win over the Bulldogs.
This season, Meade has a much shorter drive, but a much more challenging opponent. The Canadian Wildcats were Texas State Champions in 2007 (2A Div II) and 2008 (1A Div I), while finishing as the runners-up last season. In all, Canadian has advanced at least to the state semifinals five times since 1998.
This season, the Wildcats are the preseason #1 ranked team in Class 1A Division I as listed by TexasHSFootball.com. They opened their season last week with a 44-0 shutout of River Road. Meade’s challenge will be to stop Wildcat QB Braden Hudson who threw for 188 yards and rushed for another 164 yards last week.
Prior to the beginning of district play, several other Kansas teams have games scheduled with out-of-state opponents, highlighted by St. Thomas Aquinas hosting the powerful Webb City (Mo.) Cardinals from the Joplin area.
Below is a complete schedule of games scheduled between Kansas schools and out-of-state opponents.
Week 1 – September 3rd
KC Wyandotte at KC East (Mo.)
Lewiston (Neb.) at Bern
Lincoln Prep (Mo.) at KC Schlagle
McDonald County (Mo,) at Chanute
Meade at Canadian (Texas)
Moscow at Balko (Okla.)
Oberlin-Decatur Co. at Cambridge (Neb.)
Quapaw (Okla.) at Oswego
Rockhurst (Mo.) at Hutchinson
Rolla at Tyrone (Okla.)
Wauneta-Palisade (Neb.) at Cheylin-Bird City
Week 2 – September 10th
Chetopa at SW Christian Academy (Okla.)
Cheyenne Wells (Colo.) at Weskan
Cheylin-Bird City at Haxton (Colo.)
Dundy County (Neb.) at Atwood-Rawlins Co.
Garden City at Woodward (Okla.)
KC Northeast (Mo.) at KC Schlagle
Liberal at Guymon (Okla.)
Marmaton Valley at Miami (Mo.)
University Academy (Mo.) at KC Washington
Week 3 – September 17th
Granada (Colo.) at Rolla
Guymon (Okla.) at Hugoton
Linn at Diller-Odell (Neb.)
McAuley Catholic (Mo.) at Northeast-Arma
Miami (Mo.) at Colony Crest
Oswego at Fairland (Okla.)
Riverton at Commerce (Okla.)
St. Francis at Holyoke (Colo.)
Ulysses at Clayton (N.M.)
Week 4 – September 24th
Boise City (Okla.) at Rolla
Diamond (Mo.) at Baxter Springs
Pleasanton at Miami (Mo.)
Uniontown at McAuley Catholic (Mo.)
Wray (Colo.) at St. Francis
Week 5 – October 1st
KC Central (Mo.) at KC Washington
KC Sumner Academy at Lincoln Prep (Mo.)
Week 6 – October 8th
Drexel (Mo.) at Northeast-Arma
Webb City (Mo.) at St. Thomas Aquinas
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