Kpreps 2026 playoff coverage
Class 6A
VIEW: 6A Bracket
6A EAST
Highlighted Games:
#6 Olathe West (6-3) at #3 Olathe Northwest (7-2) – Olathe Northwest
Rivals Olathe West and Olathe Northwest will meet for a second time this season. Northwest outscored West 21-7 in the fourth quarter to win 42-35 back in Week 3. In that game, Northwest running back Noah Harrell carried 25 times for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Harrell has rushed for 1,164 yards and 14 scores this season. Quarterback Brody Comfort has added 1,089 passing yards and six scores and threw for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Owls the first time around. Northwest’s Jackson Connell has put together an all-state season at linebacker registering 127 tackles, including nine for loss. Olathe West advanced to the Regional round with a 41-28 win over Shawnee Mission East. Quarterback Andre Day leads the Owl offense and has thrown for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. Cash Warren is the workhorse back for the Owls having 766 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Olathe West got a defensive score in the first meeting and will need be opportunistic and play well on that side of the ball again tonight.
Other first-round games:
#8 Olathe South (5-4) at #1 Mill Valley (9-0) – Mill Valley
#5 Olathe North (6-3) at #4 Lawrence (7-2) – Lawrence
#10 Blue Valley Northwest (5-4) at #2 Gardner-Edgerton (7-2) – GEHS
6A WEST
Highlighted Games:
#6 Garden City (6-3) at #3 Manhattan (7-2) – Manhattan
Garden City has enjoyed a nice turnaround this year behind a strong passing season from Tatum Heavner and receivers Macoy Hemmert and Ryder Carr. The Buffaloes have a plus five-win improvement to 6-3. Heavner has thrown for 1,810 yards with 16 scores and three interceptions. Hemmert and Carr have combined for 78 catches with 10 touchdowns. Manhattan has won seven straight in the series dating back to 2006, including 47-15 last year. Junior McLain Aslin has thrown for 473 yards and rushed for 1,036 yards. Four players have double-double tackles, including 21.5 from senior Kadin Dibbini.
Other first-round games:
#8 Lawrence Free State (3-5) at #1 Derby (9-0) – Derby
#5 Wichita Southeast (6-3) at #4 Wichita Northwest (7-2) – Wichita Northwest
#10 Washburn Rural (4-5) at #2 Maize (8-1) – Maize
Class 5A
VIEW: 5A Bracket
5A EAST
Highlighted Games:
#8 St. James Academy (6-3) at #1 De Soto (9-0) – St. James
One of two Regional playoff showdowns pitting teams from the Eastern Kansas League against the United Kansas Conference. Both present intriguing matchups. St. James has been highly ranked all season before falling from the poll after a late season loss to Blue Valley. The Thunder are led by quarterback John Hornback and a talented group of receivers. Hornback has passed for 1,339 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 475 rushing yards with six scores. Senior Matt Wurtenberger leads the team with 307 receiving yards, but Will Buser, Cory Kirchner, Luke Niesen, and Cooper Most are all capable big-play threats. Buser leads the team with 763 rushing yards and eight scores. De Soto will look to possess the ball and grind things out on the ground which they are so adept at. Emerson Tjaden has proven difficult to stop and has 1,014 yards and ten touchdowns on the ground. Will Morton has speed around the edge and has added 670 yards and 10 scores. Ben Parks has added 329 yards rushing and has passed for 825 yards and 11 scores. Success on first down will be key for both teams. Can St. James put De Soto in second and third-and-long situations? Can De Soto contain the play-making ability of Hornback? This should be a great second-round game!
Other first-round games:
#5 Blue Valley (7-2) at #4 KC Washington (7-2) – Blue Valley
#10 Blue Valley North (4-5) at #2 Spring Hill (8-1) – Blue Valley North
#3 KC Piper (6-3) at #3 Basehor-Linwood (7-2) – Basehor-Linwood
5A WEST
Highlighted Games:
#11 Goddard (4-5) at #3 Hays (8-1) – Hays
Goddard pulled a slight upset last week with a 38-35 victory. In Week 3, Eisenhower defeated Goddard, 36-17. Senior Erik Olivias has rushed 161 times for 1,526 yards with 16 scores. The defenses could be the difference. Goddard has allowed 25.8 points per game. Hays High has permitted just 8.3 points per contest. Hays’ running back duo of Archer Amrein and Braxton Basgall have combined for more than 1,500 rushing yards. Joey Dintino has enjoyed an efficient year at quarterback behind OL Gus Corsair (Oregon commit). Defensively, Nash Kaiser, Keiston Evans-Grant, Tanner Geist and Jace Dreher have paced the Indian defense.
Other first-round games:
#9 Hutchinson (4-5) at #1 Andover (9-0) – Andover
#12 Maize South (4-5) at #4 Bishop Carroll (8-1) – Bishop Carroll
#7 Salina Central (6-3) at #2 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (9-0) – Kapaun
Class 4A
VIEW: 4A Bracket
4A EAST
Highlighted Games:
#9 St. Thomas Aquinas (6-3) at #1 Bishop Miege (9-0) – Bishop Miege
Aquinas and Miege will meet in an early round matchup that will determine the favorite to reach the 4A state title game. The two rivals met in Week 2 with Miege turning in a dominating performance in a 34-7 win. It was the first game for Aquinas after quarterback Carson Patrick went out with an injury. Patrick returned to play some last week in the Saints’ 35-21 comeback victory at Paola. Miege rolled to a blowout win over Coffeyville in the first round. In the first meeting, Miege led 34-0 in snapping a three-game losing streak to Aquinas. Quarterback Landon Cole threw a pair of touchdown passes – one to Michael Blount who also rushed for a score. Cole has passed for 2,034 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Blount has team-highs in receptions (39), receiving yards (690), and receiving touchdowns (10). Vinney George has rushed for 913 yards and 13 scores. Aquinas has found some momentum with Luke Bernhardt at quarterback and Michael Minnis’ big-play ability in the backfield. This should be another classic between these two Eastern Kansas League rivals.
Other first-round games:
#13 Lansing (4-5) at #5 Eudora (7-2) – Eudora
#7 Tonganoxie (6-3) at #2 Louisburg (7-2) – Louisburg
#11 Ottawa (5-4) at #3 KC Sumner Academy (8-1) -- Ottawa
4A WEST
Highlighted Games:
#6 Great Bend (7-2) at #3 Buhler (7-2) – Great Bend
This is a rematch from Week 4, a game Great Bend won 33-22. Great Bend took big losses to 5A rival Hays High and 6A Junction City before it bounced back with a 41-21 home win versus Mulvane. The Panthers returned to their formula for winning against Mulvane: clean football, especially in the passing game, big plays from Cooper Ohnmacht and a solid defense. Great Bend held Mulvane to 255 total yards and 4.6 yards per play, and Ohnmacht (Kansas State commit) recorded an 11-yard pick-six. Junior Maxson Smiley has enjoyed a big year in his first year as a transfer. Smile has thrown for 1,690 yards with 61 completion percentage, along with 21 touchdowns and no interceptions. Buhler has countered with quarterback Asher Zachary, along with Martinez, and receiver Garrett Gleason. Landon Martinez delivered 22 carries for 204 yards. Martinez is the next long line of great Buhler backs. He also posted games of 246 and 251 yards.
Other first-round games:
#8 Augusta (6-3) at #1 McPherson (8-1) – McPherson
#5 Ulysses (7-2) at #4 Wellington (7-2) – Wellington
#5 Rock Creek (7-2) at #2 Wamego (7-1) – Wamego
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