Kpreps 2026 playoff coverage
Class 6A
VIEW: 6A Bracket
6A EAST
Highlighted Games:
#3 Olathe Northwest (8-2) at #2 Gardner-Edgerton (8-2) – GEHS
Sunflower League members Olathe Northwest and Gardner-Edgerton will meet for a second time this season. Back in Week 4, Gardner-Edgerton scored late to top Olathe Northwest, 33-27. It was a game that the Trailblazers led 25-7 in the first quarter on two long touchdown runs by Manny Mulwa, a scoring pass from Carson McCall to Kaiden Brown, and a Dawson Cassida touchdown run. Northwest came back within 25-17 at halftime after a field goal by Sam Keely and a Jackson Connell rushing score. Brady Comfort’s touchdown pass pulled Olathe Northwest within 25-24 in the third quarter. Keely eventually gave the Ravens a 27-25 lead with a field goal with under two minutes remaining in the game. Gardner-Edgerton then drove the field and scored on a McCall touchdown pass to Vince VanDellen with 11 seconds remaining for the 33-27 win.
Olathe Northwest has not lost since. The Ravens have won six straight including last week’s 29-6 win over Olathe West – their second time to defeat the Owls this season. Northwest scored in each quarter and controlled things on the ground with Noah Harrell rushing 20 times for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Harrell has now rushed for 1,385 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Comfort has added 643 yards rushing with eight touchdowns, while throwing for 1,142 yards and six scores. In the first meeting with Gardner-Edgerton, Northwest was balanced with 185 yards rushing and 183 yards passing.
Gardner-Edgerton got a Mulwa touchdown and another score in the second half last week to extend a one-score lead to a 43-21 win over Blue Valley Northwest. The Blazers are no stranger to deep playoff runs having reached at least the state semifinals in each of the past four seasons. Gardner-Edgerton won back-to-back state titles in 2023 and 2024 before falling to Olathe Northwest, 42-28, in last year’s state semifinal round.
Other quarterfinal games:
#5 Olathe North (7-3) at #1 Mill Valley (10-0) – Mill Valley
6A WEST
Highlighted Games:
#4 Wichita Northwest (8-2) at #1 Derby (10-0) – Derby
Derby has won seven in a row in the series from 2004 to 2025. Panther senior quarterback Blade Clark has thrown for 1,335 yards with 17 scores against three interceptions. Derby senior Davon Morrison has 153 rushes for 1,340 yards and 26 scores. Senior Michael Castillo has enjoyed a big year with 34 catches for 629 yards and nine scores. Northwest is very young in the backfield with sophomore Zyair Burton (1,047 rushing yards) and freshman Braylon Scott (1,023 yards).
Other quarterfinal games:
#3 Manhattan (8-2) at #2 Maize (9-1) – Manhattan
Class 5A
VIEW: 5A Bracket
5A EAST
Highlighted Games:
#5 Blue Valley (8-2) at #1 De Soto (10-0) – Blue Valley
The contrasting styles of Blue Valley and De Soto should make for an intriguing 5A quarterfinal showdown. Blue Valley features a high-octane offense led by quarterback Dan Sogard and a talented group of receivers, while De Soto will counter with a ball-control, flexbone offense and one of the state’s toughest players in Emerson Tjaden. This will be the third all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Tigers. De Soto won 9-7 in the 1977 playoffs, while Blue Valley won 20-14 during the 1973 season.
Blue Valley has won five straight games since a loss against another flexbone team in St. Thomas Aquinas (27-24) back in Week 5. The Tigers have outscored their first two playoff opponents (Leavenworth and KC Washington) by a combined score of 100-0. Sogard has passed for 2,447 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. Jacob Lockett has 52 catches for 878 yards and nine touchdowns, while twin brother Jordan Lockett has 62 receptions for 851 yards and eight scores. Sophomore Wes Williams has added 36 catches for 521 yards and six scores. Liam Axtell has gotten the Tiger ground game going lately with three consecutive 100-yard games including 181 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s win over Washington. Axtell has scored eight touchdowns in his past two outings.
De Soto continues to impress in grinding out victories over Spring Hill (12-10) and St. James Academy (21-17). Tjaden leads the team with 1,182 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. Will Morton has added 733 yards and ten scores. Ben Parks has thrown for 825 yards and 11 scores, but did not complete a pass in last week’s win over St. James. Instead, De Soto relied on the ground game and Tjaden delivered with 168 yards and all three touchdowns on 39 carries.
Other quarterfinal games:
#3 Basehor-Linwood (8-2) at #2 Spring Hill (9-1) – Spring Hill
5A WEST
Highlighted Games:
#4 Bishop Carroll (9-1) at #1 Andover (10-0) – Bishop Carroll
Jamie Cruce enjoyed great success at Pratt before he went to Haysville Campus and now Andover. He took over a winless squad and has posted 4-5, 6-3 and 10-0 records. Andover has posted its most wins since its 1984 state championship season. The run-heavy Trojans have posted a rushing attempt on 89.5 percent of snaps. Senior Pete Vega has 154 carries for 899 yards and 10 scores. The Trojans have forced just seven turnovers all season. After a rare downturn, Chris Jaax has returned Bishop Carroll to prominence in his second year as head coach. Carroll posted losing records in ’23-24 before a 7-3 mark last season. Senior Cooper Herrman has 87 carries for 654 yards and 11 scores.
Other quarterfinal games:
#3 Hays (9-1) at #2 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (10-0) – Kapaun
Class 4A
VIEW: 4A Bracket
4A EAST
Highlighted Games:
#11 Ottawa (6-4) at #7 Tonganoxie (7-3) -- Tonganoxie
Frontier League rivals Ottawa and Tonganoxie will meet for a second time this season with the winner advancing to the state semifinals. Tonganoxie won the earlier meeting, 21-0, back in the final week of the regular season. In that meeting, the Ottawa defense slowed the Chieftain offense, but the Cyclones weren’t able to generate any points of their own. Tonganoxie got a pair of rushing touchdowns from Bodee Maslak and another rushing score from Blake Riedel. The Chieftains rushed for 185 yards on the night led by junior Paxton Summers’ 93 yards on 18 attempts.
Riedel has rushed for a team-high 892 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, followed by Maslak’s nearly 400 rushing yards with seven scores. Sophomore Hudson Myers has passed for 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns. Kipton Harder is the Chieftains primary receiver with 47 catches for 557 yards and five scores. Roman Holthaus has 23 catches for 379 yards and two scores. Tonganoxie has some impressive wins this season including last week’s 38-20 victory at Louisburg. The Chieftains haf also defeated Topeka Hayden, Eudora, and Paola in consecutive weeks. Tonganoxie’s two losses have come against Louisburg in the season opener and at 4A West quarterfinalist McPherson.
Ottawa advanced to the quarterfinals by flipping a result on Independence with a 14-6 round-one victory and last week’s 42-7 win over KC Sumner Academy. Independence defeated the Cyclones 18-14 during the regular season. Ottawa also owns a win over 3A quarterfinalist Baldwin (27-21) and Louisburg (22-20).
Other quarterfinal games:
#5 Eudora (8-2) at #1 Bishop Miege (10-0) – Bishop Miege
4A WEST
Highlighted Games:
#4 Wellington (8-2) at #1 McPherson (9-1) – McPherson
Wellington has won four straight regional titles. However, the Crusaders have fallen in the quarterfinals each year, all on the road and all by significant margins.
McPherson has won eight in a row since a 21-3 loss to Great Bend in Week 2. The Bullpups have won each game by at least 17 points. McPherson has scored 43.6 points per contest. Last week, McPherson overcame an early deficit and beat Augusta, 40-23. Ashton Malm had a big one-handed pick-six for the Bullpups. McPherson quarterback Carter Bengton has passed for 2,098 yards and 21 scores. Malm paces the receiving corps with 45 catches.
Wellington went through a midseason coaching change and Ryan Jenkins took over. Wellington has struggled against the pass and allowed 586 passing yards the last two weeks, per Sumner Newscow. Wellington put up more than 550 yards of total offense in a big 62-42 win versus Ulysses. Junior Colton Elmore has 1,811 passing yards with 19 scores against eight interceptions. Sophomore Nelson Armstrong has 884 rushing yards and seven scores. He is the second-leading receiver with 32 catches for 499 yards and three TDs. This is the third meeting overall and first since Wellington defeated McPherson, 23-21, in Week 6 of the 2023 season.
Other quarterfinal games:
#3 Buhler (8-2) at #2 Wamego (8-1) – Buhler
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
