It is hard to believe the final week of the Kansas high school football season is upon us. District play wraps up this week with Class 3A and Eight-Man division playing on Thursday night, and the remaining classes playing primarily on Friday night. Here’s a look at the Kpreps Rankings as we begin to determine playoff qualifiers and the contenders for each title.
In Class 6A, No. 3 Blue Valley made a statement with a 49-0 shutout over last week’s No. 4 Olathe South. The Tigers rushed for more than 370 yards against the Falcons and compiled 522 yards of total offense. Olathe South drops out of this week’s poll. Topeka High moves up to No. 4 after a 49-28 win over Washburn Rural, and Derby cracks the top five after rolling past Wichita South, 52-14. The top of the poll remains the same as No. 1 Shawnee Mission East eased past KC Wyandotte 56-12, and Olathe North shutout Lawrence 27-0.
In Class 5A, the top four spots remained the same after a lot of movement in past weeks. Top-ranked Bishop Carroll shut out Maize South 37-0, while St. Thomas Aquinas hammered then No. 5 Blue Valley West 52-28. Salina South remains in the No. 3 spot after a 42-14 win over Newton, and Wichita Heights outscored Emporia 41-28 to remain ranked fourth. Salina Central replaces Blue Valley West at No. 5 after beating Great Bend 41-15.
Class 4A, Division I has quite a bit of movement in this week’s poll. The McPherson Bullpups enter the poll at No. 4 after a wild 44-42 win over Buhler. The Bullpups and Crusaders battled in a game that featured two ties and seven lead changes. As a result, Buhler drops from No. 3 to No. 5 in this week’s poll. KC Piper moves up to No. 4 this week after a 56-14 win over Tonganoxie on Thursday night. Bishop Miege and Topeka Hayden remain in the top two spots this week after the Stags and Wildcats each captured their respective district championships.
The big ranked showdown in Class 4A, Division II lived up to its billing as Frontenac won the battle of unbeatens 22-13 over Columbus. The Raiders managed only 16 yards of total offense and trailed 7-0 at halftime, but got things going in the second half to beat the Titans. Frontenac moves up one spot to No. 3 in this week’s poll, while Columbus falls one spot to No. 4. Holcomb remains in the fifth spot after outscoring Pratt 57-26. Top-ranked Andale shutout Clearwater 21-0 in their lowest points output of the season. Holton trailed 20-7 in the first half to Perry-Lecompton before handling the Kaws 56-27.
Everything is set for this week’s War on 24 showdown between No. 1 Silver Lake and No. 2 Rossville. The Eagles and Bulldogs are both unbeaten after blowout wins in Week 8. The remainder of the poll also remains unchanged as No. 3 Scott City, No. 4 Conway Springs, and No. 5 Wichita Collegiate all posted big wins. Scott City may get a challenge from Cimarron this week, while Conway Springs Conway Springs will take on a good one-loss Chaparral team.
No undefeated teams remain in Class 2-1A as Elkhart took down last week’s No. 4 Meade 27-26. As a result, Meade falls out of this week’s poll and is replaced by the Troy Trojans. Troy enters the poll at No. 5, while Lyndon moves up one spot to No. 4 this week. Phillipsburg beat Ell-Saline 20-14, and No. 3 Olpe held off Chase County 26-14. La Crosse remains in the second spot after rolling past Leoti-Wichita County.
The Eight-Man, Division I poll has been one of the most steady all season, but this week several teams have moved around. Spearville jumps two spots to No.2 this week after an impressive 50-28 win over last week’s No. 5 Hodgeman County. Hodgeman County falls from the top five and must rebound quickly to beat a good Ness City team on the road to claim a playoff spot. Defending state champions Osborne fell behind by 16 points in the first half and needed overtime to escape Wakefield 56-54. The Bulldogs fall two spots to No. 4 in this week’s poll and have a big challenge at No. 1 Hanover this week. Central Plains remains in the No. 3 spot this week after the Oilers posted their fifth shutout of the season in a 58-0 win over Solomon. In the fifth spot, unbeaten Udall enters the poll after a 56-26 win over Cedar-Vale Dexter last Friday night.
The Argonia-Attica Titans become just the seventh different team to be ranked in the Eight-Man, Division II poll this season. Fifth-ranked A&A will take on one of those other teams that have been in our poll this week when they face the South Barber Chieftains. South Barber has struggled to a 3-5 record as the result of numerous key injuries. Beloit St. John’s-Tipton edged Thunder Ridge 54-50 to get a key leg up for the runner-up spot in that tough District 7. The Blujays are ranked fourth and will travel to Northern Valley this week, while Thunder Ridge falls out of the top 5 poll. Sharon Springs-Wallace County remains in the No. 3 spot after shutting out Cheylin 68-0, and No. 2 Victoria picked up a forfeit win from Natoma. Top-ranked Chetopa ran only 13 plays but score on ten of them in a 96-0 halftime win over Elk Valley.
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