The state championship match-ups are no set in the 11-man classifications of the Kansas high school football playoffs, and state champions were crowned on Saturday in Newton for both of the eight-man classes.
We’ll start in the eight-man classifications where the Madison Bulldogs repeated as state champions on Saturday with a 30-12 win over South Gray. Kole Schankie led the Bulldogs with 232 yards rushing and two touchdowns on Saturday giving him nearly 500 yards rushing in Madison’s two state championship wins after a 266-yard game in last season’s 52-44 championship win over Hill City. The Bulldogs and Rebels finish in the top two spots in the Eight-man, Division I poll, while Lakeside-Downs, Osborne, and Lebo round out the top five.
In Division II, Thunder Ridge is the new state champions by virtue of a 46-14 win over the 2010 champ Baileyville B&B. Trevor Lowe and Joel Struckhoff each scored three touchdowns as the Longhorns beat the injury-depleated Falcons. The Longhorns and Falcons are No. 1 and No. 2 in the poll, while Ashland, Otis-Bison, and South Haven complete the remainder of the top five.
A new team is at the top in Class 2-1A for the second consecutive week. LaCrosse ascends to the top spot by virtue of their 13-6 win over Plainville. It was the second victory of the season for the Leopards over the Cardinals, with the other coming in Week 9 by a score of 14-8. LaCrosse will take on the Centralia Panthers in the 2-1A state title game on Saturday in Hays. The Panthers eliminated St. Mary’s Colgan 24-10 in Pittsburg to climb to the No. 2 spot in this week’s poll. Colgan falls two spots to No. 3, while Meade and Plainville round out the top five.
No changes occurred to the Class 3A poll this week as the top-ranked Conway Springs Cardinals rolled over No. 3 Garden Plain, 38-14. Silver Lake remains in the No. 2 spot after narrowly escaping Rock Creek, 14-13. The Cardinals and Eagles will battle for the 3A state title in a rematch of last season’s championship won by Silver Lake, 27-21.
In Class 4A, Rose Hill is the new top ranked team after beating former No. 1 Topeka Hayden 40-29. The Rockets will take on No. 2 Eudora in the 4A state title game in Salina. The Cardinals edged No. 4 Paola 13-10 to advance to the state championship game for the first time in school history. Hayden drops to No. 3 in the poll, while Buhler is ranked fifth.
Hutchinson and Bishop Carroll switched spots in the Kpreps Class 5A poll after the Salthawks beat the Eagles 29-21 on Friday. Second-ranked Hutchinson will take on top-ranked Blue Valley – Stilwell for the 5A state championship in Emporia on Saturday. The Tigers eliminated No. 5 Gardner-Edgerton 34-14 on Friday behind a big night rushing by quarterback Kyle Zimmerman.
A pair of Falcons will meet for the 6A state title on Saturday as top-ranked Wichita Heights will take on No. 2 Olathe South. Heights advanced to their third consecutive 6A title game with a 34-14 win over No. 4 Derby, while Olathe South used a dominant running game to get by No. 3 Olathe East, 38-21.
Check out the Kpreps Rankings page for a complete list of the Top 5 in each classification.
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