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Rankings after Week 4

After a slate of thrilling games last week the regular season is now halfway over. Our Week 4 rankings are below:Class 6A1. Manhattan (4-0)2. Derby (3-1)3. Wichita Northwest (3-1)4. Blue Valley Northwest (2-2)5.
Andale continues their dominance of Class 3A under coach Dylan Schmidt. (Photo: Jim Ast)

Rankings after Week 3

Three weeks of the season completed and many of the favorites solidified their position at the top of the rankings after quality wins. For the smaller classes district play begins to heat up this week and the playoff picture begins to take shape.Class 6A1. Manhattan (3-0)2. Derby (2-1)3.
Defending 8-Man II champion Axtell looked impressive in blowing out Clifton-Clyde this week. (Photo: Everett Royer, KSportsImages.com)

Rankings after Week 2

While all-class power rankings are incredibly difficult to get right at the high school level, we decided to give it a shot just for fun.
Inman appears to have a team equipped to make a return trip to the 1A Title Game this fall. (Photo: Doug Neufeld Photography)

Rankings after Week 1

Week 1 saw several surprises and a great group of quality games to open the season. The end result is some shuffling in our first round of rankings following actual games and we're sure to see more changes as the season roars ahead.
Mill Valley looked like the state's most complete team in their dominant Week 1 victory over Olathe Northwest and together with Andale appear to be most well-equipped to win another State Title. (Photo: Lori Wood Habiger, Center Stage Photography)

Preseason football rankings

Here's our best guess at the state's top teams as we head into the 2022 season. Prep for the first week of games with our complete football preview embedded below, and find our rankings rundown for all nine classes further down the page:  6-Man1. Cunningham2. Ashland3.
Photo: Everett Royer, KSportsImages.com

A living legend retires

This column appears on page three of the 2022 Kansas Pregame Football Preview. Read the complete preview below, or the introductory column on Hamilton further down the page.
CJ Hamilton's retirement ends the most successful high school football coaching career in Kansas history.

2023 = Top Prospects

Recruiting rankings are one of the most controversial topics in the high school and college football landscape.Players tout them, or lament them. Fans debate them. College coaches claim to ignore them.
The first look at the 2022 Football Preview cover and inside cover featuring the state's top prospects and some of the state's top football families. (Cover shot: Joey Bahr; Inside Cover F.O.E. shot: Heather Kindall)

Final Prep Power Index and Kansas Pregame rankings

The 2021 football season is now a wrap and eight Kansas State High School Activities Association state champions are cleaning off space in their trophy cases, with six of them simply sliding last year’s championship trophy over to make space for yet another.
A Mill Valley fan holds up three fingers during the team's celebration of their third straight state championship Saturday in Pittsburg. (Photo by Lori Wood Habiger)
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