Class 3A preseason football rankings breakdown

Preseason rankings are a guessing game, perhaps now more than ever given the increased frequency of student-athlete transfers in the offseason, but it's fun to try and predict who is going to finish the season on top.

As a former coach, I'm a little conflicted about producing preseason rankings. I can tell you definitively that players can be impacted by what's written and reported about them. Different teams have differing abilities to meet or exceed expectations.

Coaching history, returning experience, standout players at key positions, and schedule are a few key considerations that go into the rankings, but this year feels like the most wide-open for all classifications in recent memory. Heading into last season I was confident that Mill Valley would win 5A, one of the Big 3 private school powers (Aquinas, Miege, St. James) would win 4A, Andale would win 3A, St. Marys would be at least a semifinalist, Little River would at least make the 8-Man I final, Axtell would win 8-Man II with their toughest game against Canton-Galva at some point, and Cunningham would win 6-Man. Of course I also didn't think Manhattan, Gardner-Edgerton, or Wichita County would finish in the Top 5 – guess they showed me, huh?

Most of the most experienced teams are likely just a couple players away from being at the top or the bottom of the rankings, and there are many factors which are uncontrollable including injuries, weather, depth, officiating (not a criticism of officials but it's a fact that a couple of missed calls here or there can impact a season), and the most significant factor in the overall success or failure of an athletic program, socioeconomic status of the region around the school system, a seldom referenced, but ultra-important factor, and a topic for another time.

Regardless of where your team lands in the predictions that follow, the former coach in me wants to implore each player to be coachable, do their absolute best on and off the field, and embrace their role on the team and let the chips fall where they may.

NOW, let's take a look at the Kansas Pregame preseason rankings and see if we can guess who will end up on top.

This year, the classifications from top-to-bottom just feel deeper than in the past. While 4A still appears as though it will be dominated by the private schools, graduation losses at Mill Valley, Andale, and Axtell don't leave them as the sure-bet repeat champions of the past, though we think they're still the favorites.

Class 3A

1. Andale
2. Cheney
3. Topeka Hayden
4. Wichita Collegiate
5. Clay Center

The nation’s longest active winning streak resides in ANDALE (currently tied with John Milledge Academy in Georgia which has started their season 2-0). They’re bound to lose some day but will that day happen this season? Who knows! But what we do know about the Indians is they’ll have to replace a senior class that never lost a game and coach Dylan Schmidt welcomes back likely the least experienced team in his tenure with five seniors returning. Andale’s offense was prolific, and despite sitting most of their starters in the second half of games, they still posted one of the best scoring offenses and defenses in the state. The top  returner is linebacker Karson Butts, who had 90 tackles last season. Cody Engelbrecht had three interceptions in the defensive secondary. Senior Gage Prosser will run double duty at running back and linebacker after he ran for 692 yards last season. He’ll most likely carry the brunt of the backfield work with Trent Eck. Look for junior Cooper Marx to step into a larger role this season.

CHENEY returns all five linemen and their starting quarterback heading into a new season that should be filled with expectations as a heavy favorite to win the Central Plains League, but Shelby Wehrman’s squad has state championship aspirations on their minds. The Cardinals will return 14 starters including junior QB Josh Burdick after a stellar sophomore season, throwing for 2,226 yards and 23 TDs. He’ll have his top target, Jackson Voth (New Mexico St. commit) back after a huge season (83 rec., 1,044 yds., 12 TDs), along with all five starting linemen. Voth was a huge defensive presence as well, leading the Cardinals with 118 tackles. Kason Messenger had three sacks along the defensive front last season to go with his 61 tackles and 10 TFLs. Colter McDaniel returns after intercepting five passes, posting 74 tackles, and adding four pass break-ups and three TFLs last season, too.

TOPEKA HAYDEN has some holes to fill but they return more than enough to make some noise in Class 3A this season. Replacing Joe Otting and Ben Evans along the offensive front will be no easy task, but with junior QB Jett Wahlmeier back (84-133, 1381 yds., 16 TDs), the transition may not be nearly as painful. He’ll have senior Finn Dunshee back and he’s bringing his 100 meter state championship with him. The senior ran for 1,150 yards and 12 TDs last season. Jensen Schrickel caught 686 yards worth of passes on 35 receptions for 10 TDs last season and is another burner who recorded 4.5 second 40 times this summer. Three offensive linemen return this season to soften the departure of Otting to Notre Dame. Schrickel also had three INTs last year on defense. Linebacker Jude Konrade, a finalist for many 3A defensive player of the year awards, had 80 tackles last season and two sacks, helping Hayden’s defense. 

WICHITA COLLEGIATE was supposed to have a QB battle but that isn’t happening as Hesston’s Hudson Ferralez transferred in the offseason. He provides a quality passing threat for Troy Black’s offense that relied heavily on now K-State’s Wesley Fair last fall. This season, it could be the Ferralez show. Last season at Hesston, Ferralez threw for 1,190 yards and 10 TDs. He also ran for another 100 yards. Pair him with super sophomore Jaden Parker and the Spartans return some firepower. He had 316 yards and 6 TDs in a limited role. Defensively, at 6-foot-3, he’s a monster and had three INTs. Coach Black says the defense must be able to use their team speed to their advantage. There aren’t going to be many teams outrunning them. They return Jacob Chappell, their leading tackler from last season, and junior Tristan Sprole, who led the team with 10 TFLs and was honorable all-state as a sophomore last year.

After surprising some teams in the 3A playoffs last year, CLAY CENTER is back and they bring a lot of experience from a state semifinalist. Carter Long (844 yds., 8 TDs) and Brody Hayes (836 yds., 14 TDs) return in the always tough to defend flexbone offense. The Tigers were one of the most prolific ground games in 3A, averaging 252 yards per game on the ground. They were seventh overall in 3A. 
They’ll have a real shot at winning the North Central Kansas League this season as Cole Pladson will most likely step in at QB to replace Mark Hoffman who accounted for over 1,400 yards of total offense. Owen Craig will be used in the flex as well. He had 643 yards and 5 TDs last season.  Defensively, coach Marc Henry has a bunch of starters back, including their top five tacklers. They’ll be led by Hayes (105 tkls.) and Talyn Pfizenmaier (81). Replacing all-state D-lineman Brett Loader will be a task but by committee, but Braylon Berry should lead the way up front for Clay Center. Returning defensive back Jackson Henry had four interceptions and Carter Long had six fumble recoveries, with three forced, as the defense forced 22 turnovers in 12 games last year. 

BISHOP WARD returns a handful of starters of a seven-win team from last season. They’ll return their starting quarterback in Aiden Milliren, along with nine seniors that will help the Cyclones continue the progress in the second stint under Greg Duggins. Milliren returns after throwing for 1,393 yards and 11 TDs last season. He’ll return Dinero Jones (15 rec., 293 yds., 1 TD) at wide out and Jayvion Braden (34 car., 208 yds., 3 TDs) at running back to help. The climb out of the cellar has been a work in progress as they eclipsed their previous two seasons’ wins in just last season, going 7-3. They’ll have to find a way to replace Brice Johnson, who accounted for almost 40 percent of their offense last season. They do return their top three tacklers from last season, including senior Kam Yarbrough (81 tkls.). 

HESSTON will replace their quarterback but they’ll still be dangerous in the CKL. Having Jackson Fry on the wing will help the QB. He caught 453 yards and 5 TDs for the Swathers last season. Junior Reed Friesen should be the signal caller this season but the real strength for Hesston will be their defense. Replacing Jake Proctor will be tough but in the past, the Swathers have shown to be able to develop weapons. Defensively, they return two of their top tacklers from last year in Karter Gonzalez (33) and Fry (34). Gonzalez had 4.5 TFLs last season. 

PRATT Has Max Younie back at quarterback as the rebuild of the once dominant Greenbacks continues. They won seven games last season and behind Younie, they’ll have an explosive player at their disposal. He accounted for 45 percent of their entire offense last season (888 rushing, 527 passing, 110 receiving) and 24 of their 51 TDs. Not surprisingly, Younie is also the top returning tackler for the Greenbacks. Though, you shouldn’t forget about Brock Bourgeois and Hudson Rector, who both recorded sacks last season. 

After a disappointing loss in the playoffs last season, ROCK CREEK is hoping to go a step deeper this season. They won nine games last season that ended in a loss to Andale. They’ll have to replace Dalton Whitworth and Jaydon Winans offensively but they will have Payton McCarn back on defense as he had 95 tackles and three sacks last season. The Mustangs will turn to Mack Lee at QB. They’re excited to see the junior in their spread offense this season.

SCOTT CITY returns seven starters off an eight-win team that only lost one game in the state of Kansas, a tough playoff loss to Cheney. WELLSVILLE returns Willie Dorsey, a QB who threw for over 1,800 yards and 25 TDs last season. Their lone loss came in the playoffs in a three-point defeat to Hayden. Dezmond Winton returns after catching Dorsey passes totalling 680 yards and eight TDs. HUGOTON will see Sebastien Gonzalez command a defense which only allowed 14.3 points per game last season. Isaac Martin accounted for almost 1,500 yards of offense and is one of the top quarterbacks in the state. HOLCOMB welcomes back speedster Damon Mesa, the 1,000-yard back for head coach Trey Teeter’s first season. They have 11 returning starters from last year’s seven-win team.

Charles Chaney contributed significantly to this preview compiling large portions of it utilizing the preview capsules in our annual football preview.

For more reading, check out our 2023 Kansas Pregame Fall Edition at this link: Kansas Pregame Football Preview 2023