KPG FB Rankings presented by Salina Ortho

There's likely a statistical way to prove this, but anecdotally it feels like there is less separation at the top of more classifications than in the past. Only a couple of the state's nine classifications have a heavy-favorite to win it all this year, which is great. More teams playing state title caliber football is better for Kansas high school football overall!

Whether we're talking about college, NFL, or high school, people are quick to judge a close game with an accepted underdog as a complete failure, but even the best teams are going to have those kind of games, and surviving should probably be a badge of honor, not a mark against as it so often is among media and fans.

Anyway, enough with the game within the game, here's at look at our rankings after Week 3, but note, going to be a little more brief with the analysis this week – work on basketball and wrestling coverage calls:

Class 6A

1. Derby (3-0)
2. Manhattan (3-0)
3. Gardner Edgerton (3-0)
4. Wichita Northwest (3-0)
5. Blue Valley Northwest (3-0)

Others: Blue Valley West (2-1), Free State (1-2), Junction City (1-2), Lawrence (2-1), Olathe North (1-2), Shawnee Mission East (2-1), Shawnee Mission Northwest (1-2), Wichita East (1-2)

Quick take: Derby looks like a one-touchdown favorite over the majority of teams in the classification, but from two on down there are a bunch of teams that could upset the apple-cart come playoff time. Manhattan, Gardner Edgerton and Blue Valley Northwest survived nail biters, Free State and Lawrence fell to consistent Mill Valley and Olathe North programs respectively, Blue Valley West's four-point loss to Aquinas is not a mark against and more. Tip of the cap to Olathe East and Topeka High for their 3-0 start, but will they hold up down the stretch?

Class 5A

1. Mill Valley (2-1)
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (3-0)
3. Blue Valley (2-1)
4. Great Bend (3-0)
5. De Soto (3-0)

Others: Hays (1-2), St. James Academy (1-2), Eisenhower (3-0), Basehor-Linwood (3-0), Maize South (3-0), Blue Valley Southwest (2-1), Salina Central (2-1), Spring Hill (3-0), Hutchinson (2-1), Topeka Seaman (2-1)

Quick take: Aquinas got the win over Blue Valley 28-16 and Mill Valley survived Free State 31-23 leaving the top three teams in this classification in what appears to be a virtual tie, with Great Bend not far behind. There are a lot of squads that could fit in the five spot but we'll go with De Soto and we should learn a lot about the Wildcats this week against an unbeaten Basehor-Linwood team. After looking closer, St. James Academy is equally deserving of the five spot after the narrowest of losses to Blue Valley Northwest and teams like Eisenhower and Maize South also look the part but don't yet have the overall quality of opponents on their résumé. Tip of the cap to Liberal, Highland Park and KC Washington for their 3-0 starts, but will they hold up down the stretch?

Class 4A

1. Andover Central (3-0)
2. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (3-0)
3. Bishop Miege (0-3)
4. Buhler (2-1)
5. Wellington (1-2)

Others: Louisburg (3-0), Chanute (3-0), McPherson (2-1), Fort Scot (3-0), Ottawa (3-0), Wamego (2-1), Winfield (3-0)

Quick take: Andover Central is really good, with talent all over the field. Kapaun got a quality win over Wichita East and the new faces for the Crusaders appear to be getting more comfortable with each other. Very possible that Miege starts 0-5, but is not likely to fall out of our top five...once again not all schedules are created equal. Buhler held their own against a good 5A Great Bend team for most of the first half before the Panthers pulled away in the second half. Wellington rebounded from their narrow season-opening losses to 3A powers Collegiate and Andale to get their first win of the season 35-14 over previously unbeaten Clearwater. Chanute and Louisburg are right there with Wellington and Buhler. The Blue Comets and Wildcats both picked up wins over quality opponents in McPherson and Clay Center to stay unbeaten. Wamego suffered a surprise loss to an upstart Marysville team while Ottawa improved to 3-0 under veteran program builder Walt Alexander. Fort Scott is off to a great start but games with Pittsburg and Chanute in two of the next three weeks provide a measuring stick. Eudora and Tonganoxie teams that have started 1-2 with close losses to tough opponents are likely to have something to say about the east side of the bracket come playoff time. Great start for Winfield in their third year under veteran former college coach Monty Lewis, but games with McPherson, Wellington and Buhler in three of the next four weeks will tell us just how good the Vikings are.

Class 3A

1. Andale (3-0)
2. Cheney (3-0)
3. Wichita Collegiate (3-0)
4. Topeka Hayden (3-0)
5. Frontenac (3-0)

Others: Pratt (3-0), Rock Creek (2-1), Scott City (2-1), Clay Center (1-2), Hesston (3-0), Marysville (3-0), Prairie View (2-1), Wellsville (3-0)

Quick take: Andale and Cheney are again the class of this classification and in our estimation the Indians and Cardinals would be installed as at least a touchdown favorite against most teams on the schedule, except each other, which is a game we very much anticipate seeing come playoff time. Collegiate gets its chance to prove us wrong this week at Andale and Hayden's matchup with Wamego is highly anticipated this week as well, even with the Red Raiders loss to Marysville last week. The fifth spot could belong to several teams but we chose Frontenac, though Pratt, Marysville and Wellsville all have impressive wins in hot starts.

Class 2A

1. Norton (3-0)
2. Southeast of Saline (3-0)
3. Nemaha Central (2-1)
4. St. Marys (3-0)
5. Osage City (3-0)

Others: Council Grove (3-0), Riley County (3-0), Beloit (2-1), Hoisington (0-3), Humboldt (3-0), Sabetha (2-1), Silver Lake (2-1), Garden Plain (1-2), Haven (3-0)

Quick take: Norton was dominant in sending Smith Center to their first 0-3 start since at least the mid-1970s while Southeast of Saline had to wait until Saturday to pull away from Beloit and continue their winning streak over their league rival. Nemaha Central survived a close matchup with Rossville while St. Marys put together a clinic against Jeff West. While we feel pretty confident about our top four, it gets tougher from there. Osage City is clinging to the fifth spot in the rankings with the October 4th game against Council Grove a pivotal district opener that could shake things up. Hoisington is likely to start 1-4 with Cheney coming to town in a couple weeks, but the Cardinals are still the favorite in their district even with key injuries. Haven is enjoying one of the best starts to a season in years.

Class 1A

1. Conway Springs (3-0)
2. Rossville (0-3)
3. Medicine Lodge (2-0)
4. Sedgwick (3-0)
5. Jackson Heights (3-0)

Others: Moundridge (2-0), St. Mary's Colgan (2-1), TMP (2-1), Centralia (2-1), Valley Heights (2-1), Marion (3-0), Olpe (2-1), Plainville (2-1)

Quick take: The weather robbed us of a key matchup between Medicine Lodge and Moundridge in what would've been a good measuring stick for both teams. The game will not be made up. For the Indians, that measuring stick will come this week with a pivotal district matchup with top-ranked Conway Springs on Thursday. Rossville fell to 0-3 with a narrow loss to 2A power Nemaha Central and regardless of their record the Dawgs are still the favorite on the east side of the bracket. Jackson Heights will face likely their toughest test of the regular season this week against McLouth, but the Cobras will be heavy-favorites in each of the next five games. This week's matchup between unbeaten Sedgwick and Marion is likely to reveal if the Warriors have rebounded from the last of a loaded senior class of a season ago. Four of the final five games on Marion's schedule feature teams with winning records through the first three weeks while the first three contests featured teams with just one win between them. Last Thursday night, Colgan rebounded from their loss to Frontenac by handing Columbus their first loss of the season 35-14 in a game that started over two hours late because of weather delays and was not completed until after midnight. TMP got a quality win over a previously unbeaten Phillipsburg team and the Monarchs appear headed for a Week 8 district title matchup with Plainville. Olpe continued their streak of success over Jayhawk Linn with their fourth straight win over the Jayhawks, but by the closest margin in that span.

8-Man I

1. Hoxie (3-0)
2. Wichita County (1-1)
3. Little River (3-0)
4. West Elk (3-0)
5. South Central (3-0)

Others: Ellis (2-1), Sylvan-Lucas (3-0), Hill City (2-1), Ell-Saline (2-1), Chase County (1-2), Lincoln (2-1), Sublette (2-1), Rawlins County (2-1), Rock Hills (3-0), Oxford (2-1), Lyndon (2-1), Decatur Community (2-1)

Quick take: Hoxie made a statement with their 54-8 dismantling of new 8-Man school Ellis after the Railers opened with a pair of wins over good Lincoln and Hill City squads. Wichita County was open last week and is sure to be favored in each of the final five games of the regular season, though the Week 8 matchup with Ellis is intriguing. Little River will be heavy favorites the next couple of weeks before back-to-back matchups with Ell-Saline and Central Plains that will likely determine the District 3 champion. A week after surviving an upset bid by a solid Oxford team West Elk blasted Udall 72-0. This week's matchup at Oswego is likely the toughest remaining contest on the regular season schedule and could determine the District 1 champ in the district opener for the two teams. South Central survived a shootout with a good LaVerne (Okla.) team, 60-46. Lyndon and Chase County play in a big District 2 match-up this week. Sylvan-Lucas (3-0) plays host to Rock Hills (3-0) in a district that may be a bit deeper than originally anticipated with Lincoln and Clifton-Clyde all likely a factor in the District 4 race. Sublette suffered their first loss of the season by six points in overtime to Bucklin but still looks the part of the favorite in District 6 which they open plan in this week with a Meade team that started the season 1-2. District 8 appears to be one of the toughest in all classifications with five of six teams entering district play at 2-1 or better, including 3-0 St. Francis and 2-1 Decatur Community, which both appear to be much improved and face off this week.

8-Man II

1. Axtell (3-0)
2. Frankfort (3-0)
3. Victoria (3-0)
4. Burlingame (3-0)
5. Hanover (3-0)

Others: Osborne (0-3), Dighton (3-0), Bucklin (3-0), Lebo (3-0), Marmaton Valley (3-0), Hodgeman County (3-0), Minneola (3-0)

Quick take: Axtell appears to be as dominant as ever after a 46-0 shutout of Chase County. Hanover hosts Frankfort this week in a game that could signal a return to the upper echelon for Hanover. Can Frankfort or Hanover hang with the Eagles in the final two weeks of the season in what are sure to be two of the most highly anticipated games of the year in this classification? Victoria edged Osborne 22-14 to improve to 3-0 while the Bulldogs fell to 0-3. Osborne is still the favorite in District 4 though and could be a factor on the east side of the DII bracket in spite of going winless against a brutal schedule to open the season. Burlingame had to wait until Monday night to finish up their 66-16 blowout win over Madison and Lebo also had to wait to Monday night to finish up a 50-22 win over Waverly. Minneola needed a five overtime marathon to edge South Gray 82-80. Bucklin needed overtime to earn a quality win over a much-improved Sublette team. After surviving close games with good Rawlins County and Decatur Community squads the Dighton Hornets blasted Wallace County 50-0.

6-Man

1. Cunningham (3-0)
2. Weskan (3-0)
3. Ingalls (3-0)
4. South Barber (2-1)
5. Golden Plains (2-1)

Others: Otis-Bison (2-1), Marais des Cygnes (3-0), Tescott (2-1)

Quick take: Cunningham is the dominant force in this classification this season, though Weskan and Ingalls continue to stack up impressive wins. Considering South Barber has already suffered a blowout loss to Cunningham and Ingalls downed Golden Plains by a sizable margin, the top three teams appear to be head and shoulders above the rest.