Opening round playoff picks

Here’s our best guess at the winners of this week’s playoff games. Asterisks indicate the games we believe will be the closest, thinking a touchdown or less for the final margin. Good luck to all teams in their quest for a 2023 state championship!

Class 6A

Gardner-Edgerton over Blue Valley North
*Shawnee Mission Northwest over Shawnee Mission East
Olathe South over Shawnee Mission South
Blue Valley Northwest over Olathe Northwest
Olathe North over Shawnee Mission West
Blue Valley West over Shawnee Mission North
Olathe East over Wyandotte
Blue Valley over Olathe West
Washburn Rural over Wichita North
*Junction City over Wichita Heights
Wichita Northwest over Campus
Wichita East over Wichita South
Manhattan over Wichita Southeast
Free State over Garden City
Derby over Topeka High
Lawrence over Dodge City

Class 5A

De Soto over Turner
Seaman over Washington
Mill Valley over Topeka West
Spring Hill over Leavenworth
Blue Valley Southwest over Emporia
*Lansing over Pittsburg
Highland Park over Harmon
Shawnee Heights over Sumner
Kapaun over Salina South
Salina Central over Great Bend
Maize South over Bishop Carroll
Hutchinson over Wichita West
Eisenhower over Andover
*Hays over Valley Center
Liberal over Newton
Goddard over Maize

Class 4A

Atchison over Bonner Springs
*Eudora over Piper
Chanute over Schlagle
Tonganoxie over Ottawa
Louisburg over Labette County
*Basehor-Linwood over Paola
Bishop Miege over St. James Academy
St. Thomas Aquinas over Fort Scott
Wamego over El Dorado
Rose Hill over Winfield
Wellington over Circle
Coffeyville over Augusta
Buhler over Ulysses
McPherson over Mulvane
Abilene over Ark City
Andover Central over Independence

Class 3A

Frontenac over Girard
*Burlington over Columbus
Wellsville over Perry-Lecompton
Holton over Bishop Ward
Prairie View over Baxter Springs
Parsons over Iola
Hayden over Baldwin
Santa Fe Trail over Royal Valley
Clay Center over Clearwater
*Hesston over Marysville
Cheney over Colby
*Holcomb over Pratt
Collegiate over Concordia
Rock Creek over Chapman
Scott City over Smoky Valley
Andale over Hugoton

Class 2A

Riverton over West Franklin
Humboldt over Cherryvale
Silver Lake over Minneapolis
Sabethat over Atchison County
Osage City over Nedesha
*Council Grove over Caney Valley
Nemaha Central over Pleasant Ridge
*Rossville over Riley County
Southeast of Saline over Chaparral
Kingman over Hillsboro
Hoisington over Phillipsburg
Beloit over Lakin
Garden Plain over Halstead
Ellsworth over Haven
Norton over Cimarron
*TMP over Larned

Class 1A

St. Marys Colgan over Pleasanton
Jayhawk-Linn over Uniontown
St. Marys over Riverside
Jackson Heights over Mission Valley
Olpe over Northeast-Arma
*Central Heights over Erie
Centralia over Oskaloosa
Jeff County North over Troy
Smith Center over Belle Plaine
Marion over Wabaunsee
Conway Springs over Stanton County
Sterling over Ellis
Sedgwick over Sacred Heart
Valley Heights over Remington
Plainville over Hutch-Trinity
Medicine Lodge over Oakley

8-Man I

West Elk over Burlingame
Little River over Oxford
Lyndon over Cedar Vale-Dexter
South Sumner Co. over Herington
Central Burden over Goessel
Cair Paravel over Sedan
Moundridge over Argonia-Attica
Chase County over Oswego
*Ell-Saline over Quinter
Meade over Pratt-Skyline
Hoxie over Bennington
*La Crosse over Sublette
Rawlins County over Lincoln
Wichita County over Kiowa County
*Hill City over Clifton-Clyde

8-Man II

Lebo over Norwich
*Hanover over Lakeside
Canton-Galva over Colony-Crest
Frankfort over St. John’s Beloit/Tipton
Axtell over Wakefield
*St. Paul over Hutch-Central Christian
Osborne over Blue Valley-Randolph
*Marmaton Valley over Rural Vista
*South Barber over Hodgeman County
Sharon Springs-Wallace Co. over Otis-Bison
Kinsley over Dighton
South Central over Bucklin
*Thunder Ridge over Central Plains
Minneola over St. John
Sylvan-Lucas over St. Francis

6-Man

Burrton over Altoona-Midway
Centre-Lost Springs over Southern Cloud
Pawnee Heights over Southern Coffey Co.
Deerfield over Western Plains
Tribune-Greeley County over Moscow