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 6A

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

Notes: Manhattan continues to plug away and find ways to win, last Friday it was a three-point win over a very good Washburn Rural team. ... Derby survived Hutch in another thriller and Wichita Northwest dominated a quality Wichita East squad. ... Blue Valley Northwest dropped a 40-34 contest to Missouri's Class 6 third-ranked Lee's Summit North, but still look like a team that is among the state's Top 5 in 6A. ... Washburn Rural slides into the fifth spot in the poll with their narrow loss to top-ranked Manhattan.

Others: This class appears to be one of the most balanced in Kansas this season with Lawrence (3-1), Olathe North (4-0), Gardner-Edgerton (3-1 after a competitive loss to 5A power Mill Valley), Junction City (3-1 after a quality win over 5A Bishop Carroll), Garden City (3-1 after a close loss to 5A Hays), and Blue Valley West (2-2 after a one-point loss to Missouri power Staley) all able to make waves come playoff time.

Class 5A

1. Mill Valley (4-0)
2. Maize (4-0)
3. Hays (3-1)
4. Bishop Carroll (2-2)
5. Hutchinson (3-1)

Notes: Mill Valley survived their toughest test of the season in fine fashion, rebounding from a 14-point deficit to Gardner-Edgerton to score the final 35 points of the game. ... The next three weeks will tell us if Maize is, in fact, dominant as they appear. Lot of games left to go, but sure looks like the fans of 5A will get a rematch in the title game. ... It looks like three through five provide a kind of second tier in 5A with Hays (close win over Garden City), Bishop Carroll (close loss to Junction City, which Hays beat in Week 1), and Hutchinson (close loss to Derby) are pretty equal, though Kapaun remains a threat with Omari Elias piling up rushing yards out of the Crusader backfield.

Others: Kind of difficult to tell who else could be a factor in this classification but Maize South and Shawnee Heights continue to impress behind quarterback Tate McNew and running back Allen Baughman respectively. Maize South will find out where they fit in the playoff picture with their rivalry matchup with Maize this week.

Class 4A

1. Bishop Miege (4-0)
2. St. James Academy (1-3)
3. St. Thomas Aquinas (3-1)
4. Chanute (4-0)
5. Wamego (4-0)

Notes: St. James Academy decided to go ahead and upset the apple-cart with their win over Aquinas and people are not going to like the Thunder vaulting back into the poll in the second spot after posting their first win of the season, but it's where they belong. The three private school powers are the best in the classification until a public school proves otherwise and teams like Chanute and Eudora will get their chance to prove it in the east playoff bracket. ... Wamego gets what appear to be a couple tough tests the next two weeks in surprising unbeaten Coffeyville and 5A Shawnee Heights.

Others: McPherson got a good rebound win over Circle. ... Basehor-Linwood was shutout 27-0 by Shawnee Heights, but still produced plenty of offense despite not getting in the end zone.

Class 3A

1. Andale (4-0)
2. Wichita Collegiate (4-0)
3. Topeka Hayden (4-0)
4. Holton (3-1)
5. Rock Creek (3-1)

Notes: The Top 5 in this class appear firmly entrenched in their respective positions.

Others: Girard looked good in their dominant win over Frontenac. ... Parsons is a team to watch, explosive players across the field. ... Cheney looked impressive in handing Pratt their first loss of the season. ... Wellsville, Hugoton, and Holcomb improved to 4-0.

Class 2A

1. Southeast of Saline (4-0)
2. Nemaha Central (4-0)
3. Sabetha (3-1)
4. Kingman (4-0)
5. Norton (4-0)

Notes: Southeast of Saline and Nemaha Central are very good and likely head and shoulders above the rest of the field. ... We like Sabetha, Kingman, and Norton in the next three spots, but there are a lot of teams that appear equipped to challenge these three for a place in the Top 5.

Others: Rossville and Hoisington look like the top contenders to the three mentioned above.

Class 1A

1. Inman (4-0)
2. Olpe (2-2)
3. St. Mary's Colgan (3-1)
4. St. Marys (2-2)
5. Centralia (4-0)

Notes: This looks like a pretty deep classification, especially on the east side of the bracket. Inman appears to be putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the west side of the bracket but games against Hutch Trinity (4-0) this week and Conway Springs in two weeks will tell us for sure. ... Olpe, Colgan, and St. Marys are battle-tested from their early season schedules and should use the next four weeks to get healthy and ready for a playoff run though Olpe and Colgan should get tests in out of classification games with Caney and Columbus respectively. ... Centralia got a quality one-point win over a good Troy squad.

Others: Wabaunsee pulled off a comeback for the ages against Smith Center in a key district matchup. ... Oakley picked up a key district win over Plainville and have a huge non-district matchup at Smith Center this week.

8-Man I

1. Little River (3-1)
2. Wichita County (4-0)
3. Meade (4-0)
4. Hill City (4-0)
5. Hoxie (3-1)

Notes: Clearly we believe the west side of the bracket is better than the east, but this classification has plenty of depth.

Others: Burlingame's quality win over Chase County leaves both teams just outside the Top 5 along with Lyndon and Clifton-Clyde. South Sumner County remains a bit of an unknown for us. Sure the Outlaws are dominant through four weeks, but against teams that have three total wins between them with no squad posting more than one win in that span. The second half appears to be a tougher stretch for SSC with the final four teams on the regular season schedule currently with 12 total wins between them. ... An unbeaten West Elk squad is also a bit of unknown.

8-Man II

1. Axtell (4-0)
2. Canton-Galva (4-0)
3. Victoria (4-0)
4. Thunder Ridge (3-1)
5. Dighton (4-0)

Notes: Not much change here, Axtell and Canton-Galva are the story of the classification.

Others: Just outside of the Top 5? Colony-Crest, Osborne, and Lebo. ... St. John's Beloit/Tipton gets a chance to prove they are a contender this week against Osborne. ... South Barber at Stafford in Week 7 and Minneola in Week 8 are pivotal contests.

6-Man

1. Cunningham (4-0)
2. Ashland (3-1)
3. Wavery (4-0)

Notes: Still a bit of a guessing game outside of the top two in this classification.