Sectional playoff picks
Mill Valley lost to Aquinas by one-point seeing the end to their 5A championship streak. (File Photo by Habiger)
**Updated with results, original article below, update in parentheses**
We're down to just eight teams left in each classification and here’s our predictions for the winners of this week’s Sectionals playoff games. Asterisks indicate the games we believe will be the closest. We also included an updated top five for each classification with a few classes seeing some modifications following last week's upsets of highly-regarded teams, however, at least our top two teams – and in many cases more – from each classification's ranking at the start of the playoffs remain alive, though that will change this week.
Remember, these are predictions, the games will still be played on the field and some of our predictions will be wrong. For those coaches looking for additional motivation, you're welcome for the bulletin board material.
Good luck to all teams in their continued quest for a 2024 State Championship!
(**The Sectionals are done and the Sub-State field is set. Check out what we got right and what we got wrong with our Sectional picks below. The double asterisk to the right means our pick was correct, while the ≈ symbol means we didn't know squat about that contest.)
Class 6A
East
*Gardner Edgerton over Blue Valley Northwest 44-29**
*Blue Valley West over Shawnee Mission Northwest 35-20**
West
Derby over Wichita East 63-28**
*Manhattan over Wichita Northwest 49-28**
Class 5A
East
*Mill Valley over St. Thomas Aquinas≈ (Aquinas edged Mill Valley 23-22)
St. James Academy over Blue Valley North 45-6**
West
*Hutchinson over Hays≈ (Hays dominated Hutchinson 28-0)
*Eisenhower over Seaman 44-14**
Class 4A
East
*Tonganoxie over Lansing 21-7**
*Bishop Miege over Chanute 37-13**
West
*Buhler over Wamego 28-14**
*Andover Central over Wellington 58-13**
Class 3A
East
Wellsville over Prairie View 35-14**
Hayden over Perry-Lecompton 56-6**
West
Andale over Cheney 52-14**
*Holcomb over Scott City 10-7**
Class 2A
East
*Humboldt over Council Grove≈ (Council Grove ran away from Humboldt 31-8)
*Nemaha Central over Osage City 33-27**
West
Southeast of Saline over Hoisington 30-8**
*Garden Plain over Beloit≈ (Beloit shut out Garden Plain 19-0)
Class 1A
East
*Rossville over Jackson Heights 42-38**
*St. Mary's Colgan over Centralia≈ (Centralia throttled Colgan 46-14)
West
Conway Springs over Plainville 35-6**
*Medicine Lodge over Valley Heights≈ (Valley Heights beat Medicine Lodge 37-22)
8-Man I
East
*Little River over Central Plains≈ (Central Plains edged Little River 38-32)
Clifton-Clyde over Madison 46-0**
West
*South Central over Hill City 60-12**
*Hoxie over Wichita County 40-30**
8-Man II
East
*Burlingame over Frankfort≈ (Frankfort edged Burlingame 46-38)
Axtell over Osborne 54-8**
West
Victoria over Hutch-Central Christian 70-28**
Dighton over Hodgeman County 44-22**
6-Man
East
*Tescott over Peabody-Burns 26-13**
Cunningham over Otis-Bison 52-6**
West
*South Barber over Golden Plains≈ (Golden Plains edged South Barber 45-38)
*Weskan over Ingalls 57-12**
Here was our top five in each class heading into the weekend's games, look for updates to the rankings and our semifinal picks later this week.
Class 6A
1. Derby
2. Manhattan
3. Blue Valley West
4. Gardner Edgerton
5. Wichita Northwest
Class 5A
1. Mill Valley
2. St. Thomas Aquinas
3. St. James Academy
4. Blue Valley
5. Eisenhower
Class 4A
1. Andover Central
2. Bishop Miege
3. Wellington
4. Chanute
5. Buhler
Class 3A
1. Andale
2. Hayden
3. Wellsville
4. Cheney
5. Collegiate
Class 2A
1. Southeast of Saline
2. Nemaha Central
3. Osage City
4. Humboldt
5. Council Grove
Class 1A
1. Conway Springs
2. Rossville
3. Jackson Heights
4. St. Mary's Colgan
5. Medicine Lodge
8-Man I
1. Hoxie
2. Wichita County
3. South Central
4. Hill City
5. Clifton-Clyde
8-Man II
1. Axtell
2. Victoria
3. Burlingame
4. Frankfort
5. Hanover
6-Man
1. Cunningham
2. Weskan
3. South Barber
4. Ingalls
5. Golden Plains