In the Kansas Class 6A playoffs, it doesn’t seem like there is ever more than maybe one or two upsets in the first round each year on the east side of the bracket. Could that be the case again? That’s certainly possible, but it’s by no means a safe bet.
Class 6A on the east side is as deep as I can ever remember it this year. Let’s break down how things are shaping up in the 6A east with one week left in the regular season.
Huskies, Tigers at the Top of the Pack
Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley hold the top two spots at 6-1, with the Huskies owning the head-to-head tiebreaker from all the way back in Week 1. The Huskies were undefeated until last week’s 35-16 defeat at the hands of St. Thomas Aquinas. I expect that the Huskies will bounce back strong from their first loss, but they will have their hands full on Friday as they try to clinch the No. 1 seed and Eastern Kansas League title. Their Week 8 opponent, Blue Valley West, is much better than its 4-3 record indicates.
Blue Valley can vouch for that, as the Tigers edged the Jaguars, 23-17, for their sixth straight win since the season-opening loss to the Huskies. The Tigers have scored at least 31 points in each game other than against the Huskies and Jaguars. Blue Valley will close the regular season against Blue Valley Southwest.
Olathe Trio Sits at 5-2
A big reason for the 6A East being very deep is because of the strength of the Olathe schools. Olathe North, Olathe West and Olathe Northwest are all 5-2. I got to see Olathe West and Olathe North play each other. The Owls claimed arguably their biggest win in school history, upending the Eagles, 20-6.
The Eagles probably want me to stay away from covering them the rest of the season since I also covered their only other loss of the season, which came on a last-second field goal against Lawrence High last week. In all seriousness, though, their elite defense will keep them in any game, and they have a rushing attack that can be tough to stop once it gets going. That’s typically a good recipe for postseason success.
I also got to see Olathe West take on Mill Valley. While the Owls lost, 47-32, they handled adversity quite well after falling in a 20-0 hole early against the two-time defending 5A champions. It was one-score game until the Jaguars pulled away in the fourth. A lot of people were caught off guard by Olathe West reaching the 5A sectionals in the Owls first season in program history in 2018. They shouldn't be surprised if the Owls make a deep postseason run this fall.
Olathe Northwest handed Olathe West its other loss with a 28-21 victory in Week 1. It was the first of five games that the Ravens have played that has been decided by seven points. They're 3-2 in those games, and also earned a fairly narrow victory last week by edging Shawnee Mission South, 17-6. The Ravens have already won as many games this year as they did in the past three seasons combined.
A Battle for First Round Home Games
This is where I think things get really interesting. There are five teams in the middle of the pack at 4-3 (Shawnee Mission Northwest and Blue Valley West) and 3-4 (Blue Valley North, Shawnee Mission West and Olathe South). The Cougars and Jaguars are arguably just a couple plays from vying for a top-four seed at minimum, but they also need to take care of business in Week 8 to clinch a first-round home game.
After an 0-2 start against two tough teams in Free State and Olathe West, the Cougars have won four out of their last five. The only thing keeping the Cougars from a five-game winning streak was an overtime loss to Olathe Northwest in Week 6. The setback to the Ravens came one week after what was arguably the Cougars' best win over the season, a 41-24 triumph over Lawrence High.
I've already talked a little bit about Blue Valley West, but I think the Jaguars are a testament to how tough the EKL is. They have two dominant wins over St. James and St. Thomas Aquinas, so they won't be scared of anyone they match up against in the playoffs. The Jaguars play Blue Valley Northwest in Week 8, and could very well see each other again in the second round of the playoffs.
Blue Valley North being 3-4 is mind-boggling to me after their impressive 3-0 start, but as I mentioned in a column from earlier in the season, they had a brutal schedule the rest of the way. After being edged 28-27 by Lee's Summit North, the Mustangs have lost by double digits against Blue Valley, Blue Valley Northwest and St. James. Whether or not they rebound with a win over Aquinas on Friday, Blue Valley North's explosive offense isn't something any teams wants to see in the playoffs.
After a very tough stretch against Lawrence High, Olathe Northwest and Olathe West, it would have been easy for Shawnee Mission West to have its confidence shaken for its last three games of the season. Instead, the Vikings have back-to-back wins against Olathe East and Shawnee Mission North. Shawnee Mission West now has a chance to get to the .500 mark with a Week 8 win over Gardner-Edgerton.
Olathe South got off to a 3-1 start before lopsided losses to Olathe North and Free State, but the Falcons showed that they can be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason by fighting tooth and nail in a 31-28 defeat to Olathe West last week. The Falcons should also be jumping at the opportunity to get back to .500 on Friday against Olathe East.
Road Warrior Potential?
The rest of the 6A East is locked into playing on the road in the first round, but some of those teams shouldn't be slept on. Shawnee Mission East and Wyandotte are 2-5. The Lancers have district wins over Shawnee Mission North and Shawnee Mission South and were an 8-0 setback against Shawnee Mission West from sweeping their SMSD foes (they didn't play Shawnee Mission Northwest). Wyandotte has won two out of its last three with victories over Washington and Harmon.
Olathe East, Shawnee Mission North and Shawnee Mission South are all 1-6, but are very close to being in the middle of the pack. The Hawks' lone win came against Shawnee Mission North, but they have been in one-possession games with Olathe Northwest, Shawnee Mission South and Shawnee Mission West. Shawnee Mission North turned a lot of heads with their win over Olathe Northwest. The Bison have had close contests the past three weeks against Olathe East, Gardner-Edgerton and Shawnee Mission West. Shawnee Mission South's win came against Olathe East in Week 4. The Raiders hung tough with Olathe Northwest last week in a 17-6 loss. Harmon is the lone winless team in the 6A East.
It should be a very entertaining Week 8 in the 6A East as teams jockey for playoff position. The field is wide open, so it will be fun to see what teams hot when it matters most in their quest toward the 6A title game in Emporia.
