Photo Credit: Chris DuderstadtIf there is one negative thing about Kansas high school football, it’s that the eight-game regular season tends to go by in a flash. I’m excited to see how the regular season pans out, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t already thinking a little bit about the playoffs. The main reason for that is because there were several schools that changed classifications for the 2024 and 2025 seasons (it’s a two-year cycle based upon enrollment). Let’s recap some of the classification changes on the Kansas side.
My main takeaway is that Class 5A got much stronger. There’s still no doubt that the path to the 5A state title goes through Mill Valley, which has won five straight state championships. That doesn’t mean that their path to a possible sixth straight state crown didn’t get a lot tougher, though. Blue Valley and Blue Valley North both moved down from 6A to 5A, while Maize and Wichita West moved up to 6A. Blue Valley reached the 6A semifinals last season.
Also moving back up to 5A from 4A are Basehor-Linwood, St. James and St. Thomas Aquinas. St. James and Aquinas have accounted for three of the past four 4A state titles, while Basehor-Linwood has tallied at least six wins for the past 10 seasons. Lansing, Sumner and Kapaun Mt. Carmel are all moving down from 5A to 4A.
Eleven of the 16 teams in the 5A East earned victories in Week 1—Aquinas, Basehor-Linwood, De Soto, Harmon, St. James, Blue Valley, Pittsburg, Spring Hill, Highland Park, Washington and Mill Valley. And two of the teams that lost—Blue Valley Southwest and Shawnee Heights—played each other in the 5A quarterfinals last year.
One other notable change in 6A is that Free State and Lawrence High are both back in the 6A East. Defending state champion Gardner-Edgerton, Lawrence High, Free State, Olathe West, Blue Valley Northwest, Shawnee Mission Northwest and Olathe East all claimed victories in their season openers.
Of the 6A East teams that lost last week, Olathe South only lost by seven to Mill Valley, Blue Valley West only lost by four to Aquinas and Olathe Northwest only lost by a field goal to Olathe East. Perennial 6A power Olathe North suffered a 14-point loss to SM Northwest and has another tough test in Week 2 against Rockhurst, but the Eagles always seem to play their best ball come playoff time.
With St. James and Aquinas moving from 4A to 5A, Bishop Miege is now the only Eastern Kansas League school in 4A. The Stags fell to St. James in week one and Blue Valley Southwest last week but are aiming for their second 4A state title in three years. Louisburg edged Tonganoxie by a point in overtime in Week 1 and then followed that with a win over Paola last week. The Wildcats and Chieftains should be two of the top contenders in 4A along with Miege.
I could speculate all day about the favorites to win it all this year. That’s part of what makes covering high school football fun. But instead of speculating any further, I’m looking forward to seeing what the Week 2 slate has to offer.
