There are just a few weeks left in the high school football season and there are great games on both sides of the state line. Let’s take a look at this week’s RE/MAX Big 3 Games.
Let’s start on the Kansas side where there are just three games as all teams are in the semifinal round in Classes 4A, 5A and 6A. Our first Big 3 game is a matchup of unlikely teams as Bishop Miege heads to Tonganoxie for the 4A semifinal. Miege had only one win in the regular season and came into the 4A East bracket as the 15 seed, but the Stags have flipped the script winning three straight to make it back to the 4A semis after falling short last year and ending an 8-year run to the semis. Miege heads to Tonganoxie playing great football and the Chieftains match that earning tough wins over Fort Scott and Lansing. Both teams are used to playoff runs this will come down to the tradition of Miege versus the Chieftains ability to break through.
The next Big 3 game is in Class 5A with the defending 4A champ St. Thomas Aquinas hosting St. James. The Thunder hit the road playing maybe the best football in the Metro with big wins over Blue Valley, Basehor-Linwood and Blue Valley North. St. James offense has been dynamic averaging 43 points a game and the defense has gotten better and better lowering its points allowed from 22 to 6 in the three games. The Saints are undefeated and haven’t lost since the final week of the regular season in 2023. Aquinas is fresh off a 23-22 win over five-time 5A defending champ Mill Valley and are proving that even after graduating talented seniors off last year’s state championship team the Saints have been able to reload and make another run at their second 5A state title.
The final Kansas Big 3 game is Gardner-Edgerton hosting Blue Valley West in the 6A semifinals. The Trailblazers welcome the Jaguars as the defending champs looking for their third straight trip to the 6A state championship game. West enters as winners of 10 in-a-row with only a week 1 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas as a blemish on their record. The Jaguars feature one of the best playmakers in the Metro in quarterback Tate Nagy, but Gardner-Edgerton also has one of the top QBs in Braven Powell. The offenses are different, but the teams are experienced, and battle tested. This could be a game that goes down to the final snap.
Let’s jump over to Missouri where it is quarterfinal week and there are great matchups up and down the schedule. Let’s start in Class 3 where traditional powers Maryville and Odessa meet up in a quarterfinal battle. The Spoofhounds have played a difficult schedule and they have found a way to make it to the quarterfinals. Maryville heads south coming off a wild 49-42 win over Cameron in the District title game and will look to rid that momentum into a possible trip to the semifinals. Odessa enters playing its best football of the season with big wins over Summit Christian and Oak Grove by a combined 100-6 score. These are young teams that may have the name behind them, but each is still learning with a chance to advance to the Class 3 semifinals.
The next Missouri Big 3 game is a Class 4 quarterfinal as Kearney heads to Warrensburg to take on the Tigers. The Bulldogs are winners of 23 straight games and the defending Class 4 champs hit the road with a defense that has allowed 38 points in its last six games. The offense has been held under 40 points just twice in that six-game span and is firing on all cylinders. Warrensburg has only one loss on the year back in week 5 to Pleasant Hill. The Tigers have an explosive offense and a defense that has done just enough to extend Warrensburg’s season. The team that has the best defensive effort should punch its ticket to the Class 4 semifinals.
The final Big 3 game on the Missouri side is a rematch of a regular season game that was a grind it out battle to the end as Liberty hosts Park Hill. The first time around the visiting Trojans pulled out a 21-17 win. Park Hill stopped the Jays to win the second of what would be a current 6-game winning streak. The Trojans defense showed the first of what would be several standout performances holding down Liberty’s vaunted running attack led by 2,000 yard rusher Jaxon Hicks. Liberty lost to Park Hill and then to Blue Springs South the next week but since that time the Jays have been rolling with four straight wins including stopping rival Liberty North two weeks ago and South last week in an impressive 28-7 win where Hicks went for more than 200 yards giving Liberty its first district championship since 2003.
Remember you can find the RE/MAX Big 3 Games each week at PrepsKC.com or on the PrepsKC YouTube channel.
