Have we seen a shift of power quite like this in the metro? Especially in Class 6 on the Missouri side?
Gone are the days where Blue Springs, Blue Springs South and Rockhurst ran rough shot in Class 6.
Gone are the days where Lee’s Summit North, Park Hill, Ray-Pec and Lee’s Summit West played second fiddle to the Big Three.
The shift in power started last year when the Panthers became the first team other than the Big Three to win a Class 6 state championship since 2002, when Missouri added a sixth class.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Prior to last year, the Big Three had won a combined nine Class 6 championships — the last one coming in 2015 when Blue Springs South came back to beat Christian Brothers — while the others had combined for zero in 20 years.
Not only that, the Big Three had represented Kansas City in the Class 6 championship game from 2005 to 2018 — fourteen years of sheer dominance — before De Smet and Joplin ended that streak in 2019.
So what changed?
Greg Oder retired after winning the championship at South in 2015. Blue Springs saw a dip in talent, as did Rockhurst. Programs like Lee’s Summit West, Lee’s Summit North and Ray-Pec weren’t firing on all cylinders.
Ray-Pec made the jump to Class 6 following a long spell in Class 5 in 2008. Park Hill made the jump to Class 6 in 2016. Both Liberty and Liberty North made the jump two years ago.
Districting has also played a factor in the power shift. Blue Springs, Blue Springs South and Rockhurst are in the same district as Liberty North, Liberty and Park Hill. But, that hasn’t always been the case.
But to have this drastic of a shift is shocking. I guess many have seen it coming.
Another change was the talent level. Yes, talent, or lack thereof, has played a role in the shift of power. Talent — especially the type of talent Blue Springs, Blue Springs South and Rockhurst had for nearly 20 years — is cyclical.
Programs like Lee’s Summit West, Park Hill and Ray-Pec had talent, but not to the level the Big Three once had. Blue Springs’ 2012 and 20133 state championship teams were loaded with D1 stars. Rockhurst, at one point, had one of the best quarterback prospects in the country, so did Blue Springs South. Now, Lee’s Summit North, Liberty North, Ray-Pec and Park Hill all have the same amount of talent those schools once had.
I will wrap this column up by asking this. … Have we seen the last of the Big Three? Or will they emerge from the ashes and reclaim what dominance they once had?
Only time will tell, but for right now, the likes of Liberty North, Lee’s Summit North, Park Hill and Ray-Pec run Class 6 on the Kansas City side.
