The Varsity Kansas student section rankings (Oct. 10)

BIG CLASS RANKINGS

1. Kapaun Mt. Carmel Crusaders (LW: 1)

It was my first chance to check out the Kapaun student section in person this season and they didn’t disappoint. Even though the weather wasn’t the best, Kapaun students still packed Cessna and rocked it. I’ve always wondered what a Fat Head of myself would look like and I found out last Friday, as well as receiving a marriage proposal. The student section went with a bed time theme, as the students were decked out in pajamas and they even replaced the halftime rollercoaster show with a wake-up ritual. Oh yeah, and their drawing skills on signs are the best in town. The Kapaun banner read “Don’t Sleep on KMC.” Don’t worry Crusaders, I’m woke.

2. Andover Trojans (LW: 4)

Nickname: “The Blue Crew”

It was another A+ week in the creativity department for the Andover student section, as The Blue Crew built a super-awesome volcano and then built their entire theme around it. I’ve witnessed first-hand how loud and crazy that student section gets during a game and it looks like they had another huge showing last Friday, despite the bad weather. With super fans like Dani Fairbank and Ben Johnsen leading the way, The Blue Crew is as close as they’ve ever been to taking over the No. 1 spot. They get another home game this Friday and we’ll see if they can put an end to Kapaun’s reign atop the rankings next week.

3. Goddard Lions (LW: 6)

Nickname: “The Den”

Goddard has had some long road trips this season, from Olathe to Salina to now Arkansas City, but through it all The Den has been there roaring with their support. I was really impressed to see how many kids made it down to Ark City with how much bad weather was going on last Friday. But The Den came through with an excellent neon theme with a “Shine Bright Like a Lion” banner and Ri Ri is my girl, so bonus points for that. I also liked the “You’re about to get LIT up” sign. Very appropriate on glow-up night. I also thought the On/Off switch was a brilliant idea, as well. Goddard finishes the season with two straight home games, so I’m expecting The Den to make a strong push to reclaim its No. 1 spot.

4. Campus Colts (LW: 3)

Nickname: “The Screamin’ Stampede”

Before their trek to Maize, The Screamin’ Stampede declared that there is no such thing as “home-field advantage” when they come into town. They lived up the billing with another strong showing on the road — Campus is actually on the road for the fourth time in the last five weeks this Friday — and that’s earning them a lot of good will in the rankings. I know they take great pride in their “Colt Express” and they once again came up with a creative one to go along with their “surf” theme. The sign game has been strong all season and I love the support that has been building in Haysville this season. If Campus can once again have a strong showing at Hutchinson, then it could be poised to make a run at the No. 1 spot with a regular-season home finale against Derby.

5. Derby Panthers (LW: 2)

Nickname: “The Den”

I’m not going to penalize The Den too much for last Friday since the game in Salina (nearly a two-hour drive) was moved up to 5 p.m. and the bad weather ended up coming through in the third quarter and stopping the game. Derby has proven itself elite over the course of the season and deserves to remain near the top, but this is their final pass. A top-notch showing in their final regular-season home game against Salina South this Friday is a must.

6. Maize Eagles (LW: 9)

Nickname: “The Nest”

It was an other-worldly showing from The Nest last Friday at home, as the Maize student section packed the stands with its outer-space theme. I loved the creativity here, as this was the first-of-its-kind from around the area and has Maize shooting back up the rankings. I saw everything from martians to a black hole to Princess Leia to a Stormtrooper. Plus their rollercoaster this week was pretty dope, as well. But if I’m being honest, this Alien long-boarding across the student section was the real MVP of this week. The Nest has a difficult road trip this Friday to Salina, so we’ll see if they can keep their steady rise up in the rankings.

7. Newton Railers (LW: 5)

Nickname: “The Tron”

We had our first Pink Outs of the season this past week, and I thought The Tron did as well as anyone by going all-out on the theme for their road trip to Andover last Friday night. The numbers were solid for a 40-minute road trip and it was impressive to get basically 100-percent participation on the theme. Also props to the “On Friday, we wear pink” sign because who doesn’t love Mean Girls? Newton has been consistent all season and will get its final home game of the season this Friday against Arkansas City.

8. Bishop Carroll Golden Eagles (LW: 7)

Definitely one of the coolest banners of the week belonged to Carroll. The “Grab your popcorn, we’re putting on a show” has been done before, but check out the detail on that banner. The popcorn looks like real popcorn! So props to whoever acme up with that. As we know, Carroll always brings the numbers at home and I’m sure it was loud as always. But besides this picture, I didn’t get any other tweets from the Carroll student section so it’s hard to know for sure. They’ll have a big road game at Heights this Friday, then end the season with the Holy War at home against Kapaun.

9. Valley Center Hornets (LW: 8)

Nickname: “The Hornet’s Nest”

It was frat day over in The Hornet’s Nest, as the student section played off “Gamma” with their banner declaring it “Gamme Day.” Valley Center keeps pumping out the creative themes and has proven to belong in the Top 10 for the majority of the season after conquering another road trip this past week in Goddard. They’ll make the return trip back out to Goddard this Friday, this time to take on the No. 1-ranked Goddard Lions so we’ll see what they have in plan this time.

10. Heights Falcons (LW: 13)

This student section has been moving up rapidly and took another huge leap this past Friday, as Hollywood Heights showed out at Cessna Stadium and watched their Falcons fly away with a big-time City League win over Kapaun. The video above shows you everything you need to know about Heights. They’re loud. They’re rowdy. And they have some of the best chants around. Welcome to the Top 10, Heights. I expect them to stick around with a big home game this Friday against Bishop Carroll.

11. Eisenhower Tigers (LW: 11)

Nickname: “The Zoo”

The Zoo has been doing solid this season, but I’m still looking for that breakout week from Eisenhower’s student section.

12. Hutchinson Salthawks (LW: 17)

Nickname: “The Squawk Block”

13. East Blue Aces (LW: 10)

Nickname: “East High Hecklers”

A road trip all the way out to Great Bend in that kind of weather was too much to ask. The Hecklers move down in the rankings, I’m looking for a bounceback with two home games to end the season.

14. Northwest Grizzlies (LW: 12)

Sounded like a great game, unfortunately I didn’t have anybody send me a picture and I couldn’t find one on Twitter.

15. Maize South Mavericks (LW: 14)

Nickname: “Maverick Maniacs”

Didn’t get a picture submitted this week from the road trip to Winfield.

16. Andover Central Jaguars (LW: 15)

Nickname: “The Jungle”

Didn’t get a picture submitted from this week from the road trip to Towanda.

17. Southeast Buffaloes (LW: 16)

Nickname: “The Herd”

A road trip to Liberal is a big ask, so Southeast holds steady this week. They return to Wichita this Friday and we’ll see how The Herd does this Friday at Carpenter Stadium.

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This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 8:04 PM with the headline "The Varsity Kansas student section rankings (Oct. 10)."