The Varsity Kansas Top 25 heading into Week 4 of Wichita high school football
A 48-point league win on the road won’t move Derby off the top line even if the defense gave up its first points of the season.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Derby 55, Newton 7
Week 3 Rank: 1 (-)
Week 4: at No. 3 Bishop Carroll
Last Meeting: Derby 54, Bishop Carroll 45 (Week 5, 2017)
Prediction: Derby 42, Bishop Carroll 28
Northwest’s offense has all-state pop at all positions. Breece Hall finally caught stride, and the rest of the area should be worried.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Wichita Northwest 56, Great Bend 34
Week 3 Rank: 2 (-)
Week 4: at No. 21 Wichita West
Last Meeting: Wichita Northwest 54, Wichita West 14 (Week 4, 2017)
Prediction: Wichita Northwest 56, Wichita West 21
Carroll will deploy a bit of a two-quarterback system against Derby as Cade Becker is dinged up and John Honas looked sharp.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Bishop Carroll 49, Wichita West 20
Week 3 Rank: 3 (-)
Week 4: vs. No. 1 Derby
Last Meeting: Derby 54, Bishop Carroll 45 (Week 5, 2017)
Prediction: Derby 42, Bishop Carroll 28
The Maize defense is up there with Derby for the best in the area. As long as the Eagles’ offense puts a point on the board, they can compete.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Maize 21, Campus 0
Week 3 Rank: 8 (+4)
Week 4: vs. No. 16 Newton
Last Meeting: Maize 22, Newton 19 (Week 1, 2017)
Prediction: Maize 28, Newton 7
Andale threw Rose Hill in the flowerbed. The Indians’ offense is gaining momentum, and its defense has a pair of shutouts.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Andale 63, Rose Hill 0
Week 3 Rank: 5 (-)
Week 4: at Haven
Last Meeting: Andale 54, Haven 8 (Week 9, 2015)
Prediction: Andale 64, Haven 7
The Pups’ bite was strong Friday on the road. McPherson’s offense went off to match a defense that is among the best in 4A.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: McPherson 56, El Dorado 8
Week 3 Rank: 4 (-2)
Week 4: vs. Abilene
Last Meeting: McPherson 49, Abilene 6 (Week 9, 2017)
Prediction: McPherson 52, Abilene 6
Goddard shot itself in the foot endlessly, but a win is a win over a solid Andover Central team. It has to be better though.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Goddard 17, Andover Central 16 (Overtime)
Week 3 Rank: 7 (-)
Week 4: vs. Eisenhower
Last Meeting: Goddard 28, Eisenhower 13 (Sectional, 2017)
Prediction: Goddard 35, Eisenhower 14
Pratt is legit. A 55-point road win that could decide the Central Kansas League only proved that more.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Pratt 55, Hesston 0
Week 3 Rank: 10 (+2)
Week 4: vs. Larned
Last Meeting: Pratt 56, Larned 46 (Week 1, 2017)
Prediction: Pratt 63, Larned 14
Campus’ offense didn’t show up Friday, but the defense kept the Colts in it deep into the fourth quarter.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Maize 21, Campus 0
Week 3 Rank: 6 (-3)
Week 4: vs. Salina South
Last Meeting: Salina South 42, Campus 12 (Week 3, 2017)
Prediction: Campus 28, Salina South 7
Conway was a train through two weeks but probably could have handled Kingman a bit easier. Hutch-Trinity won’t be easier.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Conway Springs 38, Kingman 21
Week 3 Rank: 9 (-1)
Week 4: vs. Hutchinson-Trinity Academy
Last Meeting: Hutchinson-Trinity 33, Conway Springs 28 (Regional, 2009)
Prediction: Conway Springs 45, Hutchinson-Trinity 28
Garden Plain always had a strong defense, but putting 56 points on the board shows the Owls have a little pop on offense, too.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Garden Plain 56, Trinity Academy 14
Week 3 Rank: 12 (+1)
Week 4: at Remington
Prediction: Garden Plain 64, Remington 7
Kapaun handled East. The defense is outstanding. The offense does enough to get by. Most would have the former rather than the latter.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Kapaun 30, Wichita East 0
Week 3 Rank: 13 (+1)
Week 4: at No. 13 Andover
Last Meeting: Kapaun 21, Andover 0 (Week 2, 2017)
Prediction: Kapaun 21, Andover 17
Beating Eisenhower was a nice win. A win over Kapaun would be outstanding and prove the Trojans belong.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Andover 30, Eisenhower 22
Week 3 Rank: 17 (+4)
Week 4: vs. No. 12 Kapaun
Last Meeting: Kapaun 21, Andover 0 (Week 2, 2017)
Prediction: Kapaun 21, Andover 17
Chaparral handed Cheney an 0-3 record like it was nothing. The Roadrunners are legitimate 2A contenders.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Chaparral 42, No. 22 Cheney 14
Week 3 Rank: 18 (+4)
Week 4: vs. Independent
Last Meeting: Chaparral 53, Independent 0 (Week 1, 2017)
Prediction: Chaparral 56, Independent 7
Wellington showed a potency on offense that we hadn’t seen to this point - or since Week 3 of 2015.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Wellington 47, Clearwater 26
Week 3 Rank: 24 (+9)
Week 4: vs. Augusta
Last Meeting: Augusta 25, Wellington 14 (Week 1, 2015)
Prediction: Wellington 35, Augusta 0
To expect anything more than a 55-7 result against Derby is naive. In fact, the Railers gave the Panther defense its first points of 2018.
Record: 1-2
Week 3: No. 1 Derby 55, Newton 7
Week 3 Rank: 16 (-)
Week 4: at No. 4 Maize
Last Meeting: Maize 22, Newton 19 (Week 1, 2017)
Prediction: Maize 28, Newton 7
Buhler had to replace almost its entire starting defense, but the Crusaders looked experienced at Augusta.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Buhler 34, Augusta 6
Week 3 Rank: 20 (+3)
Week 4: vs. Mulvane
Last Meeting: Buhler 24, Mulvane 14 (Sectional, 2016)
Prediction: Buhler 31, Mulvane 14
Sedgwick has arguably the most explosive offense in Kansas. That will be tested against a strong Ell-Saline defense.
Record: 3-0
Week 3: Sedgwick 47, Sterling 7
Week 3 Rank: 23 (+5)
Week 4: vs. Ell-Saline
Last Meeting: Ell-Saline 44, Sedgwick 41 (Regional, 2017)
Prediction: Sedgwick 49, Ell-Saline 42
The Jaguars put up one of the biggest fights of the week. Goddard coach Tom Beason said it’s a matter of time for Central to break through.
Record: 1-2
Week 3: No. 7 Goddard 17, Andover Central 16
Week 3 Rank: 25 (+6)
Week 4: vs. No. 23 Valley Center
Last Meeting: Andover Central 54, Valley Center 31 (Week 1, 2015)
Prediction: Andover Central 24, Valley Center 21
Heights had the biggest head-scratcher of Week 3. Fact is: The Falcons are 1-2 and are back to the drawing board.
Record: 1-2
Week 3: Dodge City 49, Wichita Heights 27
Week 3 Rank: 11 (-9)
Week 4: at Wichita North
Last Meeting: Wichita Heights 71, Wichita North 8 (Week 5, 2017)
Prediction: Wichita Heights 35, Wichita North 7
The score was closer than the game truly was, but losing to the defending 5A champs by 29 isn’t the worst look.
Record: 1-2
Week 3: No. 3 Bishop Carroll 49, Wichita West 20
Week 3 Rank: 14 (-7)
Week 4: vs. No. 2 Wichita Northwest
Last Meeting: Wichita Northwest 54, Wichita West 14 (Week 4, 2017)
Prediction: Wichita Northwest 59, Wichita West 21
A 20-point league win at home sees the Spartans in the top 25 for the first time this season.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Collegiate 42, No. 19 Mulvane 22
Week 3 Rank: NR
Week 4: at Trinity Academy
Last Meeting: Collegiate 42, Trinity Academy 14 (Week 9, 2017)
Prediction: Collegiate 36, Trinity Academy 14
With Larry Wilson in the backfield, anything seems possible at any moment. Consistency will be key.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: Valley Center 23, Maize South 13
Week 3 Rank: NR
Week 4: at No. 19 Andover Central
Last Meeting: Andover Central 54, Valley Center 31 (Week 1, 2015)
Prediction: Andover Central 24, Valley Center 21
Eisenhower showed a lot of fight to come back against Andover, but a whole hand’s worth of turnovers lost it.
Record: 1-2
Week 3: No. 17 Andover 30, Eisenhower 22
Week 3 Rank: 21 (-3)
Week 4: vs. No. 7 Goddard
Last Meeting: Goddard 28, Eisenhower 13 (Sectional, 2017)
Prediction: Goddard 35, Eisenhower 14
Hesston had a terrible showing against Pratt, but the Greenbacks are among the best teams in Kansas this season.
Record: 2-1
Week 3: No. 10 Pratt 55, Hesston 0
Week 3 Rank: 15 (-10)
Week 4: at Smoky Valley
Last Meeting: Smoky Valley 49, Hesston 20 (Week 5, 2017)
Prediction: Smoky Valley 52, Hesston 14
Dropped Out
- Mulvane
- Cheney
This story was originally published September 18, 2018 at 1:40 AM.