Kansas high school football rankings: The top 10 teams at each classification

State championship events aren’t guaranteed in 2020, but it’s not too early to look ahead to who might

Class 6A

1. Derby (West)

2. Blue Valley (East)

3. Lawrence (West)

4. Olathe North (East)

5. Blue Valley North (East)

6. Wichita East (West)

7. Gardner-Edgerton (East)

8. Lawrence Free State (West)

9. Manhattan (West)

10. Junction City (West)

The Class 6A state championship might come down to something completely unrelated to football: Who handles the COVID-19 pandemic the best. Some Kansas school districts are already on pins and needles about continuing fall sports. That said, Derby, the back-to-back champion, has to be the favorite on paper.

Class 5A

1. Mill Valley (East)

2. Wichita Northwest (West)

3. Bishop Carroll (West)

4. St. Thomas Aquinas (East)

5. Maize (West)

6. Maize South (West)

7. Hays (West)

8. De Soto (East)

9. Andover (West)

10. Goddard (West)

It seemed Aquinas was starting a dynasty after its 2018 state championship, but as of 2020, the Class 5A title is anyone’s guess. Northwest was reinstated to fall activities Tuesday night, so the back-to-back state runners-up are back in the mix alongside rival Bishop Carroll and last year’s champion Mill Valley.

Class 4A

1. Bishop Miege (East)

2. Paola (East)

3. Andover Central (West)

4. McPherson (West)

5. St. James Academy (East)

6. Great Bend (West)

7. Buhler (West)

8. Tonganoxie (East)

9. Basehor-Linwood (East)

10. Chanute (East)

Surprise, surprise, Bishop Miege is favored to win its seventh straight football title. Buhler in 2013 is the most recent team not named Miege to win a 4A title. In fact, the Stags haven’t lost a 4A playoff game since 2008 to Baldwin. Paola is as strong as last year as Andover Central and McPherson figure to take slight steps back.

Class 3A

1. Andale (District 7)

2. Perry-Lecompton (District 3)

3. Southeast of Saline (District 6)

4. Topeka Hayden (District 3)

5. Cheney (District 8)

6. Frontenac (District 2)

7. Riley County (District 5)

8. Scott City (District 6)

9. Holton (District 4)

10. Clearwater (District 7)

Andale likely isn’t as strong as it was last year as it cruised to the Class 3A state title, but the Indians are believed to still be stronger than anyone else in the classification. Perry-Lecompton returns a lot, and Southeast of Saline is the darkhorse selection.

Class 2A

1. Rossville (District 3)

2. Nemaha Central (District 4)

3. Silver Lake (District 3)

4. Norton (District 8)

5. St. Mary’s Colgan (District 1)

6. Garden Plain (District 6)

7. Cimarron (District 7)

8. Hoisington (District 8)

9. Belle Plaine (District 6)

10. Eureka (District 2)

Class 2A is the most wide open of all Kansas high school football title races. Rossville is the favorite but only just; the Bulldogs haven’t won a title since 2016 when they won three straight. Nemaha Central beat Rossville in lsat year’s regional round 29-21 on its way to the 2A crown.

Class 1A

1. Smith Center (District 3)

2. Valley Heights (District 2)

3. Centralia (District 2)

4. Sedgwick (District 4)

5. Conway Springs (District 4)

6. Plainville (District 3)

7. Olpe (District 1)

8. Jackson Heights (District 2)

9. Inman (District 3)

10. Ell-Saline (District 3)

Smith Center showed a crack in its armor last year, losing the Class 1A title game for the first time since 2016. Centralia took the championship and still figure into the mix, but Smith Center is a football machine. Valley Heights and Sedgwick bring back enough to contend in 2020 though.

8-Man Division I

1. Canton-Galva (District 4)

2. Wichita County (District 7)

3. Madison (District 2)

4. Clifton-Clyde (District 3)

5. Hoxie (District 8)

6. Little River (District 4)

7. La Crosse (District 6)

8. Meade (District 7)

9. Ness City (District 7)

10. Medicine Lodge (District 5)

Canton-Galva’s state title story was almost unbelievable last year, coming back from more than 30 points to win. The team the Eagles beat, St. Francis, has dropped into the second division, which leaves a clear path for a repeat, but several teams are within a shout.

8-Man Division II

1. St. Francis (District 8)

2. Hanover (District 3)

3. Osborne (District 4)

4. Hutchinson Central Christian (District 6)

5. Caldwell (District 6)

6. Axtell (District 3)

7. South Central (District 7)

8. Victoria (District 5)

9. Lebo (District 2)

10. Central Plains (District 5)

St. Francis lost one of the best 8-man players in Kansas in captain Brady Dinkel, but the Indians have dropped into division II in 2020. Hanover is always a state power, and Osborne is the defending champion, so though St. Francis is favorite, it won’t be a breeze.

Hayden Barber

The Wichita Eagle

316-269-6760

Wichita Eagle preps reporter Hayden Barber brings the area updates on all high school sports while adding those hard-to-find human-interest stories on Wichita’s student-athletes.