Week 6 of the 2022 Kansas high school football season provided some big-time matchups between some of the state’s top programs.
Across the board, those games didn’t disappoint.
For the third straight year, Maize and Derby waged an epic battle that ended with a one-point outcome. This time, it was Class 5A No. 2 Maize coming out on top of Class 6A No. 2 Derby 52-51, rallying from 20 points down late in the first half to win it on Mason Teague’s 20-yard field goal with 1:22 left.
Maize All-State quarterback Avery Johnson sparked the rally, throwing for 378 yards and four touchdowns and adding another 146 yards and three scores on the ground. Derby had one last possession to drive for the winning score, but Caden Miranda’s sack in the final minute sealed the Eagles’ win.
In Class 4A, arch rivals Bishop Miege and St. Thomas Aquinas battled in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown. And for awhile, it looked like Miege would roll, leading 20-0 in the third quarter and 26-14 with less than 10 minutes to go in the fourth.
But Aquinas stormed back behind an unrelenting ground game led by Sean Carroll and scored twice in the final nine minutes to upset the Stags 29-26.
In another 1 vs. 2 showdown, Class 3A No. 1 Andale sucked all the drama out of its clash with Wichita Collegiate early. Coming off a 108-0 win over Nickerson the previous week, Andale flexed even more against the Spartans, cruising to a 49-0 win – the Indians’ 44th straight.
The eight-player ranks also offered up Division I No. 2 Meade against No. 3 Leoti-Wichita County. Last year’s champion Buffaloes couldn’t slow down Leoti’s explosive offense and Meade lost for the first time since 2020 as the Indians ran away with a 56-20 victory.
How did the showdowns affect the Week 6 KSHSAA Covered Rankings?
Well, only slightly.
Derby dropped just one spot from No. 2 to 3 in Class 6A with unbeaten Olathe North moving up to No. 2. Junction City fell out of the top five in 6A after getting whipped 44-7 by No. 1 Manhattan. Gardner-Edgerton moves in to the No. 5 spot.
In 4A, Miege holds onto its No. 1 ranking despite the loss to No. 2 Aquinas. The Stags beat both of the teams that handed Aquinas its two losses this season, Rockhurst and St. James.
In Class 3A, Wichita Collegiate only drops one spot as well after the loss to Andale. Hayden jumps to No. 2 while the Spartans slip to No. 3.
In Eight-Player Division I, Leoti takes over the No. 1 ranking after its big win over Meade with previous No. 1 Hill City also losing on Friday to Hoxie, 20-14. The Ringnecks fall out of the top five with Little River moving up from No. 4 to No. 2, Burlingame going from 5 to 3, Meade falling to No. 4 and South Sumner County moving in at No. 5.
The only other classification to see a change in the rankings came in 2A where No. 4 Chaparral fell out of the top five after a 35-7 loss to No. 3 Kingman. Ellsworth moved up one spot to No. 4 and Sabetha comes in at No. 5.
There were no changes in the rankings in 5A, 1A, Eight-Player Division II or Six-Player.
KSHSAA COVERED’S WEEK 6 RANKINGS
CLASS 6A
Team … Record
- Manhattan (1) … 6-0
- Olathe North (3) … 6-0
- Derby (2) … 4-2
- Wichita Northwest (4) … 5-1
- Gardner-Edgerton (NR) … 4-2
Others – Blue Valley Northwest 3-3, Blue Valley West 3-3, Garden City 5-1, Junction City 4-2, Lawrence 4-2, Olathe South 4-2, Olathe West 4-2, Washburn Rural 4-2, Wichita East 4-2, Wichita Heights 4-2.
CLASS 5A
Team … Record
- Mill Valley (1) … 6-0
- Maize (2) … 6-0
- Hays (3) … 5-1
- Bishop Carroll (4) … 4-2
- Hutchinson (5) … 5-1
Others – De Soto 5-1, Goddard 5-1, Great Bend 4-2, Highland Park 4-2, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 3-3, Maize South 3-3, Salina Central 4-2, Seaman 4-1, Shawnee Heights 3-3, Valley Center 5-1.
CLASS 4A
Team … Record
- Bishop Miege (1) … 5-1
- St. Thomas Aquinas (2) … 4-2
- Chanute (3) … 6-0
- St. James Academy (4) … 3-3
- Wamego (5) … 6-0
Others – Andover Central 3-3, Atchison 6-0, Basehor-Linwood 5-1, Circle 5-1, Coffeyville 5-1, Eudora 5-1, KC Piper 3-3, Louisburg 5-1, McPherson 5-1, Tonganoxie 3-3.
CLASS 3A
Team … Record
- Andale (1) … 6-0
- Hayden (3) … 6-0
- Wichita Collegiate (2) … 5-1
- Holton (4) … 5-1
- Girard (5) … 6-0
Others – Bishop Ward 4-2, Cheney 5-1, Clay Center 4-2, Frontenac 4-2, Galena 4-2, Hesston 4-2, Holcomb 5-1, Hugoton 5-1, Parsons 5-1, Pratt 5-1, Rock Creek 5-1, Scott City 5-1, Wellsville 6-0.
CLASS 2A
Team … Record
- Nemaha Central (1) … 6-0
- Southeast of Saline (2) … 6-0
- Kingman (3) … 6-0
- Ellsworth (5) … 5-0
- Sabetha (NR) … 5-1
Others – Atchison County 5-1, Beloit 4-2, Caney Valley 4-2, Chaparral 5-1, Cherryvale 4-2, Council Grove 5-1, Hoisington 4-2, Humboldt 4-2, Lakin 5-1, Norton 4-2, Osage City 5-1, Silver Lake 4-2.
CLASS 1A
Team … Record
- Inman (1) … 6-0
- Centralia (2) … 6-0
- Olpe (3) … 4-2
- Troy (4) … 5-1
- Wabaunsee (5) … 5-1
Others – Hutchinson Trinity 5-1, Jayhawk-Linn 6-0, Marion 4-2, Pittsburg Colgan 5-1, Pleasanton 4-2, Smith Center 4-2, St. Marys 4-2.
EIGHT-PLAYER DIVISION I
Team … Record
- Leoti-Wichita County (3) … 6-0
- Little River (4) … 5-1
- Burlingame (5) … 6-0
- Meade (2) … 5-1
- South Sumner (NR) … 6-0
Others – Central-Burden 5-1, Chase County 5-1, Clifton-Clyde 5-1, Ell-Saline 4-2, Goessel 4-2, Hill City 5-1, Hoxie 5-1, La Crosse 4-2, Lyndon 4-2, Macksville 6-0, Madison 5-1, Oswego 5-1, West Elk 6-0, Wichita Independent 5-1.
EIGHT-PLAYER DIVISION II
Team … Record
- Axtell (1) … 6-0
- Canton-Galva (2) … 6-0
- Thunder Ridge (3) … 5-1
- Dighton (4) … 6-0
- Victoria (5) … 6-0
Others – Beloit-St. John’s 5-1, Colony-Crest 5-1, Hodgeman County 4-2, Lebo 4-2, Minneola 6-0, Osborne 5-1, Sharon Springs-Wallace County 4-2, South Barber 6-0, Stafford 6-0, Sylvan-Lucas 5-1.
SIX-PLAYER
Team … Record
- Cunningham (1) … 6-0
- Ashland (2) … 5-1
- Waverly (3) … 6-0
- Cheylin (4) … 5-1
- Tescott (5) … 5-1
Others – Burrton 4-2, Deerfield 3-2, Ingalls 4-1, Natoma 4-2, Northern Valley 4-2, Peabody 4-2, Wetmore 4-2.