CIK Football Rankings: Week Four

Except for Six-Man, every classification had a new team enter the poll this week. Six-Man has a new No. 1 with Ashland. Big wins from Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Riley County, Centralia and WaKeeney-Trego were among those that caused rankings shifts.

6A

1.Derby (2-0) [Last week’s rankings: 1]

2. Olathe North (3-0) [2]

3. Blue Valley North (3-0) [3]

4. Blue Valley Northwest (3-0) [4]

5. Manhattan (3-0) [6]

6. Lawrence (3-0) [NR]

7. Blue Valley (2-1) [7]

8. Lawrence Free State (2-1) [8]

9. Washburn Rural (3-0) [NR]

10. Dodge City (3-0) [10]

Notes: Derby earned its marquee 44-36 win versus Bishop Carroll, and Olathe North held off Lawrence Free State, 21-7, in another big win. Lawrence moves into the rankings and gets 5A No. 1 Mill Valley this week. An under-the-radar upset occurred when Shawnee Mission North beat Olathe Northwest, 14-7. SM North was 1-16 in its previous 17 games. Dodge City gets the premier matchup against Bishop Carroll this week. Junction City (2-1) picked up a nice win against Topeka Seaman in overtime and is just outside the poll. Washburn Rural is at Junction City this week.

Dropped out: No. 5 Olathe Northwest, No. 9 Junction City

5A

1. Mill Valley (3-0) [3]

2. St. Thomas Aquinas (2-1) [1]

3. Bishop Carroll (2-1) [2]

4. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (3-0) [9]

5. Maize (3-0) [5]

6. Hays High (3-0) [6]

7. Maize South (3-0) [8]

8. Andover (2-1) [NR]

9. Wichita Northwest (1-2) [4]

10. Spring Hill (3-0) [NR]

Notes: Plenty of movement as St. Thomas Aquinas, Bishop Carroll and Wichita Northwest all lost, though the first two lost to No. 1 teams in other classes. Aquinas fell, 23-20, to rival Bishop Miege on a controversial TD call late in the game. Andover, which lost 17-14 to Maize in Week 1, has quietly worked its way back into the poll. The Trojans have had a top-5 5A defense each of the last two years and have permitted just 36 total points. Obviously, the big result came with Kapaun’s 34-17 win against Wichita Northwest. Kapaun had lost eight in a row to the Grizzlies. Northwest is still averaging 572 yards per game but has committed six turnovers and is minus-3 in turnover margin. After back-to-back blowouts, Hays High gets a tough home test versus 2-1 Garden City on Friday.

Dropped out: No. 7 Topeka Seaman, No. 10 Wichita Heights

4A

1. Bishop Miege (1-2) [1]

2. Andover Central (3-0) [2]

3. McPherson (3-0) [5]

4. Basehor-Linwood (3-0) [4]

5. Buhler (2-1) [6]

6. El Dorado (2-1) [NR]

7. Wamego (2-1) [10]

8. Winfield (2-1) [8]

9. KC Piper (2-1) [7]

10. Mulvane (1-2) [NR]

Notes: A significant number of close games through three weeks in 4A.

Bishop Miege defeats rival St. Thomas Aquinas, 23-20. Aquinas was ranked No. 1 in 5A. Buhler bounced back from its two-point loss to Andover Central and held off Winfield. The Crusaders get El Dorado this week. Wamego has collectively played in seven overtimes in three contests. Piper won on the last play in Week 2, and then lost to Leavenworth by two at home last week. Quietly, Mulvane has shown nice improvement since QB Mason Ellis is healthy this year. Mulvane was competitive against 3A’s top-two teams in the first two weeks, won at Clearwater last week and now gets a matchup against surprising 2-1 Circle.

Dropped out: No. 3 St. James Academy, No. 9 Paola

3A

1. Andale (3-0) [1]

2. Wichita Collegiate (3-0) [2]

3. Cheney (3-0) [3]

4. Frontenac (2-1) [4]

5. Holton (3-0) [5]

6. Southeast of Saline (3-0) [6]

7. Pratt (3-0) [8]

8. Topeka Hayden (2-1) [9]

9. Riley County (3-0) [NR]

10. Smoky Valley (3-0) [NR]

Notes: Cheney delivered a nice win against rival Garden Plain. Pratt continues to be dominant with its new single wing offense and has big victories versus Hoisington in Week 1, and Hesston in Week 3. Riley County beat Silver Lake, previously No. 2 in 2A. Smoky Valley, a projected turnaround team, defeated Hillsboro, 14-6. Scott City lost to Cimarron after seven straight wins in the series. Prairie View is just outside the rankings at 3-0.

Dropped Out: No. 7 Scott City, No. 10 Prairie View

2A

1. Rossville (3-0) [1]

2. Nemaha Central (2-1) [4]

3. Silver Lake (2-1) [2]

4. Osage City (3-0) [6]

5. Kingman (2-1) [NR]

6. Garden Plain (2-1) [3]

7. Wellsville (3-0) [10]

8. Atchison County (3-0) [NR]

9. Hillsboro (2-1) [5]

10. Thomas More Prep-Marian (2-1) [9]

Notes: Defending champion Rossville has won 16 games in a row. Kingman gets the edge over Garden Plain. In Week 1, Kingman played Cheney closer than GP did in Wek 3. Kingman and GP will match up later in the regular season. Nemaha Central gets surprise Atchison County this week. Maur Hill took an upset loss to Pleasant Ridge.

Dropped out: No. 7 Beloit, No. 8 Maur Hill

1A

1. Olpe (3-0) [1]

2. Smith Center (3-0) [2]

3. Inman (3-0) [3]

4. Sedgwick (3-0) [6]

5. Centralia (2-1) [7]

6. Conway Springs (2-1) [8]

7. Plainville (2-1) [4]

8. Jackson Heights (2-1) [5]

9. Ell-Saline (2-1) [NR]

10. Whitewater-Remington (2-1) [NR]

Notes: Centralia picked up an impressive district win versus Jackson Heights. Inman has not allowed a point this year. Wabaunsee lost to Troy.

Dropped out: No. 9 Wabaunsee, No. 10 Jefferson County North

Eight-Man, Division I

1. Canton-Galva (3-0) [1]

2. Madison (3-0) [2]

3. Little River (3-0) [3]

4. WaKeeney-Trego (3-0) [5]

5. Leoti-Wichita County (2-1) [8]

6. Argonia-Attica (3-0) [7]

7. Meade (3-0) [6]

8. Sedan (3-0) [NR]

9. Chase County (3-0) [NR]

10. Hill City (2-1) [4]

Notes: This was projected to be the wildest classification entering the year, especially with Division I West. That has borne out correct thus far. No. 1 Canton-Galva and No. 2 Madison have each dominated. Trego picked up the marquee 42-40 road win versus Victoria. Leoti bounced back from its Week 2 loss to Trego and rolled over Hill City, which had been impressive in the first two games. WC’s strength of schedule gives the Indians the slight edge at No. 5. This is a wild classification with many of the top-10 teams still to play each other. C-C has a one-score loss to Little River, and Hodgeman County lost, 50-48, to Bucklin last week.

Dropped out: No. 9 Clifton-Clyde, No. 10 Jetmore-Hodgeman County

Eight-Man, Division II

1. Hanover (3-0) [1]

2. Axtell (3-0) [3]

3. Victoria (2-1) [2]

4. Thunder Ridge (3-0) [4]

5. Frankfort (3-0) [5]

6. Osborne (2-1) [6]

7. Wheatland-Grinnell (2-1) [9]

8. Caldwell (3-0) [8]

9. Bucklin (3-0) [NR]

10. Quinter (3-0) [NR]

Notes: Victoria took its 42-40 loss to Trego, and Bucklin beat Hodgeman County, 50-48. Caldwell came back late to beat Norwich by two. Hanover gets Axtell this week in eight-man’s best rivalry. Also, this is likely the biggest Gove County rivalry game ever when Quinter travels to Wheatland-Grinnell.Dropped out: No. 7 Downs-Lakeside, No. 10 Waverly

Six-Man

1. Ashland (3-0) [5]

2. Natoma (3-0) [2]

3. Bird-City Cheylin (2-1) [1]

4. Cunningham (2-0) [3]

5. Moscow (3-0) [4]

Notes: Ashland ended Cheylin’s 11-game winning streak with an impressive 42-32 win. Both teams have a high number of sophomores in key roles. Northern Valley (2-1) is just on the outside.

Dropped out: None

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