They say if you don’t like the weather in Kansas, just wait five minutes. Honestly, the same thing applies to kansas hs football rankings. You spend all summer looking at roster depth and returning starters, convinced you know exactly who's hoisting the trophy in Emporia or Hutchinson, and then a Friday night in October happens. Everything breaks.
The 2025 season was a perfect example of that chaos. If you looked at the preseason polls, you saw the usual suspects. Names like Derby, Mill Valley, and Blue Valley Northwest were practically etched in stone. But by the time we hit the state championships in late November, the landscape looked... different. Unranked teams were storming the field. Powerhouses were watching from the bleachers.
If you're trying to make sense of how these teams actually stack up, you have to look past the win-loss columns. You have to look at strength of schedule, mid-season injuries, and the sheer grit it takes to survive the KSHSAA playoffs.
Why the Top 10 Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
Rankings are basically an educated guess. Experts at KPreps or the Wichita Eagle do their best, but they aren't in the locker rooms. Take Manhattan High, for instance. They started the 2025 season ranked third in Class 6A. Not bad, right? But as the season progressed, they didn't just meet expectations—they crushed them.
When the Indians met Olathe Northwest in the 6A final, the "rankings" suggested a dogfight. Instead, Manhattan put on a clinic, winning 27-0. It was a statement. It showed that while Olathe Northwest had a phenomenal 9-2 run, the gap between a "top five" team and a state champion can sometimes be a canyon.
Then you've got the 5A bracket. This is where things got weird. Salina Central started the year completely unranked. Nobody was talking about them as a title contender in August. Fast forward to the championship game: they’re putting up 51 points on Basehor-Linwood to take the title.
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- Salina Central (5A Champion): Unranked preseason, finished #1.
- St. Thomas Aquinas: Consistently high in composite rankings (On3 had them at #1 overall at one point), but 5A is a meat grinder.
- Great Bend: Finished 12-1, but that one loss in the playoffs is the only thing people remember.
It’s brutal. You can have a perfect season, but if you stumble in the sub-state round, your ranking in the history books takes a permanent hit.
The Andale Exception and Small School Dominance
If there is one constant in the universe, it’s Andale football. They are the glitch in the matrix of kansas hs football rankings.
Most years, people wonder if Andale is actually the best team in the state, regardless of class. In 2025, they went 13-0. They didn't just win; they dismantled people. Their 38-6 victory over Topeka Hayden in the 3A final was almost predictable at this point. They were the only team to start at #1 in the preseason and actually finish there with a trophy.
But look at Class 1A. Sterling followed the Salina Central blueprint. They weren't on the radar when the pads first came on in August. They ended up going 13-0 and edging out Rossville 35-34 in what was arguably the game of the year. When you're looking at rankings, you have to account for these "pop-up" programs that find their chemistry late.
Breaking Down the 2025 Final Standings
The final KPreps and KSHSAA data gives us a pretty clear picture of who survived the gauntlet. Here’s a look at the heavy hitters across the board:
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Class 6A Top Tier
Manhattan proved they were the class of the field. Derby usually looms large here, and while they finished 8-4—a "down" year by their absurd standards—they still played one of the toughest schedules in the Midwest. Wichita Northwest and Olathe Northwest remained staples in the top five for the duration of the season.
Class 4A Dominance
Kapaun Mt. Carmel was a force of nature. Their 56-21 blowout of Bishop Miege in the final wasn't just a win; it was a changing of the guard. For years, Miege has owned 4A. Seeing Kapaun drop over 50 points on them in a title game felt like a tectonic shift in Kansas high school football.
The 8-Man and 6-Man Wild West
Don't sleep on the small towns. South Central (12-0) took the 8-Man Division I title, while Hanover and Axtell continued their rivalry at the top of Division II. In the 6-man game, Cunningham and Weskan traded the #1 spot back and forth all season, with Cunningham eventually grabbing the hardware.
Recruitment vs. Team Success
Sometimes the best teams don't have the highest-rated players, and the schools with the "stars" don't always top the rankings. It’s a weird paradox.
For the 2025-2026 cycle, Kansas has some legitimate national talent. You've got Andrew Babalola at Blue Valley Northwest, a massive offensive tackle that every D1 school in the country wanted. Then there's Linkon Cure out in Goodland—a tight end who looks like he was built in a lab.
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But look at the results. Blue Valley Northwest had a solid year, but they didn't win the 6A title. Goodland struggled to crack the top of the 3A rankings. Football is the ultimate team sport, and Kansas is famous for those disciplined, "no-name" squads that take down teams full of three-star recruits.
How to Effectively Track Rankings Next Season
If you’re a fan, a parent, or a bettor (hypothetically, of course), how do you actually use these rankings?
- Ignore the Preseason: Honestly, treat the first three weeks as a preseason. Teams in the Eastern Kansas League (EKL) or the AVCTL often play such brutal schedules that a 1-2 start doesn't mean they aren't a top-ten team.
- Watch the "Others Receiving Votes": That’s where the Salina Centrals and Sterlings of the world hide. Look for teams with high point differentials against mediocre opponents.
- Check the Massey Ratings: Sites like MaxPreps and On3 use mathematical formulas (the Massey algorithm) that account for strength of schedule. A 6-3 Mill Valley team is almost always "better" than a 9-0 team playing a weak schedule.
- Listen to Local Reporters: Guys like those at the Wichita Eagle or KSHSAA Covered have their ears to the ground. They know when a star QB is nursing a high ankle sprain that hasn't made the news yet.
What’s Next for Kansas Football?
As we move into the 2026 offseason, the "way-too-early" rankings are already being whispered about. Will Kapaun repeat? Can Derby reclaim the 6A throne? The transfer portal—which is starting to trickle down into the high school level in some states—hasn't hit Kansas as hard yet, but the "enrollment" shifts are real.
Keep an eye on the 2025-2026 classification changes. KSHSAA updates these based on enrollment numbers, and a school moving from 4A to 5A can completely upend the rankings overnight.
Actionable Insights for the Offseason:
- Monitor KSHSAA Reclassification: Check which schools are moving up or down a class. A big fish moving to a smaller pond (like a 5A power dropping to 4A) usually results in an immediate #1 ranking.
- Track Coaching Changes: Kansas saw several legendary coaches retire after the 2025 season. A new system often means a slow start, regardless of how many seniors are returning.
- Film Study: If you’re a player or coach, don't just look at the scores. Watch the film of the Manhattan vs. Olathe Northwest final. See how Manhattan’s defensive scheme neutralized Olathe’s speed. That’s the "rankings" reality that matters.
The beauty of Kansas high school football is that the rankings are just paper. On any given Friday, under the lights in a town of 500 people or a city of 400,000, that paper doesn't mean a thing.