Brad Hallier on potentially the next Hutch High Head Football coach and on the past 20 years of Hutch High Football. Click here

How Andale does what they do, win Championships. Click here

Could this come to Kansas, in some form?

Some comments from below the video:

Each year, Maryland tries to schedule opponents that match up well on paper. It does require some travel, but achieves better results.

If you are a team that routinely score 50+ points a game you need tougher competition.

Part of it is resources. 100%, but 20 years ago the conversation was, as the game grows, as more high schools build their programs, how will the incline in teachers becoming coaches be a problem. In other words let’s see how far school districts go to find a coach that can keep up with the rich schools. We knew this day would come where big schools with big miente were going to pull away, but America never figured out a way to improve coaching. Hiring a teacher is the laziest option and I see teams running schemes that you can tell they don’t understand. Some coaches play chess other coaches use Lamar Jackson and madden and think that madden playbook will work Friday nights. Most high school seniors in America are better offensive coordinators than their own HCs

This trickles down to the high school level also. It is a new world in athletics, compared to the old way of how things used to be.

Clint Bowen on being a high school football coach https://x.com/i/status/1972767951557447846

Football is about finding the weakness of the opponent and then attacking at that point, but this video of this particular player mistreating  the opponent is disgusting.

My preseason rankings are nothing more than a target to shoot at, for the rest of the teams in each classification.

I also like to call them WAG’s. In other words, a Wild Ass Guess or we could say SWAG’s, Scientific Wild Ass Guess, because I did a little studing, before putting up the rankings.

There are a few teams ranked, in the number one slot, who are a no brainer to most likely repeat as champions, Andale, SE of Saline, Axtell, Weskan. Although they must stay healthy and you must win on the field of play, not on some computer, by a guy taking SWAG’s at who will win, in the end.

After that, it looks like Derby, Aquinas (how can I not pick Mill Valley and I came so close do doing that), Bishop Miege, Conway Springs and South Central are the favorites in their respective classes.

Every year there is that team, in some classification, that just surprises everyone and is not ranked all season long and they get in the playoffs and they just keep winning. And sometimes, win the state championship or finish in second place. That underdog is who everyone falls in love with and pulls for in the playoffs, to bring home the big upset win!

That football we play with, is not round, and doesn’t ever bounce on the ground the way you think it might, which leads to upsets!

Know that I am cheering for the upset win, except for my team, which I hope wins every game.

Super Top 10 All-Classes
1.   Derby
2.   St Thomas Aquinas
3.   Mill Valley
4.   Manhattan
5.   Blue Valley NW
6.   Gardner-Edgerton
7.   Wichita NW
8.   St James
9.   Bishop Miege
10. Andale

6A
1. Derby
2. Manhattan
3. Blue Valley NW
4. Gardner-Edgerton
5. Wichita NW
Others: none

5A
1. Aquinas
2. Mill Valley
3. St James
4. Great Bend
5. Hays
Others: none

www.kansasprepfootball.com/

4A 
1. Bishop Miege
2. Kapaun
3. Chanute
4. Wamego
5. Wellington
Others: none

3A
1. Andale
2. Hayden
3. Collegiate
4. Holcomb
5. Wellsville
Others: none

2A
1. SE of Saline
2. Nemaha Central
3. Beloit
4. Osage City
5. Humboldt
Others: none

www.kansasprepfootball.com/

1A
1. Conway Springs
2. Rossville
3. Plainville
4. Marion
5. Jackson Heights
Others: none

8-man D-I
1. South Central
2. Wichita Co-Leoti
3. Central Plains
4. Little River
5. Ell-Saline
Others: none

www.kansasprepfootball.com/

8-man D-II
1. Axtell
2. Hanover
3. Victoria
4. Frankfort
5. Hodgeman Co
Others: none

6-man
1. Weskan
2. South Barber
3. Tescott
4. Cunningham
5. Marais Des Cygnes
Others: none

Long time Ranking team members
Rich Epp OpenSpacesSports Colby
Dusty Deines Ad Astra Radio Hutchinson/McPherson
Conor Nichol Sunflower Sports SolutionsHays
Jim Misunas Great Bend Tribune Great Bend
Adam Kadavy KSKL Scott City/Garden City
Brock Kappelmann KSCB Liberal
Tim McGonagle KSKL Scott City/Garden City
Rocky Downing KFRM 550 AM
Pat Strathman ESPN Wichita 

The 2025 Kansas Pregame Magazine is online now, click here.

Support the sponsors of this magazine and thank them for supporting this wonderful magazine when you go to pick up your copy!

Less is More
Bill Faflick, KSHSAA Executive Director

When students are involved in education-based activities, they are better! We all know the connection with peers, with coaches and sponsors, and to the community support their academic success as well as their physical health and mental wellness. However, can some students take it too far and be doing too much?

Earlier in April, I listened intently to the doctors, athletic trainers, school nurses and school leaders serving on the KSHSAA Sports Medicine Academy as they talked about a significant concern becoming more prevalent in their work with students. That topic is burnout. While the discussion was focused on supporting the many students who experience overuse injury, it also included students who have lost the love of the game. It was reported:

Over 50% of high school athletes report training related injuries which contribute to mental and physical exhaustion which can lead to burnout.

Teenagers who overtrain are also at a higher risk of eating disorders and sleep problems.

36% of high school student-athletes report feeling burned out because they feel pressure to succeed from their coaches and parents.

30-40% of young athletes experience burnout at some point in their sports careers and 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by age 13.

Overtraining and burnout are linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

While I support the notion of learning to work hard to achieve at the highest level, many of our students are exhausted. We need to teach our students to work smarter, not necessarily more! As we prepare for summer, which has been transformed from an opportunity for students and coaches to recharge and pursue options not possible during the school year, into a fight for more training and more competition. Is it too much?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends students not spend more than 5 days a week playing or practicing one sport and 2-3 months per year of no organized sports. The KSHSAA SMAC suggested a general rule of thumb for a student is for the maximum hours of training, practice and competition per week to not exceed the age of the student or 16 hours per week (whichever is less).

As you head to summer, I encourage you to lead the discussion on how less can be more.  Thank you for supporting the healthy development of students.

Football – The KSHSAA Board of Directors made an adjustment to the classification limits for teams eligible to compete in 8-player and 6-player football. KSHSAA Handbook Rule 35 now reads:

For 8-Player district football participation, assignments shall be limited to those schools with a maximum enrollment of 110 students in grades 9, 10 and 11.

For 6-Player district football participation, assignments shall be limited to those schools with a maximum enrollment of 65 students in grades 9, 10 and 11. The change will go into effect for the next football districting cycle.

Meeting minutes reflecting these actions and others will be posted when completed: Meetings and Agendas