High school season really starts

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 17, 2002 by Capital-Journal

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The 2002 football season is officially here.

Those first six weeks? Aw, those were just the preseason. Call them tune-ups.

Thanks to the district system employed in Kansas, none of those games count right now. 6-0, 0-6 or somewhere in between, they all carry the same weight.

And thanks to this year's newly adopted playoff system, twice as many 11-man teams will reap the benefits from their fresh start. For the first time, two teams from each 11-man district will qualify for the playoffs this year.

That's good for those 8-1 teams that have sat at home in past years, victims of a loaded district. That's bad for the playoffs themselves, because the first round will be overloaded with teams unworthy of their playoff status.

And you thought we had too many first-round blowouts when only regional winners advanced. Get ready for a week of 55-0 scores.

The merits of the new system would be more productive if it came paired with an overhaul of how the districts are laid out. Or perhaps there should be a clause where a .500 record is required for the non- district winner to qualify and byes instead be awarded winning teams from loaded districts.

But as long as districts continued to be assigned based on little more than geography --- and with that in mind, why are the Salina schools separated --- us media types will continue to have easy fodder for our district columns.

Class 6A

Best: District 8. Hutchinson (6-0), Maize (5-1) and Garden City (4- 2) are all capable of a deep playoff run.

Worst: District 1. Blue Valley North (4-2) has a cakewalk with three 1-5 teams.

District winners: BV North, SM North, Olathe North, Lawrence, Wichita Heights, Derby, Wichita Northwest, Hutchinson.

Class 5A

Best: District 2. Two-time defending state runner-up Pittsburg (3- 3) has worst mark of group.

Worst: District 7. Ark City tops group with 2-4 mark.

District winners: Miege, Pittsburg, Aquinas, Topeka West, Salina South, Great Bend, Arkansas City, Liberal.

Class 4A

Best: District 9. No. 1 Sabetha, No. 3 Holton and No. 4 Marysville all undefeated.

Worst: District 11. El Dorado is 2-4, rest are 1-5.

District winners: Parsons, Fort Scott, Ottawa, Louisburg, Eudora, Hayden, Tonganoxie, Jefferson West, Marysville, Clay Center, El Dorado, Andover Central, Andale, Wellington, Hugoton, Scott City.

Class 3A

Best: District 14. Beloit and Norton unbeaten, but must get by Smith Center.

Worst: District 7. Baxter Springs (3-3) only team without losing mark, barely.

District winners: Rock Creek, Maur Hill, St. Marys, Silver Lake, Jayhawk-Linn, Frontenac, Baxter Springs, Neodesha, Marion, Conway Springs, Hesston, Riley County, Hoisington, Norton, Cimarron, Lakin.

Class 2-1A

Best: District 11. Three unbeatens --- Ell-Saline, Sacred Heart and Solomon.

Worst: District 13. At 2-4, Stockton has twice as many wins as other three district teams.

District winners: Frankfort, Jackson Heights, Jefferson North, Lebo, Olpe, Peabody, Sedan, Colgan, Garden Plain, Hutchinson Trinity, Sacred Heart, Claflin, Stockton, Atwood, WaKeeney, Stanton County.

Eight-man I

Best: District 12. Norwich, South Barber, South Haven all have just one loss.

Worst: District 1. Flinthills is 3-3 and that's the tops.

District winners: Flinthills, Madison, St. Paul, Hartford, Little River, Baileyville B&B, Pike Valley, Waconda East, Quivira Heights, Macksville, Cunningham, South Barber, Bucklin, Jetmore, Victoria, Tribune.

Eight-Man II

Best: District 6. No team in district has losing mark and Cedar Vale is 6-0.

Worst: District 7. Four teams, four combined wins.

District winners: Bern, Hanover, Southern Cloud, Hope, Waverly, Thayer, Argonia, Burrton, Sylvan Grove, Palco, Logan, Golden Plains, Weskan, Ingalls, Ashland, Hanston.

Brent Maycock can be reached at

(785) 295-5662 or bmaycock@cjonline.com.

High school season really starts