Class 5A No. 1 Mill Valley got out fast in its showdown with Class 6A No. 5 Lawrence, building a 21-0 lead early in the second half.
But it took a knockdown on the game's final play for the Jaguars to stay unbeaten, denying Lawrence's late Hail Mary pass for a 21-14 victory.
Mill Valley wasn't the only No. 1 to find itself in a battle on Friday night.
Class 4A No. 1 McPherson survived a big-time scare from Winfield, taking a 21-14 overtime win. The Bullpups somehow overcame four first-half turnovers to lead 7-6 at halftime, but trailed 14-7 in the fourth quarter before a Jaytin Gumm touchdown run tied it.
In overtime, Aidan Hoover scored on McPherson's opening possession to put the Bullpups ahead and then the defense came to the rescue, forcing a Winfield fumble to secure the win and keep McPherson undefeated.
Eight-Player Division II No. 1 Hanover wasn't as fortunate. Four turnovers and the Wildcats' inability to stop Axtell's straight-forward power run game doomed Hanover as Axtell, No. 4 in the KSHSAA rankings, pulled the 30-24 upset.
Isaac Detweiler ran 38 times for 182 yards and three touchdowns and the Eagles rallied from a 16-12 halftime deficit with three straight scoring drives in the second half to build a 30-16 lead. Hanover got within a touchdown and had the ball twice in the final two minutes to tie or win, but Axtell picked off a Braelen Stallbaumer pass to thwart one of the drives and held defensively in the final seconds for the win.
Axtell climbed one spot to No. 3 in Division II with Hanover dropping from No. 1 to No. 4. Thunder Ridge, a 56-8 winner over Lakeside, replaces Hanover in the No. 1 spot while Frankfort moves up from No. 3 to No. 2.
Axtell and Frankfort meet this week.
Lawrence didn't drop from its No. 5 position in Class 6A as three of the top five teams in 6A suffered losses. No. 2 Olathe North was upset by 20-6 by Olathe West and fell from the rankings, while No. 3 Blue Valley North lost 28-28 to Missouri unbeaten Lee's Summit North in overtime and remained No. 3.
Blue Valley Northwest leap-frogged Blue Valley North to take over the No. 2 spot, while Blue Valley moved in at No. 4 after edging Class 5A No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 36-35 in overtime.
Aquinas slipped one spot in the 5A rankings to No. 4 after the loss, replaced at No. 3 by Kapaun Mt. Carmel. No. 5 Maize fell out of the rankings after getting upset 24-17 at home by Arkansas City and were replaced at No. 5 by district rival Maize South.
There were no changes in the Class 3A, 2A or 1A rankings. In Eight-Player Division I, Argonia-Attica fell out of the rankings after losing to Goessel. WaKeeney-Trego takes over the No. 5 spot.
The KSHSAA Covered rankings are compiled by the four-man staff of Brent Maycock, Scott Paske, Rick Peterson Jr. and Mac Moore.
CLASS 6A
Team 2021 Record
- Derby (1) 3-0
- Blue Valley Northwest (4) 4-0
- Blue Valley North (3) 3-1
- Blue Valley (NR) 3-1
- Lawrence (5) 3-1
Others – Blue Valley West 3-1, Dodge City 3-1, Free State 3-1, Garden City 3-1, Junction City 3-1, Manhattan 4-0, Olathe North 3-1, Olathe Northwest 3-1, Olathe West 3-1, Washburn Rural 3-1.
CLASS 5A
Team 2021 Record
- Mill Valley (1) 4-0
- Bishop Carroll (2) 3-1
- Kapaun Mt. Carmel (5) 4-0
- St. Thomas Aquinas (3) 2-2
- Maize South (NR) 4-0
Others – Andover 3-1, DeSoto 2-1, Hays 3-1, Maize 3-1, Seaman 3-1, Spring Hill 4-0, Wichita Heights 3-1, Wichita Northwest 2-2.
CLASS 4A
Team 2021 Record
- McPherson (1) 4-0
- Andover Central (2) 4-0
- Miege (3) 1-3
- Basehor-Linwood (4) 4-0
- Buhler (5) 3-1
Others – Arkansas City 2-2, Augusta 3-1, Chanute 3-1, Circle 2-2, El Dorado 2-2, Eudora 2-2, Independence 3-1, KC Piper 3-1, Lansing 2-2, Mulvane 2-2, Wamego 3-1, Winfield 2-2.
CLASS 3A
Team 2021 Record
- Andale (1) 4-0
- Wichita Collegiate (2) 4-0
- Cheney (3) 4-0
- Holton (4) 4-0
- Frontenac (5) 3-1
Others – Caney Valley 4-0, Chapman 3-1, Concordia 4-0, Galena 3-1, Girard 4-0, Hayden 3-1, Holcomb 3-1, Prairie View 4-0, Pratt 4-0, Riley County 4-0, Scott City 3-1, Smoky Valley 3-1, Southeast-Saline 4-0.
CLASS 2A
Team 2021 Record
- Rossville (1) 4-0
- Nemaha Central (2) 3-1
- Osage City (3) 4-0
- Silver Lake (4) 3-1
- Garden Plain (5) 3-1
Others – Atchison County 3-1, Cimarron 3-1, Eureka 3-1, Chaparral 4-0, Hillsboro 3-1, Hoisington 3-1, Humboldt 3-1, Kingman 3-1, Lakin 3-1, Riverton 3-1, TMP-Marian 3-1, Wellsville 4-0.
CLASS 1A
Team 2021 Record
- Olpe (1) 4-0
- Smith Center (2) 4-0
- Inman (3) 4-0
- Sedgwick (4) 4-0
- Centralia (5) 3-1
Others – Conway Springs 3-1, Ell-Saline 2-2, Jackson Heights 2-2, Jefferson North 3-1, Lyndon 2-2, Plainville 3-1, Remington 3-1, Troy 3-1, Wabaunsee 3-1.
EIGHT-PLAYER DIVISION I
Team 2021 Record
- Canton-Galva (1) 4-0
- Madison (2) 4-0
- Little River (3) 4-0
- Chase County (4) 4-0
- WaKeeney-Trego (NR) 4-0
Others – Argonia-Attica 3-1, Bennington 3-1, Clifton-Clyde 2-1, Hill City 3-1, Leoti-Wichita County 3-1, Meade 4-0, Medicine Lodge 4-0, Sedan 4-0, Solomon 3-1, South Gray 3-1, West Elk 3-1, Yates Center 4-0.
EIGHT-PLAYER DIVISION II
Team 2021 Record
- Thunder Ridge (2) 4-0
- Frankfort (3) 4-0
- Axtell (4) 4-0
- Hanover (1) 3-1
- Victoria (5) 3-1
Others – Bucklin 4-0, Caldwell 4-0, Central Plains 3-1, Dighton 3-1, Lebo 3-1, Minneola 3-1, Osborne 3-1, Quinter 3-1, South Barber 3-1, Waverly 2-1, Wheatland-Grinnell 3-1.