No. 1 (4A) Kapaun Mt. Carmel (6-0) at No. 4 (5A) St. James Academy (5-1) 

Two of the state's premier football programs will collide Friday night when 4A No. 1 Kapaun Mt. Carmel travels to face 5A No. 4 St. James Academy in a marquee Week 7 matchup loaded with playoff implications and pride.  

Kapaun enters the showdown undefeated for the first time since 1985, carrying the momentum of a breakthrough season. The Crusaders’ résumé includes a 43–42 overtime win against 6A No. 2 Wichita Northwest — their signature victory to date. The Crusaders’ offense is powered by a punishing ground attack that has produced 31 rushing touchdowns through six games. Junior running back Ken Huff leads the way with 528 yards and 9 TDs on 86 carries, while senior Wyatt Sullenger adds another 374 yards and 7 scores. 

St. James , meanwhile, looks to reassert itself as a top-tier 5A contender and continue its dominance in this head-to-head series. The Thunder have won five of the eight all-time meetings, including a 30-10 win last season in Wichita. Quarterback John Hornback has filled in nicely with the offense after an early season injury. Hornback helped the Thunder to a 28-20 win over Blue Valley North last week as he led the team with 162 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Running back Jake House is the team’s leading rusher with 733 yards and nine touchdowns.  

No. 5 (5A) Mill Valley (4-2) at Olathe Northwest (5-1) 

Olathe Northwest and Mill Valley have only played twice in the schools’ history, but Friday’s game between the two programs is a big one as they try to stay alive in the Sunflower League race and also position themselves for postseason seeding. Lawrence Free State is currently undefeated in league play, but four teams, including Mill Valley and Olathe Northwest, have just one loss. 

Olathe Northwest is out to its best start since the 2015 season when the Ravens started the year 6-1. The Ravens have won five straight games since their season opening loss to Shawnee Mission East, including a 43-7 victory over Shawnee Mission West last Friday. Northwest did what they have done all season — run the ball. The Ravens racked up 342 yards on the ground, including 115 yards from Michael Hefley on just six carries. On the season, Bryce Randall leads the team with 775 yards rushing and eight scores. As a team, the Ravens have 1,700 yards on the ground through six games. 

As for Mill Valley, the Jaguars are coming off a 52-36 loss at home to Olathe West and they are looking to bounce back. Mill Valley had a strong showing offensively as it racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense, including 289 yards from quarterback Blake Jay, who had three touchdowns. Junior running back Max Piva also had a big night with 151 yards rushing and three touchdowns.  

Shawnee Mission East (5-1) at No. 5 (6A) Olathe West (5-1) 

Olathe West has had an historic couple of weeks as the Owls earned their first-ever victories over Gardner-Edgerton and Mill Valley. They hope to continue those winning ways Friday as they host another 5-1 team, Shawnee Mission East. The two schools haven’t played since 2021 and both schools, along with Olathe Northwest and Mill Valley, are a game back of Lawrence Free State for the Sunflower League lead. 

Shawnee Mission East is on a 3-game winning streak of its own as the Lancers are coming off a 49-21 win over Shawnee Mission North and quarterback Jack Reeves has put together a memorable senior campaign. Reeves leads the team with 1,237 yards rushing and averages more than 200 yards a contest. He also has 23 touchdowns on the year under head coach Mark Simoneau.  

As for Olathe West, the Owls are coming off an upset win over state-ranked Mill Valley last Friday night in a 52-36 victory. Olathe West’s offense couldn’t be stopped as quarterback Brody Hale and four total touchdowns to go along with 207 yards through the air. The Owls also did damage on the ground with 352 yards rushing against Mill Valley, including a 147-yard performance by senior Josh Foland. 

No. 2 (4A) Eudora (5-1) at Tonganoxie (4-2) 

Eudora hopes to get one step closer to a Frontier League title Friday as the Cardinals travel to Tonganoxie. The Cardinals are currently unbeaten in league play and the Chieftains are just one game back along with Spring Hill. It is a series that has been dominated by Tonganoxie as the Chieftains have won eight out of the last nine meetings, including a 35-14 victory a year ago. 

Tonganoxie is coming off a 38-10 win to undefeated Basehor-Linwood last week, but the Chieftains were previously on a 3-game winning streak. Sophomore quarterback Bodee Maslak has led Tonganoxie during this stretch with more than 1,000 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns. Junior Blake Riedel leads the team in rushing and provides a 1-2 punch for the Chieftain offense.  

Eudora won its fifth straight game last week as the Cardinals as they cruised to a 54-14 win over Independence in a non-league game. Running back Grayson Moody continues to lead the Cardinal offense as he had 22 carries for 201 yards and touchdowns. Keelyn Duncan also had 130 total yards and two scores, while Newt Schreiner led the Eudora defense with 12 tackles. 

No. 1 (5A) St. Thomas Aquinas (5-1) at Blue Valley Northwest (3-3) 

It has been 12 years since Blue Valley Northwest has gotten the best of St. Thomas Aquinas as the Saints have won eight in a row dating back to the 2014 season. The Huskies will try and snap that streak Friday as they host St. Thomas Aquinas in an Eastern Kansas League showdown in what could be a run-heavy attack by both teams. 

It has been an up-and-down season for the Huskies as they have lost three of their last four games, including a 30-14 loss to Blue Valley last Friday. Senior running back LJ Bowens is averaging 100 yards per game on the ground and has nine total touchdowns on the season. The Huskies will let it fly through the air if they can as quarterback Aidan Ihm has nearly 1,000 yards passing on the season and 10 touchdowns. Sophomore Baron Marshall has 423 yards receiving to lead Northwest. 

Aquinas is coming off its lone loss of the season to cross-state rival Rockhurst in a 36-35 overtime setback. Despite that, the Saints still hold their No. 1 ranking and will look to bounce back. Senior running back Calin Arndt continued his memorable season last week in the loss. Arndt had 229 yards rushing to go along with four touchdowns. On the season, Arndt has 1,312 yards on the ground and has 18 touchdowns as the Saints’ veteran offensive line has led the way all season. 

Prairie View (5-1) at Girard (4-2) 

The Class 3A District 2 title is on the line as Girard, which has a 2-0 record in district play, will host Prairie View, which also doesn’t have a district loss. The two teams will look to separate themselves from the rest of the pack as they vie for that district championship. It has been a tight battle the last four seasons as they are 2-2 against each other, but the last two games have gone Prairie View’s way, including last year’s 49-14 victory. 

Prairie View will have a little different look on the sidelines as former head coach Jason Spradling was officially let go from his position during a board meeting on Monday. Assistant coach Joe Cullor took over as an interim head coach in Spradling’s absence last Friday. One thing that will stay the same is the Buffalos rushing attack, led by Parker Schwarz. The Prairie View senior has more than 1,300 yards through six games to go along with 23 touchdowns, including a 326-yard performance in a win over Anderson County. The Buffalos' lone loss came at the hands of Santa Fe Trail earlier this season. 

As for Girard, the Trojans are coming off back-to-back wins, including a 45-13 victory over Burlington. The Trojans’ lone losses are to Frontenac and the No. 2 team in Class 1A, St. Mary’s Colgan. Quarterback Ben Cullen had a big night for the Trojans in their win over Burlington. Cullen had six total touchdowns, including four through the air .