Olathe West (4-1) at No. 4 in 5A Mill Valley (4-1)
Olathe West and Mill Valley aren’t exactly familiar foes as the two teams have only met three times in the schools’ history, but in those three contests it has been all Mill Valley as the Jaguars are 3-0 against the Owls, including a 47-32 win in their last meeting back in 2021.
The Owls faced a similar battle last week against Gardner-Edgerton. They had never beaten the Blazers in their schools’ short history, but that changed last Friday as the Owls rolled to a 49-21 victory over the defending Class 6A state champion. Quarterback Brody Hale exploded with a big game with 316 yards passing and four touchdowns. Two of those went to receiver Sam Krzykowski who had eight catches for 120 yards. Running back Josh Foland also had a big night with 179 total yards and three touchdowns. Senior Jake Able led the Owls’ defense with a 15-tackle performance and recorded one of four sacks for the Owls.
Since its loss to Lee’s Summit North early in the season, Mill Valley has been unstoppable as it has blowout victories over Shawnee Mission East, Lawrence — and most recently — a 56-24 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest. The Jaguars lean on their rushing attack as they have tallied nearly 1,700 yards through five games. Quarterback Blake Jay, along with running backs Reggie Reece and Max Piva, have provided the bulk of the offense behind a strong Jaguar offensive line, led by senior Lamarcus Barber.
Blue Valley Northwest (3-2) at Blue Valley (2-3)
In the last five years, Blue Valley Northwest has dominated its Eastern Kansas League matchup with rival Blue Valley as the Huskies have won four of the last five games. However, Blue Valley got a win in the most recent matchup which came in a 27-21 victory last season and the Tigers are hoping to make it two in a row on Friday.
Blue Valley has had a challenging schedule to start the season with losses to state-ranked teams in No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas and a 3-point loss to No. 5 St. James Academy. The Tigers got back on the right track last week with a 35-7 blowout win over Blue Valley North. Quarterback Dan Sogard had 130 yards through the and two touchdowns, both going to his top receivers Jordan and Jacob Lockett. Jordan led the team with 79 yards receiving. Senior running back Hayden Ward had a big game with 160 yards on the ground, while senior Taft Stueve had two scores and 94 yards rushing.
The Huskies, on the other hand, got back on the winning track after losses to St. James Academy and Washburn Rural. Northwest responded with a 27-14 victory over Blue Valley West last week. Running back LJ Bowens the way with 147 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns, while quarterback Aidan Ihm had 130 yards through the air, 89 of which went to senior wide receiver Logan Chandler. Kicker Trace Rudd also knocked in a pair of field goals for the Huskies.
Basehor-Linwood (5-0) at Tonganoxie (4-1)
Basehor-Linwood and Tonganoxie are certainly no strangers to one another, given the fact the schools are just eight miles a part from each other — hence the name — the 8-Mile Showdown. It has been back and forth the last six seasons as they are 3-3 against one another since 2019. Last season, Basehor-Linwood earned a dominating 44-6 victory over Tonganoxie, but both schools are having successful 2025 campaigns. It also could be the last time the two schools face off for a while as the United Kansas Conference is moving to 10 teams next year.
Basehor-Linwood has surged ahead in the United Kansas Conference standings as the Bobcats are 5-0 to begin the year, which includes a 63-6 victory over Topeka West last week. Quarterback Carson Dixon leads the Bobcats as he is currently having a special senior season with nearly 1,000 yards passing through five games to go along with 17 total touchdowns. Wide receiver Nash Morrison has 466 of those yards and six scores as he has become Dixon’s favorite target. Senior linebacker Jacob Sharp leads the Bobcat defense with 56 tackles through five games.
Since a shutout loss to Spring Hill in week two, Tonganoxie has been on a roll with three straight victories, including back-to-back shutouts of Paola and Bonner Springs. The Chieftains also had a 40-15 blowout win over Lansing during that stretch. Sophomore quarterback Bodee Maslak has had a great start to his Chieftain career as he has 758 yards passing to go along with 10 total touchdowns. Senior Jacob Morenz is the team’s top target with 27 catches for 471 yards through five games, Junior Blake Riedel is the team’s leading rusher with 326 yards on the ground.
Rockhurst (5-1) at No. 1 in 5A St. Thomas Aquinas (5-0)
St. Thomas Aquinas has played its cross-state foe, Rockhurst (Mo.), the last three seasons and the Saints earned their lone win a year ago with a 14-13 overtime victory that proved to be a defensive battle to the end. Now, the defending the Class 5A state champions will try to make it two in a row over the Hawklets.
Aquinas has dominated its opponents in the first five games of the season, which included a 43-14 win over Bishop Miege last week. Like in the previous four games, the Saints’ rushing attack was the difference and running back Calin Arndt was a big reason why. Arndt tallied 288 yards on the ground to go along with three touchdowns. On the season, Arndt has 1,083 yards rushing through five games to go along with 14 touchdowns. He has done it behind a veteran offensive line led by four-year starter Stephen Carroll.
Leavenworth (4-1) at De Soto (4-1)
Both United Kansas Conference teams are off to similar starts to their 2025 seasons. The two squads are currently in a tie for second in the league standings and both of their lone losses have come against conference leader Basehor-Linwood. However, since the two teams starting playing each other on a regular basis since 2018, De Soto has dominated the series winning all seven meetings, including a 48-13 win over the Pioneers a season ago.
Leavenworth, which finished with a 6-4 record a year ago, is off to a good start as the Pioneers have won four straight contests. The most recent came last Friday in a 29-22 victory over Piper and the Pioneers also have wins over Lansing, Turner and Shawnee Heights. Pioneer quarterback Brayden Bridger leads an offense that has scored 23 touchdowns on the season. Bridger has thrown for 726 yards and has 10 total touchdowns. Trey Brockington leads the team on the ground with 555 yards and six scores, while Dy’Vair McCray leads Leavenworth with 403 yards receiving and four scores.
As for De Soto, the Wildcats are coming off a wild 50-48 victory over Shawnee Heights last week and they got a big game from Ben Parks. The De Soto quarterback did damage through the air and on the ground as he had 295 total yards of offense and had six touchdowns. The Wildcat option attack has proven effective all season as they have scored 34 or more points in all five games. Two weeks prior, running back Will Morton broke the school single game rushing record against Basehor-Linwood with 271 yards.
Spring Hill (4-1) at Paola (3-2)
Spring Hill and Paola have provided some memorable games in the Frontier League, but as of late, Spring Hill has dominated the series. The Broncos have won four of the last five meetings, including a 42-7 victory last season.
The Panthers are looking to break their four-game losing streak to the Broncos and hand them their second loss of the season. Paola is coming off a 33-21 road victory at Pittsburg last week and got a big game from its running back. Sophomore Bodhi Shay tallied four touchdowns on more than 170 yards of total offense. Shay leads a Panther offense with more than 600 all-purpose yards and eight scores.
Spring Hill is looking to try and stay in the hunt for the Frontier League title after dropping to lone game of the season to league leader Eudora. The Broncos put together a strong performance in a 36-7 victory over Ottawa. Quarterback Jordan Miller has led the Broncos all season and it continued last week as he finished with 183 yards passing on just seven completions to go along with two touchdowns. Senior running back Hank Kotchavar rushed for 116 yards and a score. On the season, Miller has more than 850 total yards to go along with 12 scores.