#1 Blue Valley Northwest (12-0): Until someone can get within single-digits of the Huskies, they are without question the best team in Kansas. Northwest easily put away a good BV Southwest team, a good BV North team and a good BV West team all in one week - without anyone getting under 10 points of them. Two more good games are on tap this week against Blue Valley on Tuesday and then Aquinas on Friday.
#2 Topeka Highland Park (12-0): Junction City wasn't much of a challenge for the Scots last week, as their average margin of victory hovers around 26 points per game. That's impressive, but not as much as the five quality wins HiPark has on the season. No one in Class 4A is touching that. Friday will be a huge showdown between Highland Park, the No. 1 team in 4A, traveling to Emporia, the No. 2 team in 5A. If Highland Park wins that one, it might seal its spot atop the 4A rankings for the rest of the season.
#3 Shawnee Mission East (11-1): What do the Lancers do in response to their first loss of the season? All they do is go on the road to one of Missouri's best teams and knock off Rockhurst. That's East's second elite win of the season, which keeps them in the chase for the No. 1 ranking. If they can get past a tricky road game at O. Northwest on Tuesday, it will set up a showdown at Lawrence, the No. 4 team in 6A, on Friday.
#4 Shawnee Mission South (12-0): The beat goes on for the Raiders, as they easily put away a very good SM West team by 21 points last week. That's an impressive win, but if they can knock off Olathe South on the road on Friday then the Raiders will have their best win of the season.
#5 Ottawa (13-0): Nothing to report on last week from the Cyclones, who took a break after winning their mid-season tournament. I realize Ottawa is winning by an insane 31.1 average margin this season, but it only has two quality victories on the season. The only thing on the slate this week is a road trip to Spring Hill on Tuesday.
#6 McPherson (11-2): After knocking off the second-best team in state and winning its mid-season tournament, McPherson turned around and did the unthinkable - drop a road game at 1-11 Circle. That's probably the upset of the season so far and it's a bad loss, but it does not discredit the body of work McPherson has logged this season. The Bullpups still have four quality victories, the second-most of anyone in Class 4A. There's no time to pity themselves this week, as McPherson hosts Andale, the No. 5 team in 4A, and Dodge City, which is receiving votes in 6A, this week.
#7 Wichita North (10-2): It's difficult to rank this team without Conner Frankamp, who has missed the last two games - both North losses. The good news is that Frankamp is back playing tonight, as North should take care of Wichita Northwest. A win at Wichita Heights on Friday would be nice, as well, but Frankamp will have to wait another week to pick up another quality win.
#8 Emporia (11-1): Emporia is on a nice roll now, as it continued last week with a solid 13-point win over Manhattan on the road. The Spartans have been impressive this season with the exception of their one shocking loss, and they will have their shot at making a bid for the top team in 5A if SM South slips up and they are able to handle Topeka Highland Park, the No. 1 team in 4A, on Friday.
#9 Goddard Eisenhower (12-1): The Tigers are in the same position as Emporia and Lansing in catching SM South. None of the three have an outstanding win on the season and all three have limited quality victories. But Eisenhower can't control that, and it keeps plugging away - blasting Campus last week on the road. Eisenhower gets another poor record this Friday at home in Ark City.
#10 Lansing (11-1): Nothing happened last week for Lansing and there's not much to get excited about this week. Tonganoxie at home on Tuesday could prove to be challenging, but the Lions have proven this season they're capable of handling teams like that. Turner on Friday should be another easy win, as well.
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