#1 Shawnee Mission South (17-0): The Raiders passed a major test in invading Lawrence and coming out with a 1-point win. That ranks as their best win on the season. I'm thinking SM East and South both win out to create a monster showdown next week that will be the best game of the regular season.
#2 Goddard Eisenhower (16-1): The Tigers passed their final quality test in Andover and shouldn't have a problem winning out and riding that win streak to 15 games. What is holding Eisenhower back is that it doesn't have a high-quality win like the other teams and the fact AV-CTL Div. I and Div. II being down has dragged down their strength of schedule.
#3 Lansing (16-1): Two more road wins for the Lions, who have quietly been rolling along beating average teams all season. A win on the road at Mill Valley on Friday would probably be enough to bump Lansing into the second spot in Class 5A and higher up these rankings.
#4 Mill Valley (15-2): The Jaguars have been sneaky-good this season and have actually played a more difficult schedule than Lansing, but that early-season loss is holding them back. They have a chance for revenge this Friday when it hosts Lansing and that's a game Mill Valley needs to win to prove itself as a serious Class 5A title contender.
#5 Emporia (15-2): The Spartans have feasted on a weak schedule this season and came up empty when it had a chance to prove itself against Highland Park. They can pick up average wins from here on out, but it's not looking like there's much opportunity to move up.
#6 Andover Central (14-4): The four losses are a bit much, but they have all come against high-quality teams. That can be seen two ways: Yes, the Jaguars don't have a bad loss but they also have lost every chance they've had to make a statement. There's not another one of those tests left, so they're in the same situation as Emporia.
#7 Kansas City Washington (12-5): The Wildcats are rolling right now, as they stretched their winning streak to 6 games with wins over KC Schlagle and Wyandotte. What I like about this team is that they don't have a bad loss all season and have four quality wins. If they can keep that up, there's nowhere to go but up.
#8 Blue Valley Southwest (12-6): The recent loss to West is the tiebreaker here, as the T-Wolves have a very comparable rating in my system. BV Southwest did respond with a solid win on the road at Miege, which counts as a quality win. They can keep moving up with another swing game this Friday against BV North.
#9 Kapaun Mount Carmel (12-5): The defending Class 5A champions are freefalling a bit, but that's because of the schedule. There just haven't been many quality win opportunities and Kapaun is 2-4 in those games. That doesn't compare well to the KC-area schools and there's not another opportunity left to move up either.
#10 Andover (12-5): The Trojans missed their big chance at establishing themselves as a contender earlier this week by losing at Eisenhower. Yes, Andover does not have a bad loss this season. But it also doesn't have a high-quality win and only two quality wins. That's not going to move you up in a competitive class like this.
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