Kansas High School Football Class 6A Playoffs Preview
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
Its playoff time in Kansas with the 6A playoffs kicking off this Friday all over the state. Sixteen teams will battle for the chance to be named the 2015 Missouri 6A state champs.
In 2014, Shawnee Mission East capped off an undefeated season by beating Hutchinson in the championship game 33-14. This year may be a little different as Shawnee Mission East is the No. 2 seed in the east side of the bracket while Hutchinson is the seventh seed on the west side of the bracket.
All 16 teams have the ability to make a run through this tough bracket but the favorites have to be Lawrence, Wichita Northwest, and Junction City who all went undefeated during the regular season.
Some star players that are striving to lead their teams to the state championship include Lawrence 4-star defensive Amani Bledsoe and linebacker Price Morgan, Topeka offensive lineman Teven Jenkins (Oklahoma State) and 3-star running back Mike McCoy, Olathe North 3-star defensive back Isaiah Simmons, Lawrence Free State defensive back Bryce Torneden (North Dakota State), and Blue Valley defensive end Jeff Gurley.
It will be exciting to see whether or not Shawnee Mission East can defend their crown or if a new state champ will take home the hardware. Other storylines to follow includes which team can knock off the defending champs, which undefeated team will be the first to be defeated, will any of the lower seeded teams make a surprising run to state, or will there be any first round upsets?
Who will escape this tough bracket in Kansas 6A? Only time will tell.
2015 Missouri 6A First Round High School Football Playoff Games
Shawnee Mission North (3-6) @ Lawrence (9-0)
Shawnee Mission West (7-2) @ Blue Valley (7-2)
Olathe North (8-1) @ Blue Valley North (8-1)
Blue Valley Northwest (2-7) @ Shawnee Mission East (8-1)
Wichita North (1-8) @ Wichita Northwest (9-0)
Wichita West (5-4) @ Lawrence Free State (6-3)
Topeka (8-1) @ Derby (8-1)
Hutchinson (6-3) @ Junction City (9-0)
Photo credit: The Lawrence Journal-World; Lawrence defensive end Amani Bledsoe chases a Lawrence Free State ball carrier