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Sunflower Smackdown

By Chad Rader, 810 Varsity, 09/17/16, 8:45AM CDT

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Missouri swept Kansas, 11-0. Read thoughts

Kansas Falls Shy in Challenge

Kansas asked for it, and certainly got it.

After years and years of Kansas not playing Missouri, cross-border arguments who's better and that Kansas football is just as good as Missouri, the Sunflower League threw out a big Sunflower Sombrero for a zero.

0-11.

Yes, a clean sweep. The 810 Varsity Prediction Machine threw out a 10-1 prediction, and wanted to go full sweep, but threw out one Kansas win.

[Buzzer]. Wrong. 0-11, not 1-10.

Ouch.

Sure, it is a "down" year for the Sunflower League, with the Olathe schools down, Lawrence having its big talent last season. And I do agree that there are some years that Olathe North, Lawrence and company would've notched 4-5 wins total in this series.

But 0-11. Ouch.

Yeah, there's some discussion if adding the EKL teams, then it would be more even

Well, what about Staley, Kearney and traditionally good Fort Osage, Harrisonville and Platte County? A 4-1 Park Hill South? Liberty North?

Look at last year: Mill Valley won the Kansas Class 5A state title, and its only loss? At home to Staley, which didn't even reach the state quarterfinals in Missouri Class 5.

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If you involve more schools, there's more competition at the bottom? Really? North Kansas City, Grandview and Winnetonka all won, and some of those were blowouts.

This also squelches a lot of arguments that Kansas isn't well represented in the Simone Awards, that they get shafted in the awards.

Yes, Kansas didn't have an Amani Bledsoe or Isaiah Simmons in the matchup.

But Missouri didn't exactly have Drew Lock, Dalvin Warmack, Monte Harrison, Brock Broughton and Skylar Thompson playing either. 

So 0-11. Really?

You get the feeling this is what it would be like in a Big 12 vs SEC challenge in football.

Or if Kansas City played Texas schools.

Some close, but near misses at the top (SM East falling to Rockhurst, 26-20), and then just some ugliness (Blue Springs South 34-7, Lee's Summit 42-24, Grandview 50-14)

Now, to reference back to Mill Valley in a way. It takes a bit to adjust to a higher level, whether on the football field, in the work place or classroom. The Jaguars ramped up with a non-con schedule to prep for the Class 5A playoffs better, took some losses in 2014, and then won the whole shebang in 2015.

The same may happen for the Sunflower League matchup.

Or in reality, it was a down year. Missouri got the Suburban Gold (largest 7 schools) plus Rockhurst, while Kansas was constrained to one league and on a down year.

It's not a knock against Kansas coaches, players or programs. Perhaps earlier practices, a down year in Kansas 6A and two additional games in August for MO is just a lot to overcome - more than expected. 

But for this weekend, Kansas talked for years how it can go toe-to-toe with big brother, and big brother laid an 0-11 smackdown.

All that can be done is dust yourself off and get 'em next year.