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Playoff Preview

By Jeremy Crabtree, ESPN, 11/10/16, 12:30PM CST

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ESPN's Jeremy Crabtree looks at games ahead

Crabtree's Take, Nov 10

Missouri Class 6 semifinals
Kirkwood (10-1) at No. 3 Rockhurst (9-2)
This is Kirkwood’s third straight trip to the Class 6 semifinals and the last two did not go the way the Pioneers wanted. History is not on the side of Kirkwood, as no St. Louis team has won a Class 6 playoff game against a Kansas City team on the road since 2009. Francis Howell lost at Rockhurst in 2014. Rockhurst beat De Smet in 2010. De Smet lost at Blue Springs in 2009. All were among the best St. Louis had to offer. 

All were knocked out. This has that same feel. 

While the Pioneers have won 10 in a row since losing their season opener and they did roll a solid Eureka team 45-7 last week, there’s something about this Rockhurst defense that makes me feel like it’ll defend its home field. 

Last week, the Hawklets gave up only one offensive touchdown to a Lee’s Summit West team that entered the game with almost 4,000 yards of total offense. They also had four interceptions and simply took over the game when it was on the line. They also kept a high-flying Kickapoo and CBC offenses in check earlier this season. 

 

It won’t be pretty -- the Rockhurst offense is banged up and we don’t know if running back Brady McCanles is 100 percent after hurting his elbow against Lee’s Summit West -- but the Hawklets have won ugly all season and they do it again Friday night.

 

No. 2 Blue Springs (10-2) at Christian Brothers (11-1)
Losing your starting quarterback and star running back days before the start of the Class 6 playoffs would cripple most teams. But then again few teams are the Blue Springs Wildcats. 

Blue Springs lost starting quarterback Chase Donohoe for the season and powerful junior running back Jaylen Ivey was sidelined the first few weeks of the playoffs with an ankle injury, but that hasn’t stopped the Wildcats from running over playoff opponents Francis Howell Central, Jefferson City and Francis Howell.


A big reason the Wildcats haven’t faltered is because of a very talented offensive line and the return of junior running back Michael Warmack, who missed the first five games of the season with a knee injury. Warmack scored three touchdowns last week and had 131 yards rushing in just over one half of action. With Warmack’s play coupled with the return of Ivey, who had 41 yards last week in limited action, the Wildcats have the best one-two punch left in the playoffs and they’ll need both to have big games against a well-coached CBC team that is the second-ranked team in the St. Louis metro area.

Blue Springs will also have to do something Rockhurst couldn’t earlier this season – make the drive across I-70 and beat the Cadets on their own home turf. In that game, CBC outlasted Rock 10-3 by stuffing the Hawklets’ running game, but the Wildcats are a different beast and they’ll score enough points to outlast CBC and set up a potential Rock-Blue Springs game for the Class 6 state championship.

 

Missouri Class 5 quarterfinals

No. 12 Park Hill South (10-1) at No. 6 Staley (9-2)
After a shocking loss to William Chrisman in late September, Staley has caught fire at the perfect time, rolling off six straight victories  by a 181-31 margin. Included in that streak were two very good wins over Kearney and a 36-0 blanking of Liberty last week. Running back Julian Ross has put Staley on his back. He rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns last week and stopping him is going to be a tough task for Park Hill South. Mike Sharp’s team is playing inspired football, putting together the best season ever at the school, and rolling over every opponent this season over than cross-town rival Park Hill. However, Ross has been unstoppable and look for him to have another big game, helping Staley advance to the Class 5 semifinals.

Missouri Class 4 semifinals
Hannibal (10-2) at No. 6 Kearney (11-1)
Hannibal will make the 3 hour drive from Northeast Missouri to Kearney riding a three game winning streak and a solid resume. Hannibal has outscored its opponents 133-35 in its playoff run and they have a big play offense, but that fits rather nicely into what is one of Kearney’s biggest strengths. Outside of a loss to Class 5 power Staley and two games that they won against top-20 Platte County, Kearney’s defense has been tremendous. The Bulldogs have three shutouts and eight games where they’ve given up 14 points or less. Much like Rockhurst, Kearney doesn’t have a lot of star power, but it continues to win just games. They do it again this week and roll into the Class 4 semifinals.
 

Kansas Class 6 sectionals
No. 18 Blue Valley North (7-3) at No. 1 Blue Valley (10-0)
Last week, Blue Valley did what all great teams do when they’re tested – they respond. Olathe South tied Blue Valley up at 28-28 midway through the third quarter, but two late touchdown passes from Matt Dercher pulled the Tigers into the next round of the playoffs. Now the Tigers face the only team that has held their offense in check all season long – EKL and cross-town rival Blue Valley North. 

In week three, the Mustangs defense, led by the top defensive line in the Sunflower State and highly-coveted junior defensive end recruit Myles Emery, held Blue Valley to its lowest point output of the season with 25. The Mustangs are tremendous on defense, holding power teams like Miege, Blue Valley and SM West well below their season average, and they’re going to need a big effort to spring the upset. On the flip side of the ball, the Mustangs offense has been up and down but just good enough to get by for most of the season. Good enough won’t cut it against a Tigers’ defense that is giving up only 15 points a game and has six games where it gave up less than seven points. 

The Mustangs will slow Blue Valley down some on offense, but running back Will Evans and receiver Harrison Van Dyne will still make some plays. Couple that with solid defensive effort, and Blue Valley will move on to sub-state, but don’t be surprised if this one is closer than a lot of people think.

 

No. 22 SM North (6-4) at No. 5 SM East (9-1)
Every team has a game when things just don’t go right, and unfortunately that came last week for East and it almost got bumped from the playoffs in what would have been the biggest upset of the season. The Lancers needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the final 30 seconds to outlast 4-5 Gardner-Edgerton. But East responded and you have to certainly think Dustin Delaney’s squad got the wake-up call and will play one of its best games of the season against SM North. The Indians do have one of the city’s top offenses and should be able to put some points up on the board, but they’ve also had a tough time stopping people, so don’t be surprised if the Lancers roll up big numbers, get back to the demolishing days and give us the Blue Valley-SM East sub-state game we’ve been talking about for months.

Kansas Class 5 sectionals
No. 23 St. James (6-4) at No. 19 Mill Valley (6-4)
St. James did exactly what we thought they would do – proved Schlagle’s run to the top seed in the playoffs was schedule driven. The Thunder have won four games in a row and have been playing good football ever since getting blown out by Blue Valley in late September, headlined by Kansas State quarterback commitment Sammy Wheeler. Wheeler regular season numbers won’t wow you, but he’s completed 51 percent of his passes and had nearly 400 yards of total offense in two playoff victories. 


That being said, Mill Valley has never lost to St. James, including a 35-15 victory back in week one and a 45-14 victory last season. Junior quarterback Brody Flaming had a big game against the Thunder with five touchdowns and 250 yards passing, and last week against Blue Valley Southwest he had six touchdowns.

 

This one will be closer than the first meeting this season, but still look for the Jaguars to march on to sub-state and will be one game away from getting a chance to defend their 5A state title.


No. 17 St. Thomas Aquinas (7-3) at Topeka Seaman (8-2)
Everybody was writing the Saints’ chances off after they lost to Blue Valley Southwest in mid-October and were trailing big against Blue Valley the week later. But something happened at halftime of that game. Somehow Randy Dreiling was able to rally his troops and turn the season around. Yes, Aquinas wasn’t able to complete the comeback against the Tigers, but since then they’ve steamrolled Leavenworth and Bonner Springs with its punishing ground attack and played great on the defensive side of the ball. 

Seaman is the second seed in the 5A East bracket, and will certainly be a tough out for the Saints. While Aquinas is battle-hardened from the EKL, Seaman has several impressive victories on its resume, including a 34-27 win over Washburn Rural, who is in the 6A quarterfinals. But the Vikings have yet to see an offensive attack like Aquinas, where quarterback Will Swanson and running back Drew Hicks have been on fire in the playoffs. Look for the Saints to advance on, setting up a rematch between Mill Valley in the 5A East sub-state game.

 

Conference commissioners concerned about June signing proposal

As expected, the Collegiate Commissioners Association’s meetings last Wednesday and Thursday at Big Ten headquarters to discuss the early signing period portion of the NCAA’s recruiting reform package failed to produce any final resolution. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who is chair of the NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee, a group that helped formulate the recruiting reform package, said progress wasn’t expected last week but the football playing leagues affirmed there needed to be changes to the recruiting environment. But while there is agreement that change is needed to the recruiting process, not all of the conferences seem to be on board with idea of prospects being able to sign in mid-June.
http://www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/132465/as-expected-no-movement-yet-on-football-recruiting-reforms