The Twin League, for another year, showed the state of Kansas why it is one of the most dominant leagues in the entire state, with many impressive finishes all across the board, from the 11-Man performances to the 8-Man accomplishments. The Centralia Panthers made it back to the state championship with a chance to add their fifth state championship in school history, and to win their first state title since the 2019 season, when the Panthers had won 18-14 over Smith Center. Unfortunately for Centralia, they were beaten down by Conway Springs 41-6, but knowing Centralia, they will be back for more, as last season they also added another consecutive year under their belt as district and league champs. To say last season was a successful one would still be an understatement of their accomplishments. Valley Heights was another 11-Man team that had a terrific year with a deep run into the playoffs, falling to Conway Springs in the sub-state championship 55-22. It was the deepest run in Coach Cody Timble’s third year at the helm of the Mustangs, and he will likely look to improve that finish heading into 2025, but he will be replacing a very talented senior roster. Onaga and Doniphan West fought at the bottom of the Twin Valley League in the 11-Man standings, with Onaga being able to squeeze out a postseason spot for the first time in three years, placing fourth overall in districts. However, the postseason would end swiftly for Onaga as they would meet Centralia in the opening round and fall 44-20 in a showdown. Doniphan West would not make the post-season, but found their second win of the season in a week-nine non-playoff game, posting up their highest scoring game of the season in a 65-27 beating over Pleasant Ridge. Likewise, 11-Man isn’t the only part of the TVL that brings the punch, but the 8-Man part is loaded with all the firepower as well. Axtell once again won the state Title in 8-Man Division II, destroying Victoria 50-0 in the Championship, cementing themselves as the first team in Kansas, specifically in 8-Man Division II, to win four consecutive state titles in a row. The Eagles also hold the longest active winning streaks in the state at fifty-two games in all classes and one of the longest streaks in the entire country. Axtell has the chance to continue to make history and destroy more records this season, but they will be down quite the star-studded senior class that never lost a game…ever. Frankfort’s season came to a close at Axtell in the Sub-State Championship game, 76-30, but put on the biggest fight that Axtell had all season, making it a contentious first few quarters. Hanover faced eight playoff teams in 2024 and dominated in mostly every game except for their 58-12 loss to Axtell and their semi-final loss to Burlingame, 36-24. But the 8-Man success wasn’t just with the Division II teams but with one of the Division I teams in the Clifton-Clyde Eagles. The Eagles had their deepest playoff run since 2008, when they lost to Baileyville B&B 24-16 in the state championship game, but last season, Clifton-Clyde fell in an absolute heartbreaker by just three points, 28-25, to Central Plains in the Sub-State Championship, it was also the first time winning nine games in one season since 2018 for Clifton-Clyde. Also, having their best winning statistical season since 2018 was Blue Valley Randolph, having gone 5-4 last year, with their season having ended against Osborne in the first round, 70-24. The Linn Bulldogs managed to do something they haven’t done in over 26 years, and that was to host a playoff game at home, the last time being in 1998. Unfortunately for Lin, they lost to Frankfort in the opening round 40-14. The Washington County Tigers finished at the bottom of the league with their worst record since 2017, having gone 0-9 that year, but last year concluded with a 1-8 finish. 

11-Man

Last season may not have ended in fireworks with the Centralia Panthers winning the Class 1A state championship like they may have hoped, but to say last year wasn’t a terrific season, accompanied by the State-Runner-up finish, would be a false statement. The Panthers battled through a brutal schedule in districts and playoffs, and still became district and league title winners for another consecutive year. This year, the Panthers will have to replace a lot of great talent and leadership from last year's graduating seniors, especially from the line. Fourteen letterwinners return to the Panthers this season with Head Coach Roger Holthaus entering his 4th season at the helm.

The Valley Heights Mustangs ended last season with Coach Trimble’s best post-season finish yet with a Sub-State Runner Up after falling to Conway Springs 55-22. Last year, it was just Trimble’s third year as the coach of the program, and he helped lead the Mustangs to a 9-3 overall finish and a 2-1 league finish. Seven seniors leave the impressive senior roster from last year, but with 11 lettermen returning and lots of varsity experience coming back to the offense and defensive lines, Valley Heights will have a chance in 2025 to refind themselves back in the sub-state championship game. 

Last season was the first year in three years that the Onaga Buffaloes returned to the postseason, placing fourth in districts. It was also the most wins in a season since Onaga was 8-Man back in 2021. The Buffaloes went 3-6 last year overall and were 1-2 in the TVL, while also going 2-4 in their district. The Buffaloes did lose a great Senior class, but Head Coach Ben Kolterman enters his 8th season the head coach of the Buffaloes and just his fourth year as an 11-Man coach, and has faith in the leadership of his team this season as well as their determination to win more games, make it back to the postseason, win a playoff game, and maybe more.

2024 was an interesting year for the Doniphan West Mustangs, having switched back to 11-man football from the previous year’s 8-man DII. The Mustangs went 0-3 in the league and 2-7 overall, with their only two wins coming against Pleasant Ridge, once for a regular-season game and another for a week nine non-playoff game, as both teams did not qualify for the postseason.  Leading into the season under third-year Head Coach John Paolino, Doniphan West will still be a team needing to build, strengthen, and grow as a group this season, but with the greater experience and varsity-rich players. The Mustangs will look to attack their early league schedule head-on and dive right back into a tough battle in districts with a chance to win some serious games in 2025.          

8-Man

Leading Kansas with the longest active winning streak is none other than this Axtell Eagle football team, with fifty-two consecutive games won, including four straight 8-man Division II titles during this dominating streak. Axtell is the first team in Kansas to win four straight 8-man Division II titles, but will aim this year to break and set even more records in 8-man football. The Eagles finished 13-0 last season with a 5-0 mark in the Twin Valley League. Out of the last three seasons through 39 games played. The Eagles are losing an outstanding group of six seniors who never lost a single game together as a group, but under the leadership of Head Coach Eric Detweiler, the Eagles will do their best to continue their fifty-two-game winning streak and to defend their state title yet again. 

The Hanover Wildcats faced one of the toughest schedules in all of 8-Man football last season, with eight of the ten teams they faced making the playoffs, including onm, Axtell, which won the state championship. The Wildcats would conclude 2024 with a 5-1 league record and an 8-2 overall record. Hanover returns Matt Heuer for his twenty-first year at the helm of the program. There will be some potential early concerns from the offensive and defensive line trying to find their groove and click together as a more youthful and inexperienced unit this season, but every other position will be filled to the brim with depth and talent for the Wildcats going into 2025, looking for a chance to contend for the league, district, and state title. 

The Frankfort Wildcats have now posted back-to-back 9-3 season finishes, with both seasons coming to an end in the sub-state championship game. The Wildcats have continued their school record with now seven consecutive years of winning a playoff game. The nine wins also tied their school record set in the year before for most wins in a single season. The end of the season also saw not just one, but four 1st Team All-State and All League players from the Wildcats, with another Wildcat getting an All-State honorable mention. The Twin Valley League, unfortunately, doesn’t get any easier, and neither does the district this upcoming season for Frankfort. But with one of the top quarterbacks in 8-man returning and a tremendous head coach in Nick Anderson, who is now entering his 10th year, the Frankfort Wildcats will look to break boundaries and silence the noise this season with their seven returning letterwinners and three returning starters. 

The last time the Clifton-Clyde Eagles won nine games in one season was back in 2018, but last season the Eagles managed to go 2-2 in the league and finish 9-3 overall with one of their deepest playoff runs since 2008, when the Eagles lost to Baileyville B&B 24-16 in the State Championship game. Last season, it was just as much of a heartbreaker for the Eagles as they fell by just three points, 28-25, against Central Plains in the Sub-State Championship. The Eagles have been very successful over the decade, with only one season out of the last ten going below .500, and will likely want to continue that success for this upcoming season. Head Coach Russ Steinbrock has officially been at the Helm of the Eagles program for 25 years, having gone 154-75 in that time.  Clifton-Clyde will be a definite contender in 2025 in 8-Man DI and will look to get their first Sub-State banner since 2008, and potentially their first-ever state title. 

Last season, the Blue Valley Randolph Rams went above .500 for the first time since 2018, in which they finished 5-4 as well to end the year. The Rams lost eight players to graduation last year. After making the playoffs for a second straight year and getting the program back on track for an above .500 season, Head Coach Quinton Cravens enters his third year at the helm of the Rams program. So far, he is an even 9-9 in his two-year tenure, but would like to continue the winning style that’s improved over the past couple of years. 

The Linn Bulldogs have finished their third straight season 3-6; however, last year the Bulldogs accomplished something in the football program that hadn’t been done since 1998: hosting a playoff game. Unfortunately, despite hosting their first playoff game in over twenty-six years, the Linn Bulldogs fell to the defeat of the Frankfort Wildcats 40-14. Linn finished winless in the league for the first time since the 2018 football season, going 0-4 last year. Returning with an outstanding fourteen letterwinners and entering Trevor Kulhman’s fifth year at the helm of the program, the Linn Bulldogs will take on their tough league and district schedule this season with aspirations to win more games and host another home playoff game. 

The Washington County Tigers went 1-8 last year, which was their roughest record since 2017, when the Tigers went 0-9 in 11-Man, switching to 8-man the year after in 2018. The Tigers went 0-8 through the regular season, going 0-4 in the league, winning their sole game of the year in a non-playoff week nine game against Goessel 42-12. A similar story will follow to last year, with a lot of new faces on the Washington County Tigers. The schedule doesn’t get any easier with the same teams, just flipped site locations for home and away, so the Tigers will be once again tested on both sides of the ball this year. Washington County will look to improve from its one-win season last year and try to get itself back in the winning column more in 2025.