With only two weeks left of the regular season teams are already in playoff mode with district play needing to set themselves up to make the playoffs by winning their district or finishing second in the district. Plenty of big district showdowns loom in Week eight of action and could easily decide the outcome of the district races this week.

Focus on playoffs and earning a spot to the postseason for all the area teams, the focus across the state is on the rankings of the top teams in each classification and four area teams continued to be at the forefront of the rankings leading the charge as dominate teams in the State with Holton, Centralia-Wetmore, B&B and Hanover all ranked.

In the 8-Man Division II level the B&B Falcons and Hanover Wildcats have continued their 8-man dominate play this year and each just have one loss on the season to another ranked 8-Man team and one of the two will have their second loss of the season as the clash in a district matchup this week (listen to the game live on 92.1 KMZA this Friday -- pregame start 6:45pm). The Falcons have owned the series recently winning seven straight, but last year's regular season matchup needed double overtime to decide the winner.

The B&B Falcons cruised past Southern Coffey County 56-6 last week to improve to 6-1 on the season utilizing the game to build upon their depth with the backups playing in their homecoming contest. B&B are ranked number one by three polls and number two in another (VarsityKansas). Falcons have soared past the competition since week one, posting 51.1 points per game.

For the Hanover Wildcats they continue to be ranked fourth in three polls and third in another (Kpreps). Hanover improved to 5-1 on the season with a 50-0 rout of the Blue Valley-Randolph Rams last week and their lone loss of the season to ranked Wallace County. Wildcats have posted 42.3 points per game this season, but lost starting runningback, Kent Bruna two weeks ago to an elbow injury.

The clash of the 8-Man titans, B&B and Hanover sets up to be another good matchup between top five competitors.

A pair of other Twin Valley League 8-Man teams continue to receive votes in polls or be in the others consider category, despite both suffering losses this past week. In 8-Man DII, the Blue Valley-Randolph Rams fell to 5-2 with a loss to Hanover and in 8-Man DI, Clifton-Clyde moved to 5-2 with a loss to Osborne but both still are garnering attention.

Class 2-1A, houses one of the most dominate teams in any class this season thus far as the Centralia-Wetmore Panthers moved to 7-0 on the season behind a 55-18 win over Troy. The Panthers remained atop the perch of Class 2-1A at number this week as they are holding their opponents to 4.4 points per game this season. Centralia-Wetmore looks to continue to be on the prowl this week as they host a 1-6, Doniphan West Mustangs team.

Two other teams in Centralia-Wetmore's district continue to gain attention as the Jackson Heights Cobras are 6-1 on the season after a 64-0 win over JCN and the Troy Trojans fell to 4-3 on the season after a loss to Centralia-Wetmore, but still sit in second in the district behind the Panthers. The McLouth Bulldogs picked up their fifth win of the season, 38-0 over Oskaloosa to move to 5-2 on the year to also be receiving votes in polls across the state.

Class 3A all season hasn't had an area team ranked and that trend continued this week but the same two teams in Riverside and Nemaha Valley both continue to gain attention. The Cyclones started the season a perfect 6-0 for the second straight year but opened district play this past week with a loss to Sabetha, 28-12. The Cyclones go into this week needing a district win to keep their hopes alive in district play and they head to Hiawatha this week to take on the Red Hawks.

For the Nemaha Valley Raiders they improved to 6-1 with a 20-12 win over Riley County, the first win over Riley County for the Raiders in district play. Raiders can set themselves great in their district with a win this week as they take on Rock Creek this week.

In Class 4A, the Holton Wildcats continue to be the top team in the state in the rankings, improving to 7-0 with a dominating win against an undefeated Wamego team, 56-6. The Wildcats ran the ball for 572 yards in the game while holding Wamego to 157 total yards of offense in the contest. Holton sets themselves up for a battle with Hayden for the district title this week as Holton will be on the road for the contest.

The Jeff West Tigers continue to receive votes in Class 4A polls in the state, improving to 6-1 after an overtime 36-35 win over Basehor-Linwood this past week. Tigers continue district play this week and take on a tough Tonganoxie team this week.

With only two weeks remaining in the regular season the polls have remained steady across the state for area teams in the rankings, but teams aren't focused on the rankings but district play and making the playoffs.

Lists of State High School Rankings: 

Kansasprepfootball.com

VarsityKansas

Kpreps

Topeka Capital Journal