A roundup of local scores of local interest.
Week 9 of Kansas State High School Activities Association football marked the beginning of Class 1A playoffs.
Sterling remained undefeated at 9-0 after its week 9 opponent Syracuse forfeited the game.
Now teams move into Regional play.
The KSHSAA bracket shows Moundridge traveling to Sterling on Nov. 6, and Inman will host Hillsboro the same night.
The Class 1A State Championship game will be held at 6 p.m. on Nov. 27 at Hutchinson Community College.
HEART OF AMERICA
- Moundridge 24, Belle Plaine 16
- Inman 43, Salina-Sacred Heart 2
- Ell-Saline 46, Oberlin-Decatur 20
- Hoxie 60, Bennington 14
- Republic County 42, Hutchinson Trinity 14
- Lakin 30, Marion 12
- Conway Springs 23, Remington 16
- Smith Center 85, Sedgwick 33
- Sterling 1, Syracuse 0 (forfeit)
AREA TEAMS
- Palco 45, Elyria Christian 33
- Buhler 62, Circle 0*
- Canton-Galva 36, Lyndon 30 (Oct. 29)
- Blue Valley 57, Goessel 12 (Oct. 29)
- Riley County 28, Halstead 7
- Hesston 21, Scott City 6
- Hillsboro 41, Ellinwood 8
- Little River 76, Meade 16 (Oct. 29)
- Peabody-Burns — bye
TEAM RECORDS
HOA
- Bennington: 3-6
- Ell-Saline: 5-4
- Hutchinson Trinity: 1-8
- Inman: 7-2
- Marion: 2-7
- Moundridge: 5-4
- Remington: 4-5
- Sedgwick: 1-8
- Sterling: 9-0
Area Teams
- Buhler: 7-2
- Canton-Galva: 3-6
- Elyria Christian: 3-6
- Goessel: 2-7
- Halstead: 4-5
- Hesston: 8-1
- Hillsboro: 6-3
- Little River: 8-1
- Peabody-Burns: 7-1
How the KSHSAA high school football playoffs work
According to KSHSAA, Kansas high school football teams qualify for the postseason based on their classification and district standings.
The playoff format varies slightly by classification, but the general progression is the same: teams advance through a series of elimination games until a state champion is crowned.
For the larger classifications (6A through 4A):
Teams are seeded into regional brackets based on their regular-season records and other tiebreakers. The top teams receive the higher seeds and host games.
For Classes 3A, 2A and 1A:
Teams are divided into East and West brackets, with 16 teams in each bracket. Seeding is determined by district finish first, followed by overall record and tiebreakers:
- District champions receive seeds No. 1-4.
- District runners-up receive seeds No. 5-8.
- Third-place district teams receive seeds No. 9-12.
- Fourth-place district teams receive seeds No. 13-16.
For 8-player and 6-player football:
Teams qualify through district standings. District winners and runners-up advance, with the first-round matchups determined by district placement. The higher-seeded team generally hosts subsequent games.
The playoff schedule
For the 11-player classifications, the postseason consists of five rounds:
- Week 9 – First-round bracket games: The opening round of the playoffs.
- Week 10 – Regional: Winners advance to regional competition.
- Week 11 – Sectional: Regional winners meet in the sectional round.
- Week 12 – Sub-state: Teams compete for a place in the state championship.
- Week 13 – State championship: The remaining teams play for the state title.
The 8-player and 6-player classifications follow a similar progression, with district-based hosting rules.
For most classifications, the higher-seeded team hosts each playoff game.
State championship games are played at designated neutral sites.
What this means for area teams
Most of the Plains Pilot’s selected teams compete in Class 1A or 8-player football.
Their postseason paths are determined by their district standings and the brackets released by KSHSAA after the regular season.
A team that wins its first-round game advances to regional play the following week.
A loss ends its season.
The process continues until the state championship games.
