September 12, 2009.
I was a freshman at the time at the University of Kansas. After watching three of my older siblings walk around campus, I was doing the same.
In the first few weeks, I was lucky enough to find what I wanted to do after school. I sat in my J101 class, taught by professor Chuck Marsh. Before class started, a man stood in front of 500-some students and mentioned there was a meeting for KJHK, the student-run radio station in Lawrence.
Later that day, I went to the Kansas Union. But, this meeting was for the news department. I wasn’t about that so I walked out. When I stepped out of the building, I smelt pizza and saw a friend with a group of guys. I marched over and essentially demanded for a slice, but little did I know, it was the KJHK sports department, led by Michel Spero, former voice of the San Jose State Spartans. And as they say, “the rest is history.”
Well, Kansas football just made history.
See, that date mentioned above was the last time the Jayhawks won a road game. I remember the 34-7 victory over UTEP quite well. Salina native Jake Sharp was a monster, scoring three times and rushing for over 100 yards. Daymond Patterson had a couple big punt returns and Todd Reesing was, well, Todd Reesing.
Ahh, those were the good ole days.
Now, the program has a huge black cloud just getting bigger by the day. Saturday’s loss to the Baylor Bears marked the 38th-straight defeat on the road. That broke a tie with the Wichita State Shockers for the most in major college football.
Plenty has changed since I was a freshman, but Kansas’ woes on the road have stayed consistent. Sigh.
I need a hug. These rankings surely will help. Every week, I send a ballot to Tim McGonagle of Kansas Prep Football, ranking high school football teams.
Super Ten
1. Derby (7-0)
2. Blue Valley (7-0)
3. Shawnee Mission East (6-1)
4. Miege (6-1)
5. Great Bend (7-0)
6. Manhattan (7-0)
7. Garden City (7-0)
8. Wichita Heights (6-1)
9. Holcomb (7-0)
10. Bishop Carroll (5-2)
Quick hits: Holy smokes. This list was altered drastically. Wichita Heights losing to Bishop Carroll 42-41 was a surprise, but the biggest shocker was St. Thomas Aquinas falling to winless Blue Valley Southwest. I’ve heard that the Timberwolves might be the greatest 0-fer team, but it still is a shock.
Class 6A
1. Derby (7-0) – 56-7 over Salina South
2. Blue Valley (7-0) – 42-7 over Blue Valley Northwest
3. Shawnee Mission East (6-1) – 48-26 over Lawrence
4. Manhattan (7-0) – 48-0 over Emporia
5. Garden City (7-0) – 36-13 over Dodge City
Quick hits: Zzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, that’s just me sleeping. Seriously, nothing surprising here. Every team here continues to look flat out impressive. The Class 6A playoffs should be very exciting. I’ll have predictions next week.
Class 5A
1. Great Bend (7-0) – 49-7 over Liberal
2. Wichita Heights (6-1) – 42-41 loss to Bishop Carroll
3. Bishop Carroll (5-2) – 42-41 over Wichita Heights
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2) – 30-27 loss to Blue Valley Southwest
5. Seaman (6-1) – 34-27 over Washburn Rural
Quick hits: Class 5A continues to be a mystery. I think I’ve had the most changes in 5A, but there are a couple ways to look at it. One, most of these schools have difficult schedules. Two, there just seems to be more parity across the board. Or, if you’re a negative Nancy, you could say 5A is weak. I stand behind the first two theories. By the way, the Seaman Vikings under coach Glenn O’Neil have been superb.
Class 4A-I
1. Bishop Miege (6-1) – 51-0 over Eudora
2. Buhler (6-1) – 28-21 over Andale
3. Abilene (7-0) – 50-14 over Wamego
4. Andale (6-1) – 28-21 loss to Buhler
5. Basehor-Linwood (7-0) – 48-34 over KC Piper
Quick hits: The showdown between Buhler and Andale lived up to the hype. What a game. Unfortunately, there had to be a loser and Andale takes a bit of a hit. Abilene benefits from that with an impressive run. Basehor has quietly put together a heck of a season under Rod Stallbaumer.
Class 4A-II
1. Holcomb (7-0) – 28-0 over Kingman
2. Frontenac (7-0) – 55-14 over Parsons
3. Columbus (7-0) – 42-14 over Baxter Springs
4. Pratt (6-1) – 31-28 over Hugoton
5. Santa Fe Trail (6-1) – 27-6 loss to Hayden
Quick hits: No real changes here, but a huge win by the Pratt Greenbacks last Friday. Santa Fe Trail flirting with dropping out of the top five, but let’s see what happens in that tough district with Hayden, Holton and Jeff West.
Class 3A
1. Silver Lake (7-0) – 49-0 over Oskaloosa
2. Rossville (6-1) – 49-27 over Mission Valley
3. Hoisington (7-0) – 39-20 over Ellsworth
4. Phillipsburg (7-0) – 58-18 over Thomas More Prep
5. Nemaha Central (7-0) – 20-14 over Sabetha
Quick hits: Once again, I differ with the rest of the pollers on Kansas Prep Football. Last week, the voters had Garden Plain as the fifth-best team in Kansas. Well, Garden Plain fell to Conway Springs last week. Don’t sleep on the Nemaha Central Thunder. Last week’s six-point edging over undefeated Sabetha should prove that they are the real deal. Same thing could be said for Chaparral and Southeast of Saline, but Class 3A is so loaded, it’s hard to have those schools ranked.
Class 2-1A
1. Troy (7-0) – 20-6 over Washington County
2. Lyndon (7-0) – 40-0 over Northern Heights
3. Meade (6-1) – 67-0 over Stanton County
4. Plainville (6-1) – 51-0 over Oakley
T5. Washington County (5-2) – 20-6 loss to Troy
T5. Smith Center (5-2) – 33-0 over Sacred Heart
Quick hits: Troy is an unstoppable machine. Coach Derek Jasper went back home and has turned the Trojans into a monster. Troy has a district battle with 7-0 Jefferson County North this week. Lyndon is looking very impressive as well. Smith Center has recovered nicely after losing the first two games of the season.
Class 8-Man D-I
1. Spearville (7-0) – 72-24 over Satanta
2. St. Francis (6-0) – BYE
3. Burlingame (7-0) – 54-0 over Valley Falls
4. Central Plains (7-0) – 60-12 over Ellinwood
5. Osborne (7-0) – 54-8 over Victoria
Quick hits: All of these teams are very scary. I can’t wait for the playoffs to start.
Class 8-Man D-II
1. Hanover (6-0) – 54-8 over Frankfort
2. Dighton (7-0) – 36-30 over Otis-Bison
3. Pike Valley (6-1) – 50-0 over Tescott
4. Beloit-St. Johns-Tipton (6-1) – Forfeit win over Southern Cloud
5. Hartford (6-1) – 56-42 over Caldwell
Quick hits: Well, Caldwell and Hodgeman County both lost. HC fell to Wallace County by 20 points. Caldwell lost by 14 to Hartford. Both those two teams were ranked second and third according to Kansas Prep Football. I had them at four and five. Both those spots have new teams, but very well could shift after some great matchups this Friday.
