KSHSAA drops the ball on 4A alignment

Big news from Topeka, Kan., this past week for high school sports.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association announced 2011-12 classifications for both football and non-football sports.

First of all, the news will not change things in Wyandotte County that much.

Bonner Springs will be 4A in football next year, but that's it. The other eight schools in the county will have the same class as they did last year.

Looking at the classifications and enrollments for the non-football sports, the 4A level boggles the mind. The enrollment range for the 64 schools in  4A is 258 students to 717 students.

That's one wide enrollment range for one of the largest classes in the state.

Sure, there are wide enrollment ranges in both 5A and 6A.

But in a class that has a floor of 258 students, the wide-range is worth wondering about. It's not good for schools like Basehor-Linwood, Bonner Springs, Sumner Academy and Piper to play smaller 4A schools in Western Kansas and Central Kansas.

It's a joke, if you think about it.

Here's a few ideas:

1. Move up the top 16 teams in 4A and bump them up to 5A. Both 4A and 5A would have 48 schools. The sub-state brackets would have to be different, but it would make for a more competitive 5A class and a more reasonable 4A class. Again, look at this comparison. Bishop Ward's enrollment under the criteria used by KSHSAA is 331 students. They play Bonner Springs twice a year in basketball. Bonner Springs enrollment this year? 709. Oh - and they're both in the 4A classification level. Bonner Springs should be 5A in basketball or....

2. Move the bottom 16 teams in 4A to 3A. Under this proposal, 3A would now have 80 teams. That would be too big, but 80 3A teams makes a lot more sense than 64 teams in 4A. It's a lesser of the two evils.

3. The 48-48-64 idea. The population of Kansas has increased by 200,000 people over the past five years. That means there are more students, so bump teams up. Move the top 16 teams in 5A population wise up to 6A. Move the top 16 4A teams to 5A and move the Top 16 teams in 3A to 4A.

The 4A class is a real head-scratcher in the state and really a pain to deal with.

The above ideas have flaws in them, but the current structure of 4A that KSHSAA approved of this week needs to be improved.

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Schlagle, Basehor-Linwood moving up Metro Sports Super 25 poll

It took five weeks. It took 68 points.

But the Schlagle Stallions are starting to get some respect.

Now sitting at 5-0, the Stallions have cracked Metro Sports' Top 25 football poll for the first time this season, checking in at #16.

Perhaps it was the 68 points against Wyandotte that sold Metro on the Stallions this week. Schlagle dominated a Wyandotte team that was on a winning streak and junior J'veyon Browning's five touchdowns led the way.

Meanwhile, another team in our coverage area continues their place in the poll.

The 5-0 Basehor-Linwood Bobcats are #8 in the poll. They squeaked one out over a tough Turner team on the road Friday night.

Schlagle hosts Atchison next Friday night, while Basehor travels to Mill Valley in a game that will likely determine the Kaw Valley League championship.

If Schlagle wins against Atchison, it will clinch the Kansas City Kansas - Atchison League title for the Stallions - their first in four years.

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KCK's five biggest heartbreakers since 2008

With the great success Kansas City, Kan., has had in basketball over the past 80 years and the occasional success in other sports, there's naturally been some heartbreaking moments mixed in with them.

My hearbreaking moment as a Sumner Academy Sabres student came in 2001 when the Sabres were not able to win their second consecutive state title in 4A basketball. Future Kansas Jayhawks guard Jeff Hawkins could not quite win that third state title for himself.

That team really was the end of an era at Sumner - well, before the next group of great players Randy Springs brought in.

Anyway, since I've covered high school sports, I've witnessed some heartbreaking losses from KCK's schools.

The five worst that I've been in person for:

5. Basehor defeats Piper in final minutes, 2009 football season: In what was for the district championship at Piper High School, Basehor came in an overwhelming favorite. They were not quite as good as this year's bunch is, but they were still solid enough to be a favorite against Piper. Piper was led by Jasper Sanders, a one-man wrecking crew at quarterback. He made some outstanding plays to keep Piper in the game and the Pirates hung on to the lead until a late touchdown from Basehor. Sanders came extremely close to hitting on a hail mary to end the game. Had Piper won the game, it would have been a district title for the Pirates and it would have given them an easier home game in the playoffs. It was a great effort by Piper that ended in a heartbreaker for KCK.

4. Shawnee Heights upsets Turner, 2009 football playoffs: One week later in the same exact stadium as the fifth game on this list, this one happened. Entering the game, Turner was 8-1 on the season and had run over teams. Rashon Thames and Nick Bloomer were an awesome running back-quarterback combo. Turner's offensive line was huge and their defense was strong. However, in a game resembling a home Kansas City Chiefs playoff game under Marty Schottenheimer, the Golden Bears turned the ball over too much and lost a nail-biter by four points. Turner was easily the better team, but mistakes that were not made in the regular season were that night. If I remember right, Turner had four turnovers that night after just committing 10 the entire regular season. It was Turner's best football team in a decade, maybe longer.

3. St. Thomas Aquinas sends Cinderella Wyandotte Bulldogs home, 2009 5A basketball sub-state title game: Wyandotte, after struggling at a frustrating pace all season long, came alive the final week of the year. They defeated Schlagle to close out the season, knocked off a pretty good Harmon team in the opening round of the sub-state tournament and hung in with a solid St. Thomas Aquinas team. In a back-and-forth classic, the Bulldogs was agonizingly close to pulling off the upset. However, two late horrible officiating mistakes cost Wyandotte the game. A terrible foul on a three-point play was called and a mythical traveling call was horrible.

2. Harmon drops double-overtime thriller to Gardner-Edgerton, 2010 5A basketball sub-state final: Here's what I hate about 5A basketball. 1. It's more difficult. There are more traditional powers in 5A than there are anywhere else - even 6A.  2. The regionals are not balanced well. The 2010 Harmons Hawks and Gardner-Edgerton were two out of the three best teams in 5A that year. The 25-0 Bishop Miege Stags were the best in the entire state that year. All three of them were in the same sub-state bracket. Harmon and Gardner played each other for one spot. Missed free-throws cost Harmon the game in double-overtime and it appeared Harmon had it locked up twice - one in regulation and one in the single overtime period. However, the Hawks could not quite hold the lead in either instance. It was a tough loss and like the other teams on this list, Harmon deserved better.

1. Washington gets screwed out of a state title against McPherson, 2011 5A basketball state title game: To put it bluntly and politically incorrect - this game sucked. The officiating sucked and was a direct reason why the Wildcats failed to shock the world against McPherson. It sucked so bad that I bought a DVD of the game and I'm breaking down the bad calls and putting all of them on YouTube. This game was such an officiating travesty. Three Wildcat starters - Kalen Allen, Myles Hibler and Jervon Hooks - had three fouls by the mid-way point of the second quarter. Those three guys were out during the only significant run of the game when McPherson built a big lead. Hibler played the best two-thirds of a game I've seen - he had 24 and 12 in his final game as a Wildcat. He would have had 30 and 18 if he had played a full game. He dominated the post that night. Jervon Hooks' shooting started getting hot in the second half. But it was not meant to be. And once you see how bad these officiating calls were, you'll see why this game irritates me to this day. Washington outscored McPherson when each team had its five starters on the court that night. They were ready to play - and they should have walked home with a title that night. Instead, the single worst officiating crew in high school sports history stole it for McPherson.

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SOCCER: Pirates take four-game winning streak into the week

It's been an interesting year for first-year Piper Pirates soccer head coach Craig Gerfen.

Gerfen's squad has already won more games than they did in the 2010 season.

In an 8-3 season, it's been a season of streaks so far for the Pirates.

The Pirates rode a four-game winning streak early in the season, culminating in winning the Wyandotte County High School Soccer tournament.

Following the tournament, the Pirates dropped two games in a row.

Since then, however, the Pirates have been impressive.

Jose Mejia and Jeremy Wilson each scored hat tricks - three goal games - against Pittsburg High School as the Pirates won in impressive fashion 8-0.

Then came two extra time games against arguably Piper's biggest rivals.

Piper defeated Ward a second time in the season, this time 3-2 at Bishop Ward High School. Against Basehor-Linwood, Joe Davis and Wilson scored Piper's two goals in a 2-1 extra-time victory against the Bobcats.

The fourth game in the current winning streak saved more fingernails from Piper's fans, as the drama was not quite there.

Dallas Barnett's two goals and goalkeeper Collin Cook's shutout propelled the Pirates to a 4-0 win against Immaculata.

Throughout the season, Wilson, Mejia and Davis have been strong on offense.

Wilson leads the team with 9 goals, while Mejia has seven and Davis has 5.

The good news for Pirates fans? Wilson is just a sophomore, while Mejia is a junior, meaning the two top scorers for the Pirates team this season will be back next year barring a transfer.

Piper returns to the pitch Monday night at home against Mill Valley in a game featuring two programs in the Kaw Valley League.

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Top 10: Ranking the Big 12's football coaches

With the Big 12 Conference season officially beginning this weekend in football, one thing became loud and clear.

This conference has a few great coaches, some good coaches and some bad coaches.

What would be my rankings of the coaches in the Big 12?

Glad I asked the question that was surely on your mind.

1. Bill Snyder, Kansas State: It's getting increasingly more difficult on betting against Bill Snyder's Kansas State Wildcats. They will be an underdog against most of their remaining schedule, but this team just finds a way under Snyder. The play-calling by Snyder remains good and this team just overachieves. Kansas State evolved into a joke under Ron Prince. Now, Kansas State is looking like a Top 4 or 5 Big 12 team. Oh - and before this year - he had the greatest turnaround in the history of sports. Kansas State has a 37 percent winning percentage in years where Snyder did not coach. Snyder's run roughly 65 percent of his games at Kansas State. Snyder has 153 coaching victories at Kansas State. Outside of Snyder, Kansas State has 314 wins. Doing the math, 32.7 percent of the wins Kansas State has earned in its program's history has been while Snyder was the coach. Unreal.

2. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Outside of the lack of national titles - Oklahoma should have more than one under Stoops with all that talent - there's not much to complain about. Oklahoma has absolutely owned the Big 12 since Stoops has coached at Oklahoma. They have lost just two home games under Stoops in what is perhaps the most underrated "oh my God" stat in sports. Great recruiter, great motivator and great seasons.

3. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: Admittedly I'm late to the Gundy bandwagon. But he deserves credit for what Oklahoma State has become. No, the Cowboys have not beat Oklahoma yet. But the Cowboys have beaten Texas, Missouri, Texas aTm and most of the other "big names" of the conference. Entering the last two seasons, many have predicted a fall-off for Oklahoma State. However, they had a great year last year and Gundy has them in the Top 5 right now. Gundy is no longer the "I'm a Man - I'm 40!!!" video clip guy. Gundy's now a good head coach.

4. Gary Pinkel, Missouri: Pinkel has done a nice job at Mizzou, but receives very little credit for it by many in Kansas City - even his own fanbase. How many programs across the country have put three quarterbacks in the NFL like Pinkel has? Brad Smith, Chase Daniel and Blaine Gabbert are all in the NFL now. Pinkel's recruiting is the best Mizzou has had in years and more and more NFL talent is leaving Columbia. Pinkel has not quite won the conference title, but the Tigers have come close. They have three Big 12 North titles and Pinkel's teams have defeated both a #1 team and a #2 team. Like Gundy, Pinkel deserves more respect.

5. Mack Brown, Texas: Many forget Brown had a great run as head coach at North Carolina. That program was terrible before Brown took over and he resurrected it. At Texas, he's won a ton of games, though the job is one of the best in sports. However, Stoops and Snyder's teams have routinely owned the Longhorns. That's why he's a little lower on this list.

6. Art Briles, Baylor: Baylor is a better program under Briles, that's for sure. But sometimes his game management bothers me. Watching Baylor-Kansas State was frustrating as someone who picked Baylor to win the game. The play-calling was awful at times. Again, I think he's a good coach, but show me more. That win against TCU looks weaker and weaker by the minute. Baylor needs to spring an upset against one of the best in the Big 12 this season.

7. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State: Rhodes is a good coach at a very tough position. Because he's this low on the list, it appears that I'm not a fan. I am...but again, like Briles, I'm not sure you can say he's the best at doing "the best with the least." Unlike Bill Snyder, Briles and Rhodes have consistently fallen short in upset bids. To put Briles or Rhodes close to Snyder is laughable.

8. Tommy Tubberville, Texas Tech: Great recruiter who went undefeated in the SEC. But for whatever reason, greatness does not jump out at you. Mike Leach's teams scared the hell out of me as an opposing fan. Tubby's teams....whatever. That program is not the same without the Pirate.

9. Mike Sherman, Texas aTm: The "aTm" part of the school's name stands for "Another Typical Meltdown." Having watched Sherman coach the NFL's Green Bay Packers, one of the things that leaped out to me was his teams blew half-time lead after half-time lead. His Packers team gave up a 4th and 26 play to Donovan McNabb in the playoffs. Sherman's team is again another disappointment and there's really no execuse. The Aggies have lost two straight game after holding 17-point leads.

10. Turner Gill, Kansas: I would say it's too soon to judge, but is there any hope for Gill right now? I actually made a wager with a friend that the Jayhawks would beat Texas Tech this week. I thought KU had a lot going for it - Tech has been a horrible road program since it entered the Big 12, Tubberville's teams at both Auburn and Tech has lost some disappointing games on the road and Tech's defense was horrendous. After jumping out to a 20-0 lead, Gill's team looked good. By the end of the game, I was wondering why I was a believer in Turner. The recruiting is good enough, but there's no toughness with this team. The mental edge they had in Mark Mangino's years is gone. Speaking of Gill and Mangino: KU is 1-15 in their last 16 conference games. Based on how badly their defense played against Texas Tech, it might be 1-23 by the time December rolls around.

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