Esch KSHSFB Index | First-round recap and second-round projections for all 6-4A teams
The first round of the Kansas high school football playoffs is in the books and the Esch Index predicted the winner of 40 games correctly and eight incorrectly. That’s an accuracy of 83.3% and brings the season average to 75.2%.
Week 10/Round 2 projections
Last season, the Index projected the correct winner in 15 of the 24 Week 10 matchups.
Quick facts:
Starting this week, the three-point home-field advantage is disabled through the remainder of the playoffs. This means the school that’s rated higher will be projected to win regardless of where the game is played.
All lower seeds in 4A East — including KC Piper, Bishop Miege, St. James Academy, and St. Thomas Aquinas — are projected to win. All lower seeds in 4A West are projected to lose.
The largest projected margin of victory comes in 5A, where Pittsburg is projected to defeat KC Sumner Academy by 35 with a final score of 43-8.
The greatest amount of parity is in 6A as five higher seeds and three lower seeds are projected to win.
Featured matchups and Brett’s picks:
Blue Valley West 24 @ Olathe North 26
Brett’s Pick: Olathe North
Washburn Rural 34 @ Garden City 20
Brett’s Pick: Washburn Rural
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 27 @ Maize 35
Brett’s Pick: Maize
Great Bend 29 @ Salina Central 39
Brett’s Pick: Great Bend
KC Piper 26 @ Chanute 17
Brett’s Pick: Chanute
Coffeyville-Field Kindley 25 @ Towanda-Circle 44
Brett’s Pick: Towanda-Circle
The full slate:
Brett is a Communication Arts major at Bethel College, Editor-in-Chief of the Bethel Collegian, and Newton (KS) High School football beat writer. You can reach him via email or on Twitter.