JAGUARS FOOTBALL MOVES TO 6A FOR 2026-27
Kansas football got a bit of a shakeup on Sept. 25 when the new classifications came out. The big news for Mill Valley fans is football will compete in 6A in 2026 and 2027.
Mill Valley head football coach Joel Applebee was not at all surprised by the news. After playing the last two years as one of the biggest 5A schools in Kansas football, the Jaguars will now be the smallest 6A school in football.
“This is the cycle that we thought this was going to happen, so it’s not a shock by any means,” he said.
For the past few years, all Mill Valley sports, except football, have competed in 6A. Football classification is calculated differently than other sports as fewer teams play 11 man football. Football in Kansas has 32 schools in class 6A, 5A and 4A while the other sports have 36 schools.
Mill Valley has won multiple 6A state championships in other sports including: 2022 boys soccer, 2023 and 2024 cheerleading, 2023 and 2024 volleyball, 2022 dance, 2022 boys track, 2022 and 2025 girls track and 2022 girls soccer.
For Applebee, it’s business as usual with the football program.
“In the end, you still have to spot the ball and play,” said Applebee. “It’s about us. It’s never really about our opponent.”
Mill Valley plays in the Sunflower League which consists exclusively of 6A schools. Last year the Jaguars football team beat Gardner Edgerton who ended up repeating as the 6A football state champions.
Applebee said he expects Mill Valley to compete in the eastern bracket of the 6A playoffs. This also sets up the possibility of a Mill Valley-Derby state championship matchup. Applebee was the defensive coordinator at Derby for four years before becoming the Jaguars head coach. Derby is coached by his cousin, Brandon Clark who has coached Derby to six state championships. Applebee admitted that the possibility of that matchup excites him.
“I’ve thought about it because it’s family,” Applebee said. “If it happens that would be awesome. If it doesn't, that's fine. My sole focus is on these kids and this program.”
The Mill Valley players are excited about the move and the opportunity to show a whole new class that Mill Valley can compete with anyone in the state.
“To be honest I love it,” said junior defensive end Josh Garcia. “It’s an opportunity to get better and get to see new faces in the playoffs. I love how we get the opportunity to prove how hard we work and show it to new teams that haven’t seen what Mill Valley football is all about. Lastly gives us an opportunity to shut up anyone that says we can’t compete in 6A.”
Of course Mill Valley wasn’t the only school affected by the classification change. St. Thomas Aquinas High School drops back down to 4A where it competed in 2022 and 2023 and won a state championship in 2023.
“Obviously we're going to miss that rivalry with Aquinas,” Applebee said. “That’s a game that I know our kids always look forward to.”
Also dropping down to 4A will be Great Bend who look to be a strong contender in the western bracket of 5A football this year.
The classification changes really shakes up 5A football - a class that has been dominated by Mill Valley and Aquinas for the past decade. The last state champion that wasn’t one of those two schools was Bishop Carroll High School in 2014.
Mill Valley is the only addition to 6A, replacing Wichita West which drops down to 5A.
