Week One Power Rankings

Olathe South's Russell White.  KC Star.

1. Olathe South (0-0): The Falcons are pumped to kick their season off with rival Olathe East.  Nothing would set the standard for 2012 like a great performance in week one from what could be the league's best team in the defending 6A state champ Falcons.

2. Lawrence (0-0): The Chesty Lions handled SM West pretty easily in week one last year.  Do the same this year and it will validate LHS, because we know SM West is going to be much improved from 2011.  More than anything LHS will be praying that the injury bug that has plagued them in recent years is gone.

3. Olathe East (0-0): Olathe East has won 12 of their last 13 season-opening games.  The Hawks will come prepared to win--the fact that the first game is against rival Olathe South just provides more incentive for the team.

4. Lawrence Free State (0-0): The Firebirds have spent the majority of their offseason practicing on turf but their first game will be on the grass at CBAC against Olathe Northwest.  I'm not expecting a change in the potency of the Kyle McFarland led offense, however.

5. SM West (0-0): The Vikings were embarrassed in week one at Lawrence last season, yet they still managed a solid seven-win season and Sectional berth.  You know they're chomping at the bit for a chance to dim LHS' preseason expectations, just a bit, early on.

6. Olathe North (0-0): Game One of the Gene Wier Era Part II is at a stadium (the new SM North District Stadium) that didn't exist the last time Wier was coaching at Olathe North.  It will be the first of many nuances around the league for the coaching legend.

7. SM East (0-0): There's nothing like taking on your rival in week one.  The Lancers will be dressed in all black and SM South in all white.  This will be Jordan Darling's first chance to make an impression on the league.

8. SM South (0-0):  See SM East.  The Raiders' schedule is manageable this year and nothing would get things started on the right foot like a victory against their rival.  That 95th Street border gets more and more intense with each student who transfers or is denied transfer, between the two schools.

9. Leavenworth (0-0): Leavenworth has preseason expectations for the first time in over a decade.  How the Pioneers do in the early part of their schedule (at SM North, SM South, SM Northwest) will be key.

10. Olathe Northwest (0-0): The Ravens will have to play to their strength, the offensive line, early on in 2012.  How effectively they can establish a run game to keep possessions away from Free State's offense could be essential in week one.

11. SM Northwest (0-0): The Cougars may be sitting very low in terms of expectations but the program is in good hands under new head coach Linn Hibbs and there's really no telling how soon they could possibly click and surprise us all.

12. SM North (0-0): The good thing about starting the season at the bottom of the Power Rankings is that there's only one way to go--up.  That's cliché but the Indians have a week one opponent in Leavenworth who they're familiar with and you know Dennis Grayless' team will come prepared for a dogfight.

Linn Hibbs named SM Northwest Head Coach

Linn Hibbs, Wellington DN.

SM Northwest made things official Thursday, naming Linn Hibbs as their new head football coach.

Hibbs is well known among coaching circles from his 15-year tenure as the head coach at Wellington High School, a program located just south of Wichita near the Oklahoma border.

Hibbs won Class 4A state titles with Wellington in 2001 and 2002, and finished as the state runner-up in 2000.  With over 100 victories under his belt Hibbs retired from coaching in May of 2011.  Apparently Hibbs wanted a new challenge, and that's what he'll get at SM Northwest.

Hibbs inherits a program that has gone 15-15 over the past three seasons.  While the Cougars haven't exactly been a dominating force over that time period, they haven't been bad either and Hibbs will have a decently stocked pantry from the get go.

Hibbs was quoted in the Sumner News Cow saying "I'm sure the people in the Wichita City League may argue with this, but the Sunflower League is the toughest league in the state of Kansas."

SM Northwest's former head coach, Aaron Barnett, resigned from his position several weeks ago to pursue administrative opportunities within the Shawnee Mission School District.