But to do that, Tonganoxie will have to survive teams that are playing better as the season progresses.

Piper’s only blemish is an early-season loss to De Soto. The Pirates now are 5-1. On Friday, they’ll visit Tonganoxie — a year after stunning the Chieftains with a 7-0 loss at Piper High.

Basehor-Linwood opened the season at 0-3, but has won two of its last three games. After blanking Santa Fe Trail, 2-0, the Bobcats lost to Abilene, 8-6. BLHS then dropped arch-rival Bonner Springs, 28-15, on Friday. Tonganoxie pulled out a 29-25 win against the Braves in the second week of the season.

Lansing, meanwhile, now is 4-2 on the season after dropping Immaculata last week, 28-6.

Along with an undefeated season, the current Chieftains are pursuing a league title.

Tonganoxie sits atop the Kaw Valley League Division I standings with a 5-0 conference record, while Piper leads Division II with a 5-1 record. At 3-2 in the KVL, Lansing sits behind Tonganoxie in second place in the first division.

Friday’s game could determine the overall league champion. With the Chieftains at 5-0 and Piper 5-1 in conference play, the winner should be in solid shape to win the overall title.

As for comparing the 1962 team to this year’s squad, the ’62 team also knew how to score.

Those Chieftains scored 85 against Olathe’s Kansas School for the Deaf and 86 against McLouth. They also posted seven shutouts and allowed just 25 points the entire season.

The 1963 Chieftains outscored opponents with an average of 48-3. This year’s team is winning with an average score of 34-12.

The 1951 team also went undefeated, but finished at 8-0. That team posted five shutouts and allowed 20 points on the year. Those Chieftains won their games by a 22-3 average margin.