Wichita Heights head coach Rick Wheeler carefully uses his choice of words. He’s not going to say that his Falcons are among the state’s elite football programs, even though they captured the Class 6A state championship last season and are heavy favorites to repeat.
 “I certainly don’t think that we should be mentioned in the same breath as a program like a Hutch High, a Olathe North, a Silver Lake or what have you,” said Wheeler, whose top-ranked Falcons (3-0) play host to Great Bend (1-1) on Friday night at Heights Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7. “We have developed into a pretty good team over the last six or eight years and with that, there are some added pressures to perform well.
“Our kids have come to understand that. Having the druthers, I’d rather be the favorite than the underdog. We’ve had some success, but I really don’t think it has much of an effect on our kids from a day-to-day basis. We try to come in and work hard and try to do the things the right way. I think we do things the right way.”
Wheeler, the athletic director at Wichita Heights, who also serves as his own secretary, has had a front-row seat in Heights’ emergence as “Title Town” this past season. The Falcons also won state championships in boys and girls basketball last season. Basketball star Perry Ellis, who has led Heights to three straight state championships and will be bidding for a four-peat this winter, committed to play for Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday.
As for football, Great Bend head coach Bo Black says there’s no better than Heights.
“I’d argue that they’re the elite,” Black said. “They are the No. 1-ranked team in the entire state of Kansas.
“Obviously, they’re No. 1 in Class 6A, and Coach Wheeler has always done a fantastic job. They have great athletes and great coaches. Right now, they’re the elite team in the state.”