A year has passed, rosters have changed &mdash; in one team&rsquo;s case the head coach changed &mdash; 11 games have been played &hellip; and yet here we are again.</p><p>The St. Thomas Aquinas and Gardner Edgerton football teams meet Friday in the Kansas 5A state semifinals, just as they did last season.</p><p>Blue Valley, despite an interesting path, is right back in the 6A semifinals again, set to play undefeated Olathe North. And while the Eagles didn&rsquo;t make the semis last year, well, the program has been there plenty of times before.</p><p>So that&rsquo;s three traditional state powers, the up-and-coming Trailblazers and 4A championship hopeful Bishop Miege as the last teams standing on in Johnson County as the football season reaches its penultimate week. </p><p>Here&rsquo;s a quick look at the matchups Friday that will decide which teams will represent eastern Kansas in the state finals.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Gardner Edgerton (11-0) at St. Thomas Aquinas (10-1)</span></strong></p><p>This is year four of the Marvin Diener era at Gardner Edgerton, and the program has rapidly moved forward in the coach&rsquo;s short tenure. The next step is clear for the Trailblazers &ndash; a state finals berth. </p><p>This is year one of the Mike Thomas era at St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Saints&rsquo; longtime defensive coordinator has done an admirable job in his first season as head coach, guiding the program back to yet another state semifinals appearance. But the Saints reached the 5A championship game for the first time last year, and the goal all along has been to return. </p><p>This one promises to be another classic showdown in this developing rivalry.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a quick refresher on the background: The Trailblazers lost only two games last season &ndash; both to Aquinas (including a 17-12 semifinals duel). This season, the Saints have lost only once &ndash; to Gardner Edgerton (28-26 on Oct. 23). </p><p>Aquinas hasn&rsquo;t played a close game since, winning by at least three touchdowns each of the last three weeks. And Gardner Edgerton hasn&rsquo;t played another close game all season. </p><p>Again, this one should be interesting.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Olathe North (11-0) at Blue Valley (5-6)</span></strong></p><p>Yep, the Tigers have a losing record, but they&rsquo;ve posted four straight wins and knocked off a pair of one-loss contenders in the first two rounds of the playoffs. And the Blue Valley players have said that it was an Oct. 16 loss to the Eagles (49-35) that started to turn their season around.</p><p>Still, the fact remains that nobody has played Olathe North closer than 13 points all season. And the Eagles have one of the top players in the metro area in senior running back James Franklin, who last week broke Darren Sproles&rsquo; school record for rushing yards in a career.</p><p>Blue Valley counters with a capable passing game led by experienced senior quarterback Anthony Abenoja.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Bishop Miege (10-2) at Paola (9-3)</span></strong></p><p>The Stags showed again last week just how hard their offense is to contain, rolling to a 35-7 win over a Louisburg team that had allowed a grand total of 14 points in its previous six games combined.</p><p>Senior Justin McCay posted an efficient line of four carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns in that win, bringing his season total to 18 all-purpose touchdowns (11 receiving, three rushing, two on kickoff returns, one on a punt return and one passing). He has scored once every 3.94 times he touches the football.</p><p>Running back Bobby Germinder scored the Stags&rsquo; other three touchdowns last Friday. For the season, he has rushed for 1,195 yards and 14 touchdowns.</p><p>Paola is led by standout running back Skylar Hawkins.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">SEMIFINALS </span></strong><br /> <strong>Class 6A</strong></p><p>Olathe North at Blue Valley</p><p>Derby at Wichita Heights</p><p><strong>Class 5A</strong></p><p>Gardner Edgerton at St. Thomas Aquinas</p><p>Wichita Bishop Carroll at Hutchinson</p><p><strong>Class 4A</strong></p><p>Bishop Miege at Paola</p><p>Buhler at Topeka Hayden</p><p></div>