Class of 2026 · Hall of Fame
1994 State Championship Team
State Champions · 1991–1994 · Kansas 6A State Champions
Legend Feature
Twelve games, zero losses, and four straight playoff shutouts — the 1994 Panthers gave Derby its first state football championship and set the standard every team since has chased.
The story of the 1994 Derby Panthers does not start in 1994. It starts in a losing locker room in 1993, with a junior lineman named Ross Draney being pulled aside by teammate Jason Gamble while Lawrence celebrated its fifth straight state title on the other side of the wall.
"Promise me one thing, bud," Draney remembers being told. "Promise me that it'll be you guys making the noise next year."
They made the noise. Twelve wins, no losses, four playoff shutouts, and a 21-0 dismantling of the defending champion in its own town — the first state football championship in Derby High School history.
12-0
Perfect Season
71-0
Playoff Scoring Margin
21-0
State Championship