Recaps of All 21 5A Games from Week One!

What a week of football! The kick-off to the season could not have started any better. Let’s take a look at what happened this week and examine how players performed. The rankings used in this article are from PTO Sports. (iowa_highschool on Twitter) Southeast Polk (#1) vs. Dowling Catholic (#3) Final Score: Southeast Polk 13-7 Dowling Catholic What a game! Southeast Polk vs. Dowling gave us a potential game of the year candidate, and it’s only Week One. Some big takeaways from this game were that both offenses looked rusty. Dowling did not reach the end zone until the 4th quarter, and Southeast Polk had multiple turnovers, going through a long scoring drought during which not a single touchdown was scored - that is, until the final seconds of the 4th quarter. Is this a point of concern? No. Southeast Polk will get better later on in the season, and their offense will be deadly. Dowling lost QB [player_tooltip player_id="104098" first="Jaxon" last="Smolik"] for the rest of the season after he suffered a broken collarbone in the first half of the game. As a result, senior QB Jake English got the rest of the reps. Jake was somewhat slow on his reads, but overall he did well for being thrown into the fire against the #1 ranked team in the state. He held his own, but the player of the game was, without a doubt, [player_tooltip player_id="23942" first="Xavier" last="Nwankpa"]. He had 86 receiving yards, 5 receptions, 2 receiving touchdowns (one of them the Hail Mary that won the game), a forced fumble, and an interception - along with 6.5 tackles. Xavier is a force, and he is on his way to being named Player of the Year. (I attended the Southeast Polk game, which allowed me to see more of the action. The rest of the recaps will not be as long.) Valley (#8) vs. Waukee Northwest (Teams to Watch) Final Score: Valley 42-41 Waukee Northwest What a debut for the inaugural season of Waukee Northwest! They almost took down Valley, a top ten team, losing in overtime after Jay Moore made a crazy play batting down a pass to make Valley the victor. One big note is that Carson Renken put himself on the map. He had a total of 223 total yards, 2 Passing Touchdowns, and 1 Rushing Touchdown. Overall, Waukee Northwest surprised me. They are definitely going to compete this year and could upset a couple of teams along the way this season. As for Valley, they looked kind of shaky. [player_tooltip player_id="148360" first="Mason" last="Morrow"] went 17/28 with 124 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, and no interceptions. Not a bad performance, but I expected a little more. As for [player_tooltip player_id="147986" first="Danny" last="Rankins"] - this guy is going to be good. He had 92 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, and 5.1 yards per carry. [player_tooltip player_id="23946" first="Eli" last="Raridon"] also had a crazy 78-yard touchdown off a pass from Ayden Price, who is the backup QB for Valley. This was a great game. Urbandale (#9) vs Bettendorf (#6) Final Score: Urbandale 13-3 Bettendorf What a defensive performance by this Urbandale team! They had 3 interceptions and held Bettendorf to 3 points. Junior QB [player_tooltip player_id="104099" first="Peyton" last="Rottinghaus"] had a decent game with 215 yards passing, 1 passing touchdown, 1 interception, and a 65.4% completion percentage. One thing we learned about Urbandale is that their rushing attack is not looking good, with just ten rushing yards throughout the entire game. In the end, it didn’t matter as they pulled off a huge week one win against a good Bettendorf team. As for Bettendorf, they need to find a quarterback or improve their game plan to at least outscore 13 points. The fact that they lost by 10 after only allowing 13 points is a major concern. Des Moines North (Unranked) vs. Des Moines Hoover (Unranked) Final Score: Des Moines North 24-8 Des Moines Hoover What a great program win for Des Moines North. They needed this win for morale after going 0-36 the past three years. Hopefully, this can be the start of a turning point for the Polar Bears. Des Moines Roosevelt (Teams to Watch) vs. Des Moines East (Unranked) Final Score: Roosevelt 47-0 Des Moines East We can learn from this game something that most of us already knew: [player_tooltip player_id="24030" first="Jamison" last="Patton"] is a dog. 200+ passing yards along with three passing touchdowns and my favorite part of his stat line: 0 interceptions. Jamison threw two interceptions in two games last year, and it was a point of concern for me, but so far, he has shown improved decision-making ability. If he keeps this up, Des Moines Roosevelt could be dangerous. Johnston (Unranked) vs. Cedar Falls (#5) Final Score: Johnston 28-22 Cedar Falls The biggest upset of the night goes to the Johnston Dragons. This game let us know that [player_tooltip player_id="23998" first="Jack" last="Rutz"] is going to be a significant part of the Johnston offense. He finished with 208 passing yards, 75 rushing yards, and 4 rushing TDS - all with no interceptions. Jack showed that he has what it takes to lead this Johnston team this fall. Council Bluffs Lincoln (Unranked) vs. Council Bluffs Jefferson (Unranked) Final Score: Lincoln 34-16 Jefferson In this game, it became apparent that the Lynx have a quality QB in Eli Lusajo, who finished with 134 passing yards, 84 rushing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and 1 rushing touchdown. They also have a star on the defensive side of the ball. Steven Smith had 5.5 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Overall, an excellent win for the Lynx. Sioux City East (Unranked) vs. Bishop Heelan Final Score: Sioux City East 43-7 Bishop Heelan Sioux City East had a great blowout win against Bishop Heelan. [player_tooltip player_id="23964" first="Luke" last="Longval"] went off with 143 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, 88 rushing yards, and not a single interception. Overall a great win and an excellent start for the senior season of [player_tooltip player_id="23964" first="Luke" last="Longval"]. Ankeny (#2) vs. Waukee (Unranked) Final Score: Ankeny 49-0 Waukee This game was a bloodbath, starting with a pick-six by [player_tooltip player_id="104116" first="Reid" last="Johnson"] and followed by a weird punt return leading to a touchdown for [player_tooltip player_id="23957" first="Braden" last="Simonsen"]. Nick Eaton went off this game with 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. He also had a strip-sack. Tamden Webb Tate also had a great game. [player_tooltip player_id="104081" first="JJ" last="Kohl"] looked decent but had some throws that seemed out of rhythm. This is something the junior QB can fix, though. As for [player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"], he went off with 141 rushing yards, 11 carries, 12.8 yards per carry, and 2 rushing touchdowns. Waukee did not look good at all and will be working through some growing pains going forward. They will need to regroup. Des Moines Lincoln (Teams to Watch) vs. Sioux City West (Unranked) Final Score: Lincoln 68-6 Sioux City West This was absolute murder. [player_tooltip player_id="23969" first="Joshua" last="Jenkins"] exploded, totaling 152 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns on 11 carries. Fellow senior Deshawn Coleman had 136 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 11 carries. This was an excellent start for Lincoln, and it looks like they could possibly beat Roosevelt if they keep up performances like this. Sioux City West just cannot get a groove going, being 0-8 the previous season. Ankeny Centennial (Teams to Watch) vs. Indianola Final Score: Indianola 42-13 Ankeny Centennial This is a brutal loss for Ankeny Centennial. Pezetti was looking for his record-tying win to make him the all-time winningest coach in Iowa High School history, but he couldn’t get it against Indianola, who looked terrific and will be, without a doubt, one of the top contenders at the 4A level. I was disappointed in general with Centennial’s performance. I thought they would be much stronger on the defensive side of the ball. Even so, Centennial still has talent and will be looking to bounce back with a win against a juggernaut of a team in Ankeny. Davenport North (Teams to Watch) vs. North Scott Final Score: North Scott 41-7 Davenport North Davenport North could not stop Jakob Nelson, who totaled 159 receiving yards, 4 receiving touchdowns, and 10 receptions. This was a tough Davenport North loss to an excellent North Scott team. Moving forward, Davenport North needs both their offense and defense to show stronger performances than last Friday. Linn-Mar (Teams to Watch) vs. Muscatine (Unranked) Final Score: Linn-Mar 63-14 Muscatine I was hyped about this one! Linn-Mar has all of the talent they need to go on a big playoff run this season, which was a great first step. A nice, lopsided win will help them gain momentum for Week 3 when they face Pleasant Valley. Linn-Mar should also win their next game against Iowa City Liberty. The rushing attack was deadly for Linn-Mar, totaling 360 rushing yards. As for Muscatine, there is always next week? Cedar Rapids Kennedy (Teams to Watch) vs. Iowa City West (Unranked) Final Score: Cedar Rapids Kennedy 27-20 Iowa City West Cedar Rapids Kennedy proved they are a running football team, just like last year. They put up 204 rushing yards to win against Iowa City West, who is in a semi-rebuild phase as they start freshman Jack Wallace at QB. [player_tooltip player_id="152703" first="Jazan" last="Williams"] illustrated his ability to be a beast on the ground this season, putting up 184 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Cedar Rapids Jefferson (Unranked) vs. Cedar Rapids Washington Final Score: Washington 79-0 Jefferson Ouch. By far the worst loss for a 5A school this week, Cedar Rapids Jefferson got beat 79-0 by crosstown foes Cedar Rapids Washington. This will be a rebuilding year for Jefferson after losing their two best players to the transfer portal. Pleasant Valley (#4) vs. Prairie (#7) Final Score: Prairie 27-21 Pleasant Valley What a monumental win for Prairie. They were without seven starters in this matchup, and they somehow pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the night. Prairie put up a stunning 329 rushing yards to get the victory. Junior Makelle Taylor ran for 136 rushing yards and scored 3 rushing touchdowns. As for the Spartans, this loss sucks. All you can do is rebound and look forward to the rest of the season. Ottumwa (Unranked) vs Oskalooska Final Score: Oskalooska 35-14 Ottumwa This was a tough start to the season for Ottumwa. They got the injury bug and ended up having a rough defensive night. Iowa City High (Unranked) vs. Iowa City Liberty (Unranked) Final Score: Iowa City High 41-0 Iowa City Liberty HELLO [player_tooltip player_id="152884" first="Ben" last="Kueter"]! This game secured the “Zeus Trophy” for Iowa City High. Junior tight end [player_tooltip player_id="152884" first="Ben" last="Kueter"] went off with 90 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns, securing an offer from Minnesota in the process. This was a great start to Head Coach Gabe Mitchell’s career in Iowa City High. Dubuque Senior (#10) vs. Dubuque Hempstead (Unranked) Final Score: Dubuque Senior 19-6 Dubuque Hempstead Dubuque Senior had a terrific game from senior QB [player_tooltip player_id="98642" first="Jack" last="Gilligan"]. Jack passed for 189 yards and also rushed for 120 yards. [player_tooltip player_id="104721" first="Walker" last="Tart"] also put up 121 receiving yards. As for Dubuque Hempstead, this is a tough loss. All they need to do is get some offensive production, and they are right in this game. Waterloo West (Unranked) vs. Waterloo East Final Score: Waterloo West 35-14 Waterloo East Waterloo West beat their crosstown rival, Waterloo East! [player_tooltip player_id="99160" first="Jeremiah" last="Feahn"] had a great game on the offensive and defensive side and helped propel them to a victory. We will see if they can take this momentum to Cedar Falls, who is coming off a loss against Johnston. Sioux City North (Unranked) vs. South Sioux City Final Score: Sioux City North 25-7 South Sioux City This is a solid win for Sioux City North. They saw an excellent performance by junior QB Carson Strohbeen, who passed for 209 yards and scored 1 touchdown. Desmond Grace II also had a great game, putting up 71 receiving yards and an interception. Davenport West (Unranked) vs. Clinton Final Score: Davenport West 14-0 Clinton Davenport West finally got a win, and they did it against the Clinton River Kings. Davenport’s defense went off, only giving up 76 passing yards and getting three interceptions.