Week 4 Whip-Around: 37 Remain Unbeaten

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We head into Week 5 of the Iowa High School Football Season with 37 teams across seven classes remaining unbeaten. Only five programs in the largest two classes own unblemished records. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Among the seven state champions in 2022, four schools posted 13-0 marks. Southeast Polk went 12-1 each year in winning the first two 5A crowns during the last two falls. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A (4):</strong> Jefferson, Bettendorf, Southeast Polk, Dowling</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not many, if any, folks would have called this as the last four standing. Dowling and Southeast Polk shouldn't be surprising anyone. The other two teams have surprised, although on different levels. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jefferson has been a great story, maybe the story of the season in the state. The J-Hawks have had one winning campaign (8-3 in '15) since '08. They won two or fewer contests in 10 of those years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4A (1): </strong>Gilbert</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And then there was one. The Tigers moved to 4-0 with a 31-12 victory at Boone on Friday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3A (5):</strong> Creston, Hampton-Dumont-CAL, Williamsburg, Bishop Heelen, Clear Lake </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This class looks a bit out of whack in relation to history. It is a fun group beyond that. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williamsburg has a win at 4A defending champion Xavier. Creston owns a victory at '22 4A finalist, Lewis Central. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2A (5):</strong> Tipton, Central Lyon-George/Little Rock, Western Christian, West Lyon, Van Meter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CL-G/LR is the defending state champion and unbeaten since '21. Van Meter is the winner of the last two 1A state titles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1A (7): </strong>Wilton, Treynor, Regina, MFL MarMac, Pella Christian, Denver, Grundy Center </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grundy Center won the Class A championship in '22. Regina claims seven state titles in three different classes since '10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A (8): </strong>Nashua-Plainfield, Lisbon, Lake Mills, North Linn, Woodbury Central, Madrid, Saint Ansgar, ACGC</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ACGC is 4-0 against teams above .500 and Saint Ansgar is 3-0 versus such teams. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8-Player (7):</strong> Remsen St. Mary's, Clarksville, CAM, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Ar-We-Va, Bedford, Winfield-Mount Union</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Mary's has won two of the last three state championships with CAM capturing the other one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NOTABLE GAMES AND PERFORMANCES FROM WEEK 4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Winfield-Mount Union made a statement in 8-Player action from Friday. The Wolves rolled to a 70-20 victory at Montezuma, a team they hadn't defeated in seven previous meetings. Iowa Hawkeye commitment, [player_tooltip player_id='156461' first='Cam' last='Buffington'], scored six touchdowns and gained almost 800 combined yards rushing and receiving. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1352853' first='Jake' last='Edwards'] threw for 300 yards and four scores, while Cole Milks racked up 10.0 tackles and picked off a pass. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-ADM joined Winfield-Mount Union in statement making, the Tigers building a 20-0 advantage after one quarter and not looking back against previously unbeaten Norwalk. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='320738' first='Aiden' last='Flora'] threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more. He rolled up 160 air yards and 174 on the ground. Cameron Forgy rushed for 117 yards and a TD for the winners. Drew Obstarczyk and [player_tooltip player_id='1402881' first='Brayden' last='Rynearson'] stood out on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Cedar Falls notched a 35-19 victory it badly needed against visiting Iowa City Liberty. The Tigers' uneven season included a 42-13 loss at Ankeny Centennial the previous week. Running backs &nbsp;Drew Gerdes and Drake Gelhaus combined for 149 yards and three scores in the Liberty contest, while teammate Logan Wroe caught five passes for 53 yards and a TD. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Pleasant Valley has navigated a tricky early-season schedule, stacking up three solid wins in a row after a season-opening setback against rival Bettendorf. Tyge and [player_tooltip player_id='156486' first='Tate' last='Lyon'] combined for 202 yards and two touchdowns rushing during Friday's 28-23 win against Cedar Rapids Prairie. Josh Hansen registered a pair of sacks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Solon ruined the final game its rival played at a historic field, topping previously unbeaten Mount Vernon, 37-20. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1242954' first='Conlan' last='Poynton'] rushed 19 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1360778' first='Tyler' last='Bell'] completed 75 percent of his passes for 141 yards and a TD without an interception. [player_tooltip player_id='248019' first='Brett' last='White'] racked up 9.0 tackles (6 solo, 1.5 for loss). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Marion (3-1) opened a new stadium with 34-7 win against previously unbeaten Maquoketa. Hunter Horak rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown, and [player_tooltip player_id='1307582' first='Kaleb' last='Diers'] threw a pair of TDs to [player_tooltip player_id='247961' first='Kaiden' last='Griffith']. [player_tooltip player_id='1278910' first='Logan' last='Tilkes'] and Trey Franck teamed up for four sacks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Western Christian won, 28-21, at Cherokee Washington in a matchup of unbeaten teams. Kaden VanRegenmorter tossed a touchdown pass and rushed for two more in the victory. Karsten Moret caught six passes for 133 yards and a TD, and Tyler Mantel ran for 100 yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-MFL MarMac posted an impressive, 42-0, victory at Aplrington-Parkersburg. [player_tooltip player_id='156641' first='Wyatt' last='Powell'] ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and Brandon Christofferson caught three passes for 43 yards and a score. [player_tooltip player_id='156457' first='Carver' last='Blietz-Bentien'] and Bryce Radloff enjoyed strong performances on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-IKM Manning pulled off an exciting, 38-37 comeback victory at Riverside with a 20-7 advantage in the fourth quarter. &nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='1700977' first='Davis' last='Rasmussen'] and Ben Langel combined for 194 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Ross Kusel and Nolan Kerkhoff teamed up for 24 solo tackles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Iowa City High won the Battle for the Boot for a third time in a row, this time a 23-8 home victory. Miles Parlet carried the ball 34 times for 220 yards and two touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id='320791' first='Jeremiah' last='Madlock'] caught five passes for 133 yards and a TD. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->