Top Week 9 Games in 5A, 4A, 3A with Players to Watch

While the four smallest classes in the state embark on their postseasons, the three largest groups finish up their regular season and finalize their playoff picture this week. Let's take a look at some of the most impactful games remaining in 5A, 4A and 3A:   Class 5A   Game of the Week: Cedar Rapids Prairie (4-4) at Iowa City West (4-4)   The Setup: All of the games listed here and others will play roles in figuring out whose seasons end and the playoff matchups for schools moving on. I chose this game because it appears to be an elimination game based on the RPI rankings going into it. Prairie is No. 13 in the state and West sits four spots behind that.   Players to Watch: Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='533062' first='Will' last='Phillips'] has thrown for 1,444 yards and 11 touchdowns for Prairie this season. Apollo Payne (42 catches, 803 yards, 8 TDs) and [player_tooltip player_id='1279712' first='Denzil' last='Green'] (20-256-2) are his top targets. Casey Kelley helps the Prairie Hawks balance their attack with 959 yards (6.3 YPC) and 10 scores rushing. On defense, [player_tooltip player_id='1581860' first='Quinton' last='Alexander'], Wyatt Vlasek, Collin Velky, LaMarious Clark and Tyler Beck stand out.   For West, junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='245608' first='Jack' last='Wallace'] is in his third season as the starter. He's rolled up 1,349 yards and 10 touchdowns passing and 152 yards with five more scores on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id='575645' first='Ashton' last='Honore'] is a productive running back, and Izaiah Loveless and [player_tooltip player_id='847948' first='Mason' last='Woods'] shine as receivers. Woods, Honore, Zach Logsdon, [player_tooltip player_id='1205128' first='Santana' last='Miller'], Adrian DeWaard, Declan Bunn and [player_tooltip player_id='1238635' first='Ethan' last='Headings'] are among the Trojan playmakers on defense.   Other Marquee Matchups in 5A: Iowa City High at Bettendorf; Johnston at Sioux City East; Ankeny Centennial at Urbandale; Cedar Falls at Davenport West; Pleasant Valley at Linn-Mar.   Class 4A   Game of the Week: North Polk (6-2) at ADM (6-2)   The Setup: These teams are comfortably into the postseason no matter what happens here. North Polk ranks third in the RPI and ADM checks in at No. 5. A district title, playoff positioning and bragging rights are riding on this one.   Players to Watch: At the controls for North Polk is senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='320817' first='Isaac' last='Zoske'], who has thrown for 1,153 yards and 14 touchdowns. Running back [player_tooltip player_id='1361480' first='BJ' last='Tate'] has 874 yards and 11 scores rushing, while [player_tooltip player_id='320815' first='Brock' last='Miller'] (30-298-2), [player_tooltip player_id='320816' first='Kale' last='Yoakum'] (18-280-6) and [player_tooltip player_id='320830' first='Colton' last='Manock'] (8-286-4) are receivers that stress out opponents. On defense, [player_tooltip player_id='320829' first='Brayden' last='Foster'], [player_tooltip player_id='320828' first='Dyllon' last='Ireland'], [player_tooltip player_id='320821' first='Cohan' last='Torres'] and Nathan Feldman stand out.   ADM continues rolling despite losing Iowa Hawkeye running back commitment [player_tooltip player_id='156484' first='Brevin' last='Doll'] to a season-ending injury early on because of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='320738' first='Aiden' last='Flora']. The senior, who is off to Iowa State as a preferred walk-on, has thrown for 798 yards and 11 touchdowns, and run for 1,444 yards and 20 scores. Cameron Forgy, Tyler Gelhaar, Zach Lohmann and Rhylan Stine-Smith are other important pieces on offense. [player_tooltip player_id='1402893' first='Karver' last='Sutton'], Drew Obstarczyk, [player_tooltip player_id='1286621' first='Ethan' last='Asche'], [player_tooltip player_id='1402881' first='Brayden' last='Rynearson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='248045' first='Talan' last='Guile'] lead the defense.   Other Marquee Matchups in 4A:  Norwalk at Glenwood; Dallas Center-Grimes at Council Bluffs Lewis Central; Pella at Gilbert.   Class 3A   Game of the Week: Algona (5-3) at Hampton-Dumont-CAL (5-3)   The Setup: I'm a sucker elimination games and this could be one based on the current RPI. Algona enters action this week at No. 13 with Hampton-Dumont-CAL residing three places behind the Bulldogs.   Players to Watch: Algona junior [player_tooltip player_id='252221' first='Alex' last='Manske'] is one of the more sought-after quarterbacks in the region for 2025 with reported scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. He's has thrown for 1,510 yards and 14 touchdowns without an interception in '23. He leads the team in rushing scores (11) and ranks second in ground yards (605) behind only [player_tooltip player_id='1240413' first='Evan' last='Allie'] (634). Porter Reffer (38-823-7) is Manske's favorite target. On defense, [player_tooltip player_id='252334' first='Jack' last='Limbaugh'], Landon Thompson, Tate Slagle and Devin Larsen are among the key players.   For Hampton-Dumont-CAL, senior quarterback Gavin Meader pressures opponents with his arm and legs. He has a combined 18 touchdowns passing and running. Brody Walton has 730 yards and eight scores on the ground with Karter Janssen chipping in with 271 yards and two TDS rushing. Tucker Heeren (23-411-4) is the main receiving threat with Scott Harr (12-138-2) also being a factor there. Harr, Austin Hanson, Taylor Mahler, Brody Strother, Carter Heilskov and Cael Burmester are impact players on defense.   Other Marquee Matchups in 3A:  Bishop Heelan at MOC-Floyd Valley; Humboldt at Webster City; West Delaware at Central DeWitt; Benton at Williamsburg.

While the four smallest classes in the state embark on their postseasons, the three largest groups finish up their regular season and finalize their playoff picture this week. Let's take a look at some of the most impactful games remaining in 5A, 4A and 3A: