Week 6 Whip-Around: Cedar Rapids Stands Up

Cedar Rapids plays host to the two teams chosen as our Class 5A and 4A winners of the week. That shouldn't be surprising when you consider the consistent success enjoyed by Kennedy and Xavier.   Here's the rundown from their victories and top triumphs in the other classes from this past week:   WINNERS OF THE WEEK   5A – Cedar Rapids Kennedy 34, Bettendorf 14: This class was a tough choice this week. Two-time defending champion Southeast Polk edged Johnston, 38-35, Waukee Northwest slipped by Valley, 31-28, Pleasant Valley topped Cedar Falls, 31-28, and Ankeny got by Prairie, 17-14.   Kennedy registered the most impressive victory, however, against previously unbeaten Bettendorf Friday night at Kingston Stadium. The Cougars dropped their first two games to Top 5 teams in Dowling and Pleasant Valley, but have now won four in a row. They led this game by a touchdown at halftime before scoring 13 unanswered points in the third quarter en route to their fourth win in a row against the Bulldogs.   The potent 1-2 punch at running back powered Kennedy in this contest. [player_tooltip player_id='332995' first='Jacob' last='Doyle'] and Trevor Scott combined for 27 carries, 252 yards and four touchdowns. Vincenzo Gianforte completed 12 of 16 passes for 171 yards and a TD with one interception. [player_tooltip player_id='986660' first='Cyrus' last='Courtney'] and Pierce McCrary stood out as pass catchers, while BJ Henry, Calvin White and Anthony Huber were disruptive on defense.   The Cougars play host to Dubuque Hemptead and Davenport North, and travel to Cedar Falls in their final three games. They're coming together at the right time and should not be slept on when it comes to the 5A title contenders.   4A – Cedar Rapids Xavier 26, North Scott 20: This class has been a wild ride so far, making it a tough one to handicap heading into the home stretch of the season. Dallas Center-Grimes topping Norwalk, 17-7, and Newton knocking off Pella, 21-18, were results that may have surprised some folks based on previous outcomes this season.   Xavier's win against fellow Eastern Iowa 4A title contender North Scott claimed the marquee here, though. The defending state-champion Saints served notice that they're still in the race after uncharacteristically dropping two of their first four games in '23.   The Lancers led 14-0 after a quarter of play Friday. Xavier rallied for its third consecutive win in this series.   Senior Noah Schimberg did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Saints' offense. He rushed 24 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Coleton Beasler-Weber helped out with 97 yards and a score on two rushes, three receptions for 66 yards, and 80 yards on three returns. Quarterback  [player_tooltip player_id='633628' first='Ronan' last='Thomas'] completed 10 of 14 passes for 122 yards, adding a TD on the ground. Adam Cook, Quinn Oleson and Grant Helmle were among the defensive standouts.   3A – Clear Lake 29, Algona 28: Solon's 16-13, double-overtime win against Benton has a strong case here as well. So does Mount Vernon's impressive 24-7 victory against Assumption. They were edged out by another great game from a loaded District 2.   Clear Lake trailed 21-13 before outscoring Algona, 16-7, in the final quarter. The Bulldogs had claimed the last two meetings in the series after Clear Lake had won six in a row.   The Lions received 170 yards and two touchdowns on the ground from the trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1361107' first='Titan' last='Schmitt'], [player_tooltip player_id='1241524' first='Sam' last='Dodge'] and Cael Stephany. Stephany completed 7 of 11 passes for 156 yards and a score with one interception, while [player_tooltip player_id='847937' first='Thomas' last='Meyer'] caught four ball for 91 yards. Dodge, Meyer, Aidan Hartl and Jake Trenary played well on defense.   Algona quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='252221' first='Alex' last='Manske'] threw for 255 yards and a touchdown, and added 111 ground yards with three scores. [player_tooltip player_id='252334' first='Jack' last='Limbaugh'] registered a sack for the Bulldogs.   2A – Spirit Lake 42, Lincoln Central 33: Carroll Kuemper impressed with a 61-7 win against Des Moines Christian. Anamosa picked up an important 16-10 victory against Tipton. The game in Estherville rose above the rest, however.   Spirit take won for the second time in a row against ELC. It needed to rally from a 27-14 halftime deficit to do so.   For the winners, [player_tooltip player_id='1286491' first='Caden' last='Lundt'] threw for three touchdown passes, two going to [player_tooltip player_id='1286497' first='Ethan' last='Stecker'] and the other one to [player_tooltip player_id='1286501' first='Dylan' last='Stecker']. [player_tooltip player_id='1286483' first='Bode' last='Higgins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1286604' first='William' last='Ditsworth'] combined for 173 yards and three scores on the ground. Ditsworth, Owen Lalumendre and [player_tooltip player_id='1241362' first='Wesley' last='Walz'] were sound on defense with the latter also standing out in the return game.   1A – West Branch 21, Regina 17: This game had competition for the top spot, but when an unranked team knocks off the No. 3 squad in 1A in a rivalry game, it tops the field. The Bears beat Regina for a second time in a row after dropping the previous seven meetings.   Sophomore Brennen Dale rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another in the victory. Cale Seydel caught four passes for 58 yards and a TD then ended the game with a late interception. Cooper Gates led the defense and Joe Hamann excelled on kick return.   Regina quarterback Gentry Dumont threw for 286 yards and tossed a touchdown to Jackson Naeve, who caught four balls for 127 yards. Noah Clark and [player_tooltip player_id='466364' first='Tate' last='Wallace'] played well on defense.   A – ACGC 35, IKM-Manning 31: The fifth-ranked team in Class A was pushed by the Wolves. The Chargers won against IKM-Manning for a second time in a row after dropping the previous three meetings.   Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1359887' first='Jathan' last='South'] contributed a touchdown pass and 166 yards and two scores rushing to the winning cause. Anthony Solorzano caught a touchdown and ran for 130 yards and two more. [player_tooltip player_id='156556' first='Payton' last='Jacobe'] and Tegan Slaybaugh played well defensively.   Sophomore signal caller Ben Ramsey kept the Wolves in it with his arm. Ben Langel rushed for 133 yards and a score for IKM-Manning.   8-Player – St. Mary's 47, Ar-We-Va 6: A lot of points are scored in this class, which was evident this past week with 17 teams tallying at least 60 points and four reaching 80. The Top 10 teams are coming off a week with convincing victories.   The squad from Remsen rose the top with a dominating triumph against a Rockets' outfit that had won four of its first five contests. Unfortunately, St. Mary's statistics from the game were not added to Bound at the time of publishing this story.   EXTRA POINTS   -Urbandale has won three games in a row after dropping two of its first three contests. The J-Hawks have been starting freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1197442' first='Landon' last='Rinnan'] at quarterback. He's enjoyed having junior running back Jaylon Brooks (126 carries for 868 yards, 11 TDs) carry the load on offense.   -Sioux City East is relying on a pair of freshmen defenders. Jaylon Brooks and Chris Ford have combined for 36 solo tackles. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='773219' first='Jacob' last='Breyfogle'] has 18 solo stops for a young Black Raiders' defense.   -The top six touchdown throwers in 5A are within four scores of each other. Liberty's [player_tooltip player_id='320562' first='Graham' last='Beckman'] leads the way with 17 but is followed closely by Kennedy's Vincenzo Gianforte (16) and [player_tooltip player_id='118822' first='Trenton' last='Smith'] (15) from Ankeny Centennial. Beckman is the all-class leader in passing yardage (1,795).   -Southeast Polk and Dowling are the last two unbeaten teams in 5A. They meet up on <a href="https://dowlingcatholicmaroonsathletics.com/teams/3825495/football/varsity/schedule">Oct. 13 in Pleasant Hill</a>. Southeast Polk also has games remaining against Waukee and Des Moines Lincoln, while Dowling's schedule includes meetings with Urbandale and Sioux City North, too.

Cedar Rapids plays host to the two teams chosen as our Class 5A and 4A winners of the week. That shouldn't be surprising when you consider the consistent success enjoyed by Kennedy and Xavier.