5 Things from 5A 1st Round: Bolts Bear Down, Dowling Dominates

Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code: howe30 in the coupon code area   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/11/photo-gallery-liberty-waukee-5a-playoffs/">Photo Gallery: Liberty-Waukee 5A Playoffs</a>   IOWA CITY - Waukee faced one of the state's toughest schedules this season, which helped it qualify for the playoffs with a losing record. The Warriors continued that guantlet here at Liberty's stadium Friday night. The Lightning had lost just once in 2025.   Perhaps the difficult slate wore down the Warriors. Just as likely, Liberty flexed its muscle as one of the state's true championship contenders. Whatever the factors, the home team started strong and held off a game Waukee bunch, 34-20. It'll play host to four-time defending 5A champion Southeast Polk in next week's quarterfinals.   The Lightning scored on its opening drive and led 17-0 with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. Waukee cut it to 17-6 on a 78-yard [player_tooltip player_id='1814139' first='Jai' last='White'] touchdown sprint, but a [player_tooltip player_id='2000270' first='Collin' last='Weis'] field goal as the second quarter expired sent Liberty into the halftime locker room with a two-touchdown lead and momentum.   Waukee responded, however, cutting its deficit to 20-13 on a short touchdown run by quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1240560' first='Beckett' last='Bakker'] late in the third quarter. The Warriors had been in these tight situations throughout the campaign, while Liberty, save a couple of games, had an easier time with its opponents.   The confidence built in those eight victories propelled the Lightning into engineering an impressive fourth-quarter touchdown drive, which <a href="https://x.com/jeje66/status/1984439835390566859">traveled 80 yards in 10 plays</a>. [player_tooltip player_id='1860779' first='Leo' last='Rozz'] capped the march with a seven-yard run into the end zone. Liberty tacked on a three-yard [player_tooltip player_id='1548918' first='Logan' last='Laubenthal'] scoring run to extend the lead to 34-13 with 2:22 to play in regulation.   Credit Waukee for doing what it could with a very challenging schedule. It just ran up against a determined and sound Liberty program playing well at home.   With a 9-1 record and a return to the state quarterfinals, the Lightning have proven that the program's foundation is solid. The Bolts graduated key personnel after reaching the state semifinals for the first time in school history last fall.   Yet, here we are. Now, it just has to beat a team going for a five-peat and is like Michael Myers this time of year.   A sideline mole told me during last night's game that Liberty felt it could run the ball on Waukee. That proved to be a sage strategy. Yards after contact were plentiful.   Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1552779' first='Reece' last='Rettig'] made plays, got knocked out of the game, and returned to make plays. It's what he's done in every game for two seasons, during which his team is 19-3. Credit the Liberty offensive line of [player_tooltip player_id='2000176' first='Jaryn' last='Sertterh'], Benjamin Mohr, Blake Sehmann, [player_tooltip player_id='1810867' first='Jackson' last='Williams'] and Pete Hanson for winning the line of scrimmage.   Here are four more things from Friday night's Class 5A first-round games:   DOWLING DOMINATES   The top-seeded Maroons posted the most convincing win from Friday's opening round in 5A. They overwhelmed visiting Waterloo West, 44-6.   [player_tooltip player_id='401674' first='Joey' last='Nahas'] completed 7 of 9 throws for 121 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and [player_tooltip player_id='856072' first='Ian' last='Middleton'] rushed eight times for 114 yards and a score. [player_tooltip player_id='1362520' first='Preston' last='Hofbauer'] hauled in three balls for 55 yards and a score, and Anthony Bonanno had 3.0 tackles and a sack in a balanced defensive effort.   Dowling rides a 5A-best, nine-game winning streak into next week's quarterfinals, where it will play host to Iowa City West. The Maroons are favored to win their 11th all-time title. They captured seven championships in a row from 2013-2019 but haven't reached the title game since then.   It's a motivated bunch that's strong in the trenches with guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1583613' first='Carter' last='Barrett'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1619297' first='Ryan' last='Bobo']. Dowling limits mistakes, meaning upset bids must be cleanly executed. Miscues will eat opponents alive.   NORTHWEST ROLLING AGAIN   The Wolves showed vulnerability for the first time this season during an unexpected, 31-28 loss to rival Waukee on Oct. 17. It came on the heels of a 7-0 start when they mostly dominant.   Apparently, they've grown from the experience. Northwest has won its last two games, including Friday night's 28-7 triumph against visiting Indianola. The winners led 14-7 at halftime before clamping down coming out of the locker room.   [player_tooltip player_id='1204436' first='Mack' last='Heitland'] completed 20 of 25 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown in the victory, adding a score on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id='1361719' first='Ryan' last='Woodruff'] carried 34 times for 157 yards and two scores, and [player_tooltip player_id='1204437' first='Jordon' last='Green'] caught five balls for 103 yards and a TD. [player_tooltip player_id='1619483' first='Austin' last='Van Horn'] posted a team-best 8.5 tackles (5 solo), and  [player_tooltip player_id='1619612' first='Elliot' last='Combe'] picked off two passes and forced a fumble.   Sioux City East (9-1) visits the Wolves for next week's quarterfinals. Northwest will be seeking its first-ever state semifinal appearance in the school's brief history.   SOUTHEAST POLK AT IT AGAIN   The Rams are built tough, that's for sure. The four-time defending state champions seem to find a way.   That's what happened at Ankeny on Friday, when they upset the Hawks, 21-14. It was Southeast Polk's fourth win in its last five playoff games against a team with a better record. The game where they weren't on the road was against Iowa City West, which shared the same 6-4 record when they met in last year's quarterfinals.   The Rams kicked off this postseason with the same 5-4 record they had at the start of last year's title run. Ankeny was 7-2 with five of those wins coming against 5A playoff teams.   Offensively, Southeast polk leaned heavily on its running game with [player_tooltip player_id='401671' first='Drew' last='Thompson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1617589' first='Stanley' last='Cooper'] combining for 231 yards and three touchdowns on 56 carries. [player_tooltip player_id='1619382' first='Joel' last='Thompson'] and Dokken Biladeau each produced six solo tackles, and [player_tooltip player_id='1619426' first='Brayden' last='Lewis'] intercepted a pass and forced a fumble.   Next up for the Rams will be a trip to Iowa City Liberty, the program they knocked off, 38-35, in a wild state semifinal last season. The Lightning owns a 38-20 victory from the rematch on Sept. 5, when it led 38-0 at one point.   TROJANS ALSO AT IT AGAIN   Iowa City West joined Southeast Polk as the only teams that won on the road Friday. Like the Rams, the Trojans also pulled off that trick last year, when at 5-4 they emerged victorious at one-loss Bettendorf.   Friday, they outlasted home-standing Cedar Falls, 38-31. It was West's first win against a 5A playoff team in three tries this season. It fell against Liberty and Prairie.   The Trojans' two-score halftime advantage was trimmed to 31-24 heading into the fourth quarter. They <a href="https://x.com/rmmurken/status/1984444848733110693">used some trickery</a> to make it 38-24 with 11:06 to play in regulation. [player_tooltip player_id='1692024' first='Henry' last='Elser'] connected with [player_tooltip player_id='1692076' first='Mikey' last='Moody'] on a reverse pass for the touchdown.   A short [player_tooltip player_id='1221958' first='Ian' last='Fuchtman'] touchdown run less than two minutes later pulled Cedar Falls to within a touchdown of the lead again, however. West held the Tigers from there, though, setting up a trip to top-seeded Dowling Catholic for next weekend's quarterfinal.   [player_tooltip player_id='600173' first='Reece' last='Wheeler'] completed 15 of 21 throws for 219 yards and a touchdown without an interception, while [player_tooltip player_id='1699746' first='Campbell' last='Janis'] ran 34 times for 168 yards and three scores. [player_tooltip player_id='1238512' first='Julian' last='Manson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1238635' first='Ethan' last='Headings'] impacted the game on both sides of the ball, and [player_tooltip player_id='1619319' first='Jackson' last='Law'] produced 3.5 sacks and recovered a fumble.   West has dropped its two previous meetings with Dowling. They were the 2016 and 2017 state championship games.

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