Prep Football- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released their first round of rankings for Class 2A through 8-Player and through the first five weeks of football only two district teams have found a spot in the top 10.
Class 2A
West Lyon is proving to be the team to beat as they are ranked #1 and for good reason. The Wildcats have only allowed 20 points through five weeks, including back-to-back shutouts with a 13-0 win over #10 Western Christian being the high point of the season.
PCM is ranked 2nd followed by (4-1) Spirit Lake. #6 Northeast is the only other team beyond West Lyon and PCM, who find themselves undefeated. The Rebels have a dominant offense, averaging nearly 45 points per game, however, their defense has been exposed in three of their five contests, allowing 20 points or more.
Class 1A
The top six is well populated with undefeated teams with Grundy Center, the defending champions, sitting atop the rankings followed by Regina Catholic and the one non-undefeated squad in the top six, Dike-New Hartford, who is 4-1.
The reason for the Wolverines being ranked so high is that one loss was at the hands of Grundy Center to start the season, 21-7. Since that loss, the closest game was a 27-point shutout of West Branch.
Emmetsburg, Wilton, and South Hardin are the other undefeated teams ranked 4th through 6th, respectively.
Class A
Similar to Class 1A, #3 Saint Ansgar breaks up the streak of undefeated teams in the top 5 with West Hancock and ACGC sitting above the Saints. Understandably so, as the Saints narrowly fell to West Hancock in week 3, 21-20, as the Eagles scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to exit with the victory.
Lisbon entered the top ten at #4 followed by North Linn as the final undefeated teams for Class A. The Lions have dominated so far this season with two shutouts, a total of 27 points allowed, while Tiernan Boots, aptly named, has rushed for 1,001 yards and 16 touchdowns already this season.
8-Player
Lastly, Lenox, who fell in the quarterfinals last season, sits above Bishop Garrigan at #1 followed by the defending champs at #2. Most of the blue bloods of yesteryears sit in the top 10 with Don Bosco and Remsen St. Mary’s at #3 and #4, respectively.
The one team that has not seen time in the top 10 in the recent past is Iowa Valley as the undefeated Tigers rest at #8 at 5-0. The Tigers tout an offense that cannot stop scoring. Led by sophomore quarterback Nolan Kriegel, who has over 1,500 all-purpose yards and 28 touchdowns without an interception, the Tigers are averaging 68.8 points per game.
WACO tested Iowa Valley back in week three, but the offense of the Tigers proved to overwhelm a historically tough Warrior defense in a 56-35 victory.
Next Rankings
The IHSAA will release the next round of rankings on Monday, October 7th, which will include Classes 3A, 4A, and 5A.
Local District Standings
Class 2A District 5
Mid-Prairie: 2-0 (2-3)
Mediapolis: 1-1 (2-3)
Albia: 1-1 (3-2)
Central Lee: 1-1 (4-1)
West Burlington Notre Dame: 1-1 (4-1)
Davis County: 0-2 (3-2)
Class A District 5
#5 Lisbon: 4-0 (5-0)
Pekin: 3-1 (4-1)
Danville: 3-1 (3-2)
Columbus: 2-2 (2-3)
Wapello: 2-2 (2-3)
Van Buren County: 1-3 (1-4)
Highland: 1-3 (2-3)
Louisa-Muscatine: 0-4 (0-5)
8-Player District 6
#8 Iowa Valley: 3-0 (5-0)
Winfield-Mt. Union: 2-1 (3-2)
WACO: 2-1 (5-1)
English Valleys: 1-2 (1-4)
New London: 1-2 (1-4)
HLV: 0-3 (0-6)
