Football- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has released their second round of rankings for classes 2A, 1A, A, and 8-Player and their first round of Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for Classes 5A, 4A, and 3A as we inch closer to the postseason.
8-Player saw no movement from last week’s rankings as #1 Winfield-Mt. Union made it three games in-a-row of scoring at least 70 points. Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Bedford, CAM, and Remsen St. Mary’s enter this week’s rankings #2 through #5, respectively, and still undefeated. WACO is ranked 10th with a 5-1 record, their only loss is against the Wolves.
Class A had no movement amongst the top four teams with Saint Ansgar holding the top spot. Lisbon and Wapsie Valley jumped up two spots to be ranked 5th and 6th, respectively, while ACGC and Lynnville-Sully dropped to 7th and 8th, respectively. Nashua-Plainfield’s 22-14 loss at the hands of South Winneshiek dropped the Huskies from the top 10 and brought in Akron-Westfield with a 5-1 record.
Grundy Center and Underwood kept their spots at the top of the list for Class 1A; however, three teams were dropped from the top 10. West Branch pulled off the 21-17 upset over Regina Catholic last Friday, which sent the Regals packing from #3 to #8 in the rankings and in-return ranked West Branch #7. After boasting at least 26 points-per-game, Treynor was shutout 49-0 against Underwood and subsequently dropped from the top 10. Pella Christian and Dike-New Hartford were also bounced from the top 10. The new teams entering the top 10 were #9 Sigourney/Keota and #10 Columbus Catholic.
Class 2A kept the top 8 teams the same with Central Lyon-George/Little Rock, Van Meter, and West Lyon taking up the top three with their undefeated records. Tipton’s loss to Anamosa and Des Moines Christian’s blowout loss at the hands of #7 Kuemper Catholic saw these two teams dropped from the top 10. #9 PCM and #10 Mediapolis jumped into the rankings.
Looking at Class 3A’s RPI rankings, Williamsburg is the top team with a 0.708 RPI followed by Clear Lake and Creston. In Mt. Pleasant’s district, Mt. Vernon is the highest ranked team in 8th with a 0.623 RPI. The Mustangs’ loss to #4 Solon hurt their rankings. Assumption and Fort Madison rank 19th and 20th respectively, as the two fight for second place in the district and an automatic bid to the playoffs. Keokuk’s strength of schedule hurts their RPI as the Chiefs are 25th.
Since Gilbert is the only undefeated team remaining in Class 4A, it’s a no-brainer who is ranked #1 in Class 4A. ADM and Western Dubuque are right behind in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. North Scott, after being ranked #1 in The Gazette’s top 10 has since dropped two games and with a weak strength of schedule, the Lancers are ranked #16, which is second in their district. Burlington is in 30th with a 0.397 RPI.
It’s a dead-heat between Southeast Polk and Dowling Catholic in Class 5A, as both teams tout tough schedules and undefeated records; their RPI is only four-hundredths of a difference with Southeast Polk touting a 0.716 RPI. Bettendorf has been the surprise team this season after a 3-6 finish to last year, the Bulldogs are 5-1 and 3rd on the RPI list. Ottumwa is ranked 30th with a 0.392 RPI.
The playoffs will start for Classes 2A, 1A, A, and 8-Player on October 20th. The first round of Class 3A, Class 4A, and Class 5A will begin on October 27th.