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Iowa high school football playoffs: Friday's quarterfinal scores and coverage
Twenty-four Iowa high school football teams earned trips to the UNI-Dome Friday night with quarterfinal victories.
Here's a look at our area coverage and all the scores from around the state.
» Updated Iowa high school football playoff pairings, schedule
Bettendorf 43, Iowa City West 28
The rematch looked nothing like the the first time around with one exception — the same team got the win.
When Bettendorf downed Iowa City West in the regular season, it was a defensive battle, with the Bulldogs winning 10-7 in Week 2 at home. Friday night in the Class 4A quarterfinals at Trojan Field, the offenses came to life.
The Bulldogs spotted the Trojans an 11-0 lead, before their offense took control and their defense settled in. They scored the next four touchdowns of the game and held on for a 43-28 victory.
Cedar Rapids Xavier 42, Decorah 6
Before he conducted a postgame interview, Duane Schulte politely asked if he could be a father for a few minutes first.
The Cedar Rapids Xavier football coach stood with other Saints parents, watching and shooting photos as 31 seniors lined up together and walked the grass turf at Saints Field for the last time. This group never lost a game here, from their freshmen year to Friday night's 42-6 win over Decorah in a Class 3A playoff quarterfinal.
Top-ranked Xavier (11-0) dominated a rematch of a regular-season game the Saints won, 45-3. The yardage totals told the entire story here, as Xavier had 400 yards to Decorah's 37.
West Liberty 42, Benton Community 14
The ball backed up to their own goal line, midway through the third quarter, West Liberty's leaders gave their own version of a pep talk.
One was direct.
'I just told the guys, we're going to drive the ball down their throats, we're going to use some clock, and we're going to score,' quarterback Seth Feldman said.
West Liberty then embarked on a 99-yard touchdown drive, igniting a second-half onslaught.
Waukon 24, Algona 21
Two big stands and two long drives.
Waukon demonstrated grit and toughness, thwarting two Algona drives and following with two clock-melting drives in the second half. The first produced the only score after the break and the second sealed the Indians' return to the UNI-Dome.
Dawson Baures scored three total touchdowns and converted a key fourth-and-2 with a little more than a minute left to cement Class 2A third-ranked Waukon's 24-21 victory over No. 6 Algona.
Western Dubuque 45, North Scott 21
Western Dubuque has a 2,000-yard passer and almost a 1,000-yard receiver on its football team.
But it wasn't Calvin Harris' arm or Drake George's pass-catching ability that has the Bobcats in the UNI-Dome for the first time in 17 years.
Western Dubuque used a dominant run game to cruise past North Scott, 45-21, in a Class 3A quarterfinal Friday night at Lancer Stadium in Eldridge.
The Bobcats ran the ball 68 times for 384 yards.
'That hasn't been our M.O.,' Western Dubuque Coach Justin Penner said. 'But our offensive line has really been incredible this year and just steadily has gotten better.'
Jake Hosch compiled 32 carries for 191 yards and three touchdowns. Harris accumulated 115 yards and two scores on the ground.
A week after throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Solon, Western Dubuque (9-2) completed only three passes.
'Our linemen did a phenomenal job preparing for this week,' Harris said. 'Coach always says, 'Put your fingers in the ground and let's go.' We punched it right down their throats.'
After North Scott (9-2) scored less than 30 seconds into the third quarter to take a 21-20 lead, Western Dubuque responded with a touchdown less than three minutes later.
It was the start of 25 straight points for the Bobcats, who avenged a 7-6 loss to the Lancers in Week 4.
— Matt Coss, Quad-City Times
Monroe PCM 55, Williamsburg 34
Top-ranked PCM jumped out to a big lead and then held off upset-minded Williamsburg with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns Friday night in Monroe.
The Mustangs led 35-7 at halftime and advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals. It's the third trip to the UNI-Dome for PCM (11-0).
PCM senior Wes Cummings won the head-to-head battle with Williamsburg's Gage Hazen-Fabor. Cummings finished with 191 rushing yards and one touchdown, and PCM tallied a school-record 569 total yards in the win.
Hazen-Fabor was held under 50 yards in the first half but got loose for a 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that made it 41-13. Hazen-Fabor finished with 157 rushing yards and two TDs on 31 carries.
— Troy Hyde, Newton Daily News
Van Meter 31, West Branch 21
The sixth-ranked Bears lost to defending state champion and No. 3 Van Meter.
The Bulldogs raced out to a 21-0 lead before West Branch scored. That deficit proved too deep, as the Bears just could not get anything going in the first half.
The Bears cut the score to 24-14 early in the third quarter on a Tanner Lukavsky run. Lukavsky ended up with 75 yards on nine carries.
— Jason Miller,correspondent
Hudson 41, Highland 14
A 14-14 halftime score turned into a Class A blowout behind Christian Seres and three Highland turnovers in the second half.
Highland's Trey Lasek scored on the third play from scrimmage, bursting through for a 71-yard touchdown.
The Huskies totaled just 25 yards in the second half.
Series totaled 253 yards in the game on 35 carries for top-ranked Hudson.
— Doug Brenneman, Washington Evening Jounral
Quarterfinal scores
Class 4A
Southeast Polk 21, No. 8 Johnston 7
No. 4 West Des Moines Dowling 31, No. 1 West Des Moines Valley 9
No. 3 Cedar Falls 40, No. 7 Waukee 7
No. 5 Bettendorf 43, No. 5 Iowa City West 28
Class 3A
No. 5 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 27, Spencer 0
No. 2 Lewis Central 35, No. 10 Harlan 14
No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier 42, No. 10 Decorah 6
No. 8 Western Dubuque 45, No. 3 North Scott 21
Class 2A
No. 1 Monroe PCM 55, Williamsburg 34
No. 2 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 48, No. 5 Southeast Valley 6
No. 3 Waukon 24, No. 6 Algona 21
West Liberty 42, No. 4 Benton Community 14
Class 1A
No. 2 West Sioux 34, No. 4 South Central Calhoun 20
Pella Christian 23, No. 5 Bellevue 21
No. 1 Dike-New Hartford 37, No. 7 Interstate 35 0
No. 3 Van Meter 31, No. 6 West Branch 21
Class A
No. 1 Hudson 41, Highland 14
No. 5 Edgewood-Colesburg 6, No. 2 Algona Garrigan 0
No. 6 West Hancock 50, Akron-Westfield 14
No. 3 Avoca AHSTW 31, Mason City Newman 14
8-Player
No. 6 New London 56, No. 2 Iowa Valley 20
No. 5 Southeast Warren 46, No. 1 Ar-We-Va 44
No. 4 Fremont-Mills 61, No. 7 Exira-EHK 20
Rockford 32, No. 3 Don Bosco 26 (OT)
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