No. 1, from start to finish

Pella, Iowa City Regina and Newell-Fonda have completed a wire-to-wire run as the No. 1 teams in their respective classes in the Gazette/KCRG/KGYM football poll.

The three defending state champions sit on top of Class 3A, Class 1A and 8-player. Just as they began the season.

Not much has changed atop the six classes for the past month.

West Des Moines Dowling (8-0), another defending champion, has been on top since beating West Des Moines Valley in Week 4. The Maroons drew six first-place votes and finished with a 78-72 edge on No. 2 Bettendorf (9-0).

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (9-0), Cedar Rapids Washington (8-1) and Ankeny (8-1) round out the top five.

Pella (9-0) has been a unanimous No. 1 all season after a dominant run to the 3A title last year. Cedar Rapids Xavier (8-0) and West Delaware (9-0) share the No. 2 spot and are followed by Webster City (9-0) in fourth, Independence (8-1) in fifth.

For the fourth consecutive week, Albia and Spirit Lake (both 9-0) have shared the No. 1 slot in 2A with 73 points. Albia received four first-place votes, Spirit Lake three. South Tama (9-0) is No. 3, followed by Anamosa (9-0) and Waukon (8-1).

Regina (8-1) begins its quest for a sixth consecutive state championship Wednesday, when it faces Bellevue. The Regals have won 77 of their last 79 games. West Branch (9-0) moves up to No. 2, followed by Underwood (9-0), Dike-New Hartford (8-1) and Van Meter (8-1).

BGM (9-0) has been the top-rated Class A team since Week 4. Algona Garrigan (9-0) is second, followed by Denver (8-1), defending champion Logan-Magnolia (8-1) and West Sioux (9-0).

Newell-Fonda (9-0) has led the 8-player pack all season, though Don Bosco (7-0) has cut into the voting gap. Marcus MMC (8-0) is third, followed by Glidden-Ralston (8-0) and Janesville (8-0).

GAZETTE/KCRG/KGYM FOOTBALL POLL (Final), with first-round matchups

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

1. West Des Moines Dowling (6) 8-0 78 1 vs. Des Moines Lincoln (4-5)

2. Bettendorf (2) 9-0 72 2 vs. Davenport North (1-8)

3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 9-0 65 3 vs. Clinton (5-4)

4. Cedar Rapids Washington 8-1 56 4 vs. Cedar Falls (6-3)

5. Ankeny 8-1 40 6 vs. Indianola (5-4)

6. Waukee 7-2 37 5 vs. Sioux City East (5-4)

(tie) West Des Moines Valley 7-2 37 7 vs. Ames (4-5)

8. Ankeny Centennial 7-2 22 9 vs. Des Moines East (5-4)

9. Johnston 7-2 18 10 vs. Des Moines Hoover (6-3)

10. Pleasant Valley 7-2 11 —vs. Muscatine (6-3)

Dropped out: Fort Dodge (8).

Others receiving votes: Urbandale 4.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Pella (8) 9-0 80 1vs. Fairfield (4-5)

2. Cedar Rapids Xavier 8-0 68 3vs. Waverly-Shell Rock (6-3)

(tie) West Delaware 9-0 68 2vs. Benton Community (5-4)

4. Webster City 9-0 49 5vs. Humboldt (4-5)

5. Independence 8-1 39 6vs. Decorah (5-4)

6. Harlan 8-1 36 7vs. Creston (5-4)

7. Norwalk 8-1 30 8vs. Bondurant-Farrar (6-3)

8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 8-1 24 9vs. Spencer (5-4)

9. Sioux City Heelan 8-1 13 10vs. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (7-2)

10. Dallas Center-Grimes 7-2 12 4vs. Carlisle (6-3)

Others receiving votes: Glenwood 11, Davenport Assumption 10.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Albia (4) 9-0 73 1vs. Iowa Falls-Alden (4-5)

(tie) Spirit Lake (3) 9-0 73 1vs. Sioux Center (5-4)

3. South Tama (1) 9-0 67 3vs. Carroll Kuemper (3-6)

4. Anamosa 9-0 59 4vs. Baxter CMB (6-3)

5. Waukon 8-1 37 6vs. La Porte City Union (4-5)

6. North Fayette Valley 7-2 36 8vs. Cascade (4-5)

7. Mount Vernon 7-2 35 7vs. Dyersville Beckman (6-3)

8. Central Lee 8-1 23 9vs. Mediapolis (6-3)

9. Aplington-Parkersburg 7-2 22 5vs. Clear Lake (5-4)

10. Monroe PCM 7-2 8 —vs. Mid-Prairie (7-2)

Dropped out: Garner-Hayfield/Ventura (9).

Others receiving votes: Dyersville Beckman 3, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura 2, Mid-Prairie 1, Williamsburg 1.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Iowa City Regina (8) 8-1 80 1vs. Bellevue (4-5)

2. West Branch 9-0 71 3vs. Columbus Community (3-6)

3. Underwood 9-0 65 4vs. Interstate 35 (5-4)

4. Dike-New Hartford 8-1 47 2vs. Central Springs (3-6)

5. Van Meter 8-1 42 5vs. Manson Northwest Webster (3-6)

6. Hinton 8-1 31 6vs. Emmetsburg (5-4)

7. Saint Ansgar 8-1 29 9vs. Jesup (6-3)

8. South Central Calhoun 8-1 28 7vs. Missouri Valley (5-4)

9. South Winneshiek 7-2 18 —vs. Alburnett (7-2)

10. Western Christian 7-2 17 10vs. West Lyon (6-3)

Dropped out: Hudson (7).

Others receiving votes: Panorama 11.

CLASS A W-L Pts Pvs

1. BGM (6) 9-0 76 1vs. Danville (3-6)

2. Algona Garrigan (1) 9-0 59 2vs. Ackley AGWSR (4-5)

3. Denver (1) 8-1 58 4vs. Mason City Newman (4-5)

4. Logan-Magnolia 8-1 53 3vs. Woodbury Central (5-4)

5. West Sioux 9-0 51 5vs. Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto (5-4)

6. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 7-2 42 6vs. East Buchanan (6-3)

7. Audubon 8-1 35 7vs. Lawton-Bronson (6-3)

8. Winfield-Mount Union 9-0 28 8vs. North-Linn (4-5)

9. Mount Ayr 7-2 13 —vs. Bedford (6-3)

10. Pleasantville 8-1 7 —vs. Belmond-Klemme (7-2)

Dropped out: West Hancock (9), Pekin (10).

Others receiving votes: West Hancock 5, Colfax-Mingo 1, Maquoketa Valley 1, Pekin 1.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts Pvs

1. Newell-Fonda (5) 9-0 75 1vs. Harris-Lake Park (4-4)

2. Don Bosco (2) 7-0 69 2vs. Springville (5-5)

3. Marcus MMC 8-0 60 3vs. Kingsley-Pierson (7-3)

4. Glidden-Ralston (1) 9-0 56 4vs. Stanton (6-3)

5. Janesville 8-0 47 5vs. Meskwaki Settlement (4-5)

6. Elkader Central 9-0 40 6vs. Tripoli (5-4)

7. Lenox 9-0 36 7vs. Twin Cedars (5-4)

8. Ruthven GTRA 8-1 17 9vs. North Iowa (5-4)

9. Fremont-Mills 8-1 15 8vs. East Union (6-3)

10. Exira-EHK 8-1 13 10vs. East Mills (7-2)

Others receiving votes: HLV 6, Moravia 6.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com