Iowa high school football roundup: Week 4 scores, stats and more

Gazette area scores, stats and more from Week 4 of the 2022 Iowa high school football season.

4A No. 10 Iowa City Liberty 55, Clear Creek Amana 7

That’s Trey Gregoire by land, Garrett Gregoire by air.

And Iowa City Liberty in a rout.

The Gregoire twins scored two touchdowns apiece, and Class 4A 10th-ranked Liberty piled up 503 yards of total offense and blistered Clear Creek Amana, 55-7, in a non-district football game Friday night at Clear Creek Amana High School.

“It’s one of our biggest rivals, probably just as big as (Iowa) City High,” Garrett Gregoire said. “There’s a lot of online beefing; we go back and forth.

“We had to show them who’s boss.”

Liberty (3-1) bounced back from an upset loss last week at Western Dubuque in a major way, scoring the game’s final 49 points. The Lightning racked up 26 first downs and averaged 8.1 yards per play.

They were methodical at times, explosive at others.

“We were all pretty frustrated last week,” Liberty Coach James Harris said. “By Wednesday, we were pretty locked in.”

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Linder

East Buchanan 34, A No. 7 Alburnett 27

East Buchanan and Alburnett delivered the hard-fought battle everyone expected.

They also provided a high-scoring affair that neither team could have, or probably would have, predicted.

Hunter Bowers powered in from the 5 on fourth-and-goal in the final two minutes to help East Buchanan seal a 34-27 victory over Class A seventh-ranked Alburnett Friday night at Jim Carver Field of Mason Sports Complex.

Both teams had notched two shutouts in the first three weeks and ranked among the state’s best defenses in Class A, allowing less than five points per game.

“I would have said probably not,” Buccaneers Coach Jerry Alden said about expecting 61 total points, “but (Alburnett) is such an explosive offense. They have receivers that can go up and catch anything. They proved that tonight.”

East Buchanan scored 28 points in the second half, including three touchdowns from Bowers. He scored on runs of 43 and 5 yards for the Buccaneers’ final two scores. The first helped East Buchanan take a 28-21 lead with 6:20 remaining. The last provided some breathing room, taking a pitch to the left and rolling through a couple defenders to get across the goal line.

“Cody Fox blocked two guys at once and just followed him,” Bowers said. “Get on his back and follow him to the goal line. He’ll take you where you want to go.”

East Buchanan rushed for 359 yards with Bowers, Thurn and Ryan Cornell surpassing 100 yards. Cornell and Bowers each had 121 yards, while Thurn had 116.

» Read more from The Gazette’s K.J. Pilcher

3A No. 4 Mount Vernon 42, Center Point-Urbana 6

The Mustangs just keep cruising.

Class 3A fourth-ranked Mount Vernon (4-0) kept the pedal to the metal and its undefeated season intact Friday night at Rogers Field, defeating the Stormin’ Pointers, 42-6, in a District 4 opener.

Junior quarterback Joey Rhomberg, 3A’s leader in completed passes, navigated the Mustangs’ offense, completing 19 of 28 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns.

Rhomberg’s first TD throw went to Austin Deeb from 10 yards out with 9:48 to go in the second.

Just before half, Rhomberg again found Deeb, this time for a 26-yard score to give Mount Vernon a 14-6 lead at half.

Watching film on them, they were playing Cover-3,” Rhomberg said. “Respectfully so, they covered Brady Erickson and double-teamed him and that was kind of a different look for us.

“That just meant kids like Austin Deeb and Jensen Meeker and Evan Brase, they all stepped up and did a nice job for us.”

Rhomberg eventually found Erickson with 2:21 to go in the third quarter for an 8-yard touchdown.

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Ryan Pleggenkuhle

5A No. 5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 55, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 6

The big play was out in full force during Friday night’s intracity showdown between Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Coach Ed Miles’ J-Hawks fired the first salvo as Ishara Kalolero took the opening kickoff back 92 yards for a score.

That 6-0 lead was short-lived … the rest of the big plays belonged to the Cougars.

Kennedy, ranked No. 5 in The Gazette’s Class 5A poll, needed just one play to take the lead, ripping off 55 straight points en route to a 55-6 Homecoming victory at Kingston Stadium.

Cougars Coach Brian White, whose team moved to 4-0, admitted he was not happy with the opening of the game, but was pleased with the quick response.

“It was really disappointing because we pride ourselves on special teams,” he said. “Through the first three games, we’ve played lights out on specials. That shows you what can happen if you take a play off, but we straightened it out and got it going in the right direction again.”

On Kennedy’s first play from scrimmage, Dominic Mann took a reverse pitch and went untouched 65 yards to score. That was the first of eight Cougar TDs, the shortest of the eight being 16 yards. Mann had a second score negated by a penalty after he ran an interception back.

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Mike Condon

Marion 20, 3A No. 8 DeWitt Central 13

Marion quarterback Kaleb Diers ran in a 1-yard sneak with 2.8 seconds left as the Wolves dumped DeWitt Central, 20-13, Friday night.

It was the second win over ranked team for the Wolves (2-2), who benefited from a late turnover as they secured a loose ball after a blown whistle just past midfield.

Diers hit Kaiden Griffith on fourth-and-6 to get to the Sabers’ 20 with 19 seconds left. Iowa commit Alex Mota, whose two first-quarter rushing touchdowns put Marion up early, then rushed to the pylon, but was pushed out at the 1 before Diers punched it in.

Mota had 64 yards on nine carries and Diers was 8 for 16 for 63 yards.

— Drake Lansman, Quad-City Times

4A No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier 17, 4A No. 6 North Scott 0

The Lancer football team had not dropped a regular season game in two years. It had not been shut out in seven years.

Cedar Rapids Xavier waltzed into Lancer Stadium and made a convincing September statement.

“They came out swinging really hard,” North Scott senior AJ Petersen said. “Tip the hat because they came prepared and ready to go. It lets us know this is a bad feeling and we’ve got to fix it.”

North Scott (3-1) had averaged more than 40 points a game during its first three outings behind the legs of quarterback Kyler Gerardy and an efficient passing game.

Xavier (4-0) did not let the junior or North Scott’s offense get comfortable.

The Lancers finished with only 217 yards of offense. They punted seven times and never were inside the Saints’ 30-yard line the entire game.

Xavier set the tone on the opening drive of the game.

Coach Duane Schulte’s club marched 73 yards on 16 plays, including a pair of third-down conversions. It settled for just a field goal, but clearly established some confidence and momentum.

The Saints used a pair of big plays to get separation.

Quarterback Ronan Thomas hit Aidan McDermott down the seam for a 45-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Then early in the fourth quarter, Thomas found a wide-open Grant Helme for a 32-yard score.

Xavier finished with 219 yards on the ground and another 115 through the air.

“(North Scott) is a great football program, really good coaches and really good players,” Schulte said. “To go on the road and get a win against that caliber of a program is a big deal.

“It is hard to get high school kids on a bus and go a hour-and-a-half and get a performance. These guys were dialed in tonight.”

— Matt Coss, Quad-City Times

5A No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie 18, Bettendorf 17

Prairie rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, scoring the winning touchdown and 2-point point conversion with 21 seconds left.

The Bulldogs defense, which played bend-don’t-break most of the game, allowed Prairie to get back to 17-10 when Jake Collett hit a 32-yard field goal to pull the visitors within seven.

Prairie quarterback Cal Sullivan threw 14 passes and ran three times to lead the visitors on a 98-yard drive. Prairie converted two fourth-down plays on the final drive. Sullivan found Makelle Taylor on an inside slant and Taylor fought his way into the end zone to make it 17-16.

After much discussion and timeouts from both teams, the visitors went for the win and Sullivan bulled his way in from the 3-yard-line on the 2-point conversion.

— Chris James, Quad-City Times

A No. 10 North Linn 63, Clayton Ridge 0

Cael Bridgewater had three touchdowns, including on a punt return, as the Lynx rolled at home.

Up 56-0 at halftime, North Linn (3-1) also scored on a blocked punt return by Landon Miller.

Quarterback Tate Haughenbury ran for two TDs and threw for one. Mason Bechen also had two touchdown runs. Haughenbury rushed for 117 yards and threw for 77.

Clayton Ridge is 1-3.

— Jeff Johnson

Cascade 14, 1A No. 1 Dyersville Beckman 13

One-hundred was a milestone, but for Cascade Coach Tim Frake, win No. 101 was even sweeter.

Cayden Gassmann’s 4-yard scoring run as time expired in the fourth quarter brought Beckman within a point, but Cascade’s defense — which displayed a gutsy performance all night despite a limited roster — stuffed Gassmann’s 2-point attempt to win the game as the Cougars held on at O’Meara Field.

“Obviously a big victory. Our kids played with a lot of heart,” Frake said. “We don’t send a lot of guys on the field … we’re not very deep, but those guys that are out there played hard. It’s a great victory. It was a great entertaining game. That’s what high school football is all about.”

Jack Menster accounted for both Cascade scores and 168 yards on 27 carries, but it was the Cougars defense, despite a limited roster, that shined the most.

— Danny Miller, Dubuque Telegraph-Herald

1A No. 5 West Branch 86, Louisa-Muscatine 0

Andy Henson tied a school record with six rushing touchdowns to lead the Bears on the road.

Henson finished with 167 yards on just nine carries.

The Bears scored via rush, pass, interception return, safety and on a punt return.

— Jason Miller

Monticello 61, Tipton 14

The Panthers scored on their first play from scrimmage, their first three possessions and six of their first seven to win on the road.

Monticello led 47-0 at halftime.

Quarterback Preston Ries threw for 271 yards and three scores for the Panthers (2-2, 1-0), all in the first half. Peyton Schilling had three catches for 120 yards and two TDs, and Tate Petersen had 118 receiving yards.

Landon Holub scored both touchdowns for Tipton (0-4, 0-1).

— Pete Temple

Decorah 28, Charles City 0

Jaden Baker scored two rushing touchdowns as the Vikings won at home.

Decorah limited the Comets to 68 yards of offense and scored on two safeties.

Baker scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards. Erik Hjelle kicked a 24-yard field goal and Erik Hjelle scored on a 4-yard run.

— Randy Iverson

3A No. 8 Independence 14, Vinton-Shellsburg 7

Mitchell Johnson rushed for 102 yards and passed for 93 and two touchdowns as the Mustangs won at home.

Mitchell completed 12 of 18 passes, including seven to Brady McDonald, who caught one of the two TD passes.

Bennett Rickels scored the Vikings’ lone TD.

— Matt Shannon

4A No. 2 Waverly-Shell Rock 42, West Delaware 7

Cole Marsh passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns as the Go-Hawks rolled on the road.

Marsh completed 11 of 18 passes, including TD tosses to Asa Newsome and Tyler Gayer. Newsome also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a TD to open the third quarter.

Will Ward led the Hawks with 104 yards on 13 rushes, including a 54-yard TD.

— Bill Logan

Northeast 22, Anamosa 21

Trailing 21-14 late in the game, the Rebels scored with 16 seconds left, capped by Ethan Elethrope’s game-winning 2-point conversion.

Anamosa was down 14-0, but when Kale Nebergall scored on a third-quarter 10-yard run and Devin Brophy followed with an 18-yard TD run, the game was tied 14-14.

Nebergall scored on a 5-yard run with eight minutes left in the fourth break the tie.

Anamosa rushed for 197 yards, led by Brophy’s 78 yards on 17 carries. Angelo Cudahy added 76 more on 14 attempts. Brophy also was 6-of-13 passing for 57 yards.

Northeast QB Gavin Kramer threw for 272 yards.

— Daryl Schepanski

Western Dubuque 48, Dubuque Hempstead 6

Grant Glausser rushed for more than 100 yards in the opening quarter, and Caleb Klein and Brett Harris hooked up for two long touchdowns --- including a school-record 98-yard score — in the second as the Bobcats won at Dalzell Field.

Glausser finished with 205 yards and two touchdowns on the ground — his second straight game over 200 yards — as Western Dubuque (2-2) improved to 5-0 all-time against Hempstead’s varsity.

Harris, a freshman making his second start, completed 6 of 10 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and Klein finished with three catches for 158 yards and two scores.

Kaleb Reed added 145 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Bobcats totaled 366 rushing yards and 545 yards of offense.

— Tim O’Neill, Dubuque Telegraph-Herald

Scoreboard

» Live Gazette area scoreboard

» How the ranked teams fared in Week 4

» Bound statewide scorelist