Iowa high school football 2023 rankings: The Gazette’s post-Week 8 poll

Strength of district became the determining factor in The Gazette’s final Class 2A Iowa high school football rankings.

Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, which had to wade through challenges from Cherokee, Western Christian and West Lyon on the way to the District 1 championship and an unbeaten regular season, rolls into the postseason as the No. 1 team.

A 7-0 Beef Bowl victory over West Lyon on Friday moved the Lions into sole possession of the top spot over Van Meter. CL-GLR received five of six first-place votes and a 59-55 edge on the Bulldogs. Last week, both of those factors were deadlocked.

Grundy Center (1A), Saint Ansgar (A) and Winfield-Mount Union (8-Player) also carry No. 1 tags into the postseason, which begins Friday in those classes.

Southeast Polk remained the top team, unanimously, in 5A after outlasting No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling in three overtimes, 37-34. Dowling stays second on all six Gazette ballots.

Waukee Northwest, Pleasant Valley and Bettendorf round out the big-school top five.

After sharing top billing in 4A for the past few weeks, Western Dubuque has the No. 1 slot all to itself — unanimously — after Adel ADM suffered a 24-0 loss to Indianola.

Cedar Rapids Xavier climbs to No. 2, and Lewis Central is third, followed by North Polk and North Scott.

Creston is a unanimous choice at the top in 3A. The Panthers are followed by Eastern Iowa challengers Solon, Williamsburg and Mount Vernon. Sioux Center is fifth.

West Lyon stays at No. 3 in 2A after the close loss to its county rival. Monticello is fourth, Spirit Lake fifth.

Last year’s Class A state champion, Grundy Center takes a 21-game win streak into the postseason. The rest of the 1A top five consists of Underwood, Sumner-Fredericksburg, MFL MarMac and Iowa City Regina.

Saint Ansgar tallied a 58-54 edge on Woodbury Central at the top of the final Class A poll. West Hancock is third, then it’s Madrid and Lisbon.

Winfield-Mount Union received three first-place votes in 8-Player, compared to two for No. 2 Anita CAM, and the Wolves’ poll-points advantage is 56-54 over the Cougars. Bedford is No. 3, with defending-champ Remsen St. Mary’s fourth (with one first-place vote).

Like Grundy Center, St. Mary’s has won 21 in a row.

Clarksville is fifth.

The final 5A-4A-3A poll will be released next Monday.

The Gazette’s post-Week 8 Iowa high school football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Southeast Polk (6) 8-0 60 1

2. West Des Moines Dowling 7-1 54 2

3. Waukee Northwest 6-2 44 6

4. Pleasant Valley 7-1 43 5

5. Bettendorf 7-1 34 8

6. Waukee 6-2 26 9

7. Ankeny Centennial 4-4 18 7

8. Ankeny 5-3 17 4

T-9. Cedar Falls 5-3 16 —

T-9. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 5-3 16 3

Dropped out: Cedar Rapids Prairie (10).

Others receiving votes: Johnston 2.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Western Dubuque (6) 7-1 60 1

2. Cedar Rapids Xavier 6-2 49 5

3. Lewis Central 6-2 46 4

4. North Polk 6-2 37 7

5. North Scott 6-2 36 6

T-6. Adel ADM 6-2 28 1

T-6. Bondurant-Farrar 6-2 28 3

T-8. Glenwood 6-2 13 —

T-8. Indianola 5-3 13 —

10. Pella 5-3 10 —

Dropped out: Gilbert (8), Le Mars (9), Norwalk (10).

Others receiving votes: Decorah 5, Gilbert 2, Newton 2, Ballard 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Creston (6) 8-0 60 1

2. Solon 7-1 51 3

3. Williamsburg 7-1 44 5

4. Mount Vernon 7-1 43 4

5. Sioux Center 7-1 36 6

6. Davenport Assumption 6-2 23 8

7. Clear Lake 7-1 18 2

8. Nevada 6-2 16 7

9. Sioux City Heelan 7-1 15 —

10. Harlan 5-3 13 10

Dropped out: Independence (9).

Others receiving votes: Humboldt 4, Webster City 4, Algona 2, Independence 1.

CLASS 2A (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. Central Lyon-GLR (5) 8-0 59 1

2. Van Meter (1) 8-0 55 1

3. West Lyon 7-1 45 3

4. Monticello 7-1 39 5

5. Spirit Lake 7-1 36 4

6. Carroll Kuemper 6-2 31 6

7. Western Christian 6-2 20 7

8. Monroe PCM 6-2 18 7

9. Roland-Story 6-2 13 9

10. Clarinda 6-2 5 10

Others receiving votes: Mediapolis 4, Cherokee 3.

CLASS 1A (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. Grundy Center (6) 8-0 60 1

2. Underwood 7-1 54 2

3. Sumner-Fredericksburg 7-1 45 3

4. MFL MarMac 7-1 43 4

5. Iowa City Regina 7-1 33 7

6. Sigourney-Keota 7-1 31 6

7. Dike-New Hartford 5-3 17 8

8. Wilton 7-1 13 5

9. West Branch 5-3 10 9

10. Treynor 7-1 8 —

Dropped out: Denver (10).

Others receiving votes: South Hamilton 7, Waterloo Columbus 4, Avoca AHSTW 3, Denver 2.

CLASS A (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. Saint Ansgar (4) 8-0 58 1

2. Woodbury Central (2) 8-0 54 2

3. West Hancock 7-1 48 3

4. Madrid 8-0 42 4

5. Lisbon 8-0 32 5

6. Guthrie Center ACGC 8-0 27 6

7. Lynnville-Sully 7-1 24 7

8. Wapsie Valley 7-1 18 8

9. Starmont 7-1 15 9

10. Logan-Magnolia 7-1 9 10

Others receiving votes: East Buchanan 3.

8-PLAYER (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. Winfield-Mount Union (3) 8-0 56 1

2. Anita CAM (2) 8-0 54 2

3. Bedford 8-0 44 3

4. Remsen St. Mary’s (1) 8-0 40 4

5. Clarksville 9-0 37 5

6. Central City 7-1 30 6

7. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 7-1 27 7

T-8. Don Bosco 7-1 18 8

T-8. Lenox 7-1 18 9

10. WACO 6-1 4 10

Others receiving votes: Audubon 2.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com