Iowa high school football rankings: The Gazette’s 2024 post-Week 6 poll

Alex Manske remains spotless, and so does his team.

His newly minted top-ranked team.

Algona has the Class 3A top-ranked football squad in this week’s Gazette football poll, released Monday.

The door opened for the Bulldogs after Benton Community’s 21-20 upset over previous No. 1 Solon last week. Algona split the six first-place votes with Williamsburg and outpointed the Raiders, 57-55 for this week’s top billing.

An Iowa State commit, Manske has thrown 16 touchdown passes without an interception through six games.

In this week’s other notable event, West Hancock leapfrogged Guthrie Center ACGC for the No. 1 slot in Class A.

The defending-champion Eagles picked up their second straight shutout, 47-0, while ACGC fought past IKM-Manning, 56-28.

Both teams snagged three first-place votes, with West Hancock recording a 57-55 edge in poll points.

West Des Moines Valley maintains a slim edge on West Des Moines Dowling, 56-55, for the No. 1 spot in Class 5A despite the Maroons’ 4-2 advantage in first-place votes. Both teams are 5-1.

Unbeaten Bettendorf remains at No. 3, followed by Pleasant Valley and Ankeny Centennial. Linn-Mar is up a notch to No. 6; Iowa City Liberty is eighth.

Lewis Central still is a unanimous No. 1 in Class 4A and headlines a top six that is unchanged from last week. Pella is second, then it’s North Polk, Gilbert, Decorah and Adel ADM. Cedar Rapids Xavier is up one spot to No. 7.

Solon’s loss caused the rest of last week’s 3A top five to climb a spot. After Algona and Williamsburg, it’s Dubuque Wahlert and Sergeant Bluff-Luton at Nos. 3 and 4, with Solon and Mount Vernon tied for fifth.

Williamsburg hosts Solon this week; Algona is at No. 7 Humboldt.

There is no movement in the top seven in 2A. West Lyon remains No. 1, followed by Monroe PCM, Spirit Lake, Van Meter and Carroll Kuemper.

Grundy Center, Wilton, Dike-New Hartford and Emmetsburg remain the top four in 1A. Iowa City Regina is up a spot to fifth.

Other than West Hancock’s move, change was minimal in the smallest two classes. Saint Ansgar, Lisbon and Earlham round out the top five in Class A, with Remsen St. Mary’s, Algona Garrigan, Don Bosco, Audubon and Lenox the top contenders in 8-Player.

The Gazette’s post-Week 6 football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Des Moines Valley (2) 5-1 56 1

2. West Des Moines Dowling (4) 5-1 55 2

3. Bettendorf 6-0 47 3

4. Pleasant Valley 5-1 46 4

5. Ankeny Centennial 4-2 31 5

6. Linn-Mar 5-1 26 7

7. Johnston 4-2 25 9

8. Iowa City Liberty 5-1 20 8

9. Waukee 4-2 8 —

10. Sioux City East 4-2 7 10

Dropped out: Southeast Polk (6).

Others receiving votes: Ankeny 4, Iowa City High 4, Southeast Polk 1.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Lewis Central (6) 6-0 60 1

2. Pella 6-0 50 2

3. North Polk 6-0 49 3

4. Gilbert 6-0 39 4

5. Decorah 6-0 38 5

6. Adel ADM 5-1 32 6

7. Cedar Rapids Xavier 4-2 24 8

8. North Scott 4-2 14 7

9. Newton 4-2 8 9

T-10. Indianola 4-2 6 —

T-10. Western Dubuque 4-2 6 —

Dropped out: Ballard (10).

Others receiving votes: Ballard 2, Waverly-Shell Rock 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Algona (3) 6-0 57 2

2. Williamsburg (3) 5-1 53 3

3. Dubuque Wahlert 6-0 45 4

4. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6-0 44 5

T-5. Mount Vernon 5-1 31 5

T-5. Solon 5-1 31 1

7. Humboldt 5-1 24 9

8. Sioux City Heelan 5-1 16 10

9. Independence 4-2 14 7

10. Nevada 5-1 9 10

Dropped out: Clear Lake (8).

Others receiving votes: West Delaware 3, Clear Lake 2, Benton Community 1.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Lyon (4) 6-0 58 1

2. Monroe PCM (1) 6-0 53 2

3. Spirit Lake (1) 5-1 51 3

4. Van Meter 5-1 40 4

5. Carroll Kuemper 5-1 35 5

6. North Fayette Valley 5-1 25 6

7. Northeast 6-0 22 7

8. Central Lyon-GLR 4-2 14 9

9. Roland-Story 4-2 12 10

10. Western Christian 4-2 8 —

Dropped out: Cherokee (8).

Others receiving votes: West Marshall 5, Cherokee 4, Mid-Prairie 2, Des Moines Christian 1.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Grundy Center (5) 6-0 59 1

2. Wilton (1) 6-0 50 2

3. Dike-New Hartford 5-1 48 3

4. Emmetsburg 6-0 42 4

5. Iowa City Regina 6-0 36 6

6. Ida Grove OABCIG 5-1 35 7

7. South Hardin 5-1 20 5

8. Treynor 5-1 17 8

9. Sigourney-Keota 5-1 12 8

10. Hinton 5-1 8 —

Dropped out: MFL MarMac (10).

Others receiving votes: Alburnett 1, Avoca AHSTW 1, Woodward-Granger 1.

CLASS A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Hancock (3) 6-0 57 2

2. Guthrie Center ACGC (3) 6-0 55 1

3. Saint Ansgar 5-1 43 3

4. Lisbon 6-0 36 4

5. Earlham 5-1 33 5

6. Tri-Center 5-1 29 7

7. Le Mars Gehlen 5-1 24 6

8. Woodbury Central 5-1 21 7

9. North Linn 6-0 19 9

10. Madrid 4-2 9 10

Others receiving votes: Starmont 2, Maquoketa Valley 1, Mount Ayr 1.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Remsen St. Mary’s (5) 6-0 56 1

2. Algona Garrigan (1) 6-0 49 2

3. Don Bosco 6-0 43 4

4. Audubon 6-0 41 3

5. Lenox 6-0 40 5

6. Iowa Valley 6-0 30 6

7. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 5-1 22 8

8. Anita CAM 5-1 16 7

9. Bedford 5-1 14 9

10. Woodbine 6-0 13 10

Others receiving votes: Southeast Warren 6, Edgewood-Colesburg 2.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com