Iowa high school football rewind: Former sleeping giant Clear Creek Amana has its eyes wide open now

It was going to be a short night of sleep anyway. Lance Pedersen chose to make it shorter.

Before dawn Saturday, Pedersen was in a tree stand, keeping watch in a field near Victor as his sons hunted deer.

“It’s a nice morning to be outside,” Pedersen said via cellphone.

Even nicer after a breakthrough victory.

Clear Creek Amana announced its football arrival Friday night, knocking off perennial power Cedar Rapids Xavier, 28-24, at Saints Field.

Considered a “sleeping giant” for years, CCA (5-3 overall, 3-1 Class 4A District 3) has its eyes wide-open now. The Clippers climbed into a first-place tie with Xavier (5-3, 3-1) and North Scott (6-2, 3-1) with one game remaining.

All three are heavily favored to win in Week 9; two will qualify automatically, the third would appear to be an at-large lock via RPI.

“As the season has continued, the guys have believed more and more,” said Pedersen, in his first year at CCA after highly successful stints at Wilton and Mount Vernon. “We had a great week of practice, and things really came together this week. I thought we matched up well.”

CCA trailed 17-7 at halftime, then rallied.

Clayton Isham recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to make it 17-14 midway through the third quarter, then Owen Rosenberg intercepted a pass deep in CCA territory to keep the Clippers close.

Conlan Poynton threw a pair of fourth-quarter TD passes, including an 11-yard connection to Cale Berry with 1:02 remaining to put CCA in front for good.

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Photos: Clear Creek Amana at Xavier high school football

Clear Creek Amana was 3-6 in both 2022 and 2023.

“When I looked at the job, I called a lot of people,” Pedersen said. “Nobody had been here long enough to get things rolling.

“The facilities here are outstanding. They’ve always had athletes. We have some really good skill players, and some experience in the offensive line.”

And now, the Clippers have belief. They’ll try to nail down a playoff berth next week at home against Clinton.

Week 8 eye-openers

* Jack Wallace put another stamp on a prolific senior season, passing for five touchdowns and running for two more in Iowa City West’s 49-35 upset win over 5A No. 4 Pleasant Valley.

Wallace completed 22 of 27 passes for 374 yards, and the Trojans (5-3) greatly enhanced their playoff hopes.

* You knew Iowa City High was going to try another two-point conversion late in yet another down-to-the-wire thriller. After all, the Little Hawks had been successful in identical situations earlier this season against Iowa City West and Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Linn-Mar stopped the Little Hawks’ two-point bid with 22 seconds left and held on for a 28-27 win at home. The Lions improved to 7-1.

* Anamosa held Northeast to minus-8 yards of total offense in the second half and claimed the Class 2A District 4 title with a 41-0 romp at home.

The Raiders (7-1, 4-1) stopped Northeast on first-and-goal twice in the first half. They’ll host Waukon in the first round of the 2A playoffs next week.

Here are the first-round pairings for 2A, 1A, A and 8-Player.

* Iowa Valley had been averaging a monstrous 70 points per game, but Belle Plaine was able to slow the Tigers and claimed an 8-Player non-district victory, 30-24.

Another change forthcoming atop 5A

The revolving door atop The Gazette’s Class 5A rankings in back in working order.

Ankeny’s 13-10 overtime victory over No. 1 West Des Moines Valley is likely to send a new team to the top, and current No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling has the inside track.

The big-school class produced a different No. 1 in each of the first five polls: Ankeny, then Valley, then Dowling, then Ankeny Centennial, then Valley again.

Valley had held the top spot for four consecutive weeks.

Expect a new leader in 4A, too. Season-long No. 1 Lewis Central absorbed a 21-7 loss to Norwalk.

Panelists will have a difficult assignment in choosing among Pella, Decorah and North Polk, all of which are unbeaten.

5A RPI derby coming together

The official numbers from the Iowa High School Athletic Association won’t be released until Monday, but The Gazette is projecting that nine teams have clinched spots in the 16-team field.

Those are Bettendorf, Iowa City Liberty, West Des Moines Dowling, Johnston, Linn-Mar, Pleasant Valley, West Des Moines Valley, Sioux City East and Iowa City High.

Teams that can qualify with a Week 9 win are Iowa City West, Ankeny Centennial, Ankeny, the Waterloo West/Ottumwa victor, Southeast Polk, Waukee and Cedar Falls.

Other teams mathematically alive include Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Cedar Rapids Prairie and Waukee Northwest.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com