116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
High playoff hopes for this Iowa Valley football team
The undefeated Class Eight-Player fourth-ranked Tigers host Janesville in Friday’s playoff semifinals as they seek a trip to the semifinals and UNI-Dome for the first time in 25 years
Oct. 30, 2025 4:24 pm, Updated: Oct. 30, 2025 5:17 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS - It has been 25 years.
Let’s say that again with emphasis. It has been 25 years!
That’s the last time Iowa Valley High School played a football game at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The Tigers lost to Aplington-Parkersburg in the Class 1A playoff semifinals.
A lot has happened in the quarter-century since that game, obviously. One of the big ones is that Iowa Valley isn’t in Class 1A anymore.
It’s not even playing the 11-player game. The Tigers have a Class 8-player program, a good one that believes it has a shot to return to the Dome.
Iowa Valley takes a 9-0 record and No. 4 ranking into its second-round playoff game Friday night at home against Janesville (6-4). This is the fourth straight postseason trip for the school, which lost in the second round the previous two years.
“I think our guys kind of know that we have that expectation,” said head coach Casey Krull. “We think we can get there. But ultimately our goal right now is to take care of Janesville on Friday. You can’t overlook anybody at this point. Yeah, that’s one of our goals, to reach the Dome, to reach the semifinals. But we know how important each week is and know it can be ended just like that.”
Iowa Valley, which beat No. 8 Don Bosco in the regular season, is in a playoff pod that also includes fifth-ranked Audubon and Montezuma, the latter of which gave IV one of its closest game in the regular season, 83-64. There are a ton of points scored in the 8-player game.
The survivor of the four makes it to the semifinals, which are indoors in Cedar Falls.
“I think that’s pretty accurate,” Iowa Valley’s Nolan Kriegel said of his team’s ultimate goal. “I’m pretty confident with our team that we have the ability to do something great like that. I think it’d be really cool for our community. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to the Dome.”
“We’ve been talking about it,” said Iowa Valley’s Josh Read. “We talked about it a little bit last year, but it wasn’t really as big of a reality. We had more of an outside shot. This year, going into my senior year, it was like ‘Let’s get to the Dome this season.’”
Kriegel is one of the top players in the state, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior with the size, speed and athleticism to score a touchdown any time he has the football. The third-year starting quarterback - who has taken game-day visits to Iowa and Iowa State, among other schools - has a combined 2,222 yards rushing and passing this season, as well as 54 TDs and 10 two-point conversions.
He hopes eventually to follow teammate Caleb Haack to Division I college football. Haack is a redshirt freshman tight end at Northern Illinois.
“He can do a lot of different things for us,” Krull said. “He’s a really athletic kid that when you put the ball in his hands, he has the ability to make plays. We’re really fortunate to have him on our team. He’s always a home run threat whenever he touches the ball. We can put him in different positions, have done that a little bit throughout the year. Move him around a little bit.”
But Krull (and Kriegel) are quick to point out the importance of the other offensive players. Running back Dane Smith has 10 touchdowns, receiver Layne Peska nine, running back Chance Hoyt seven and tight end Josh Read four.
Mason Hoyt, Owen Ary, Lane Chvala and Dallas Sherman rotate on the offensive line. The Hoyts are the top two tacklers defensively for Iowa Valley, followed by Peska, Read and Kriegel.
“This season has gone great,” Read said. “We’ve got a great team, and I was telling my parents yesterday just how awesome of a coaching staff we have. Them being able to coach us and also the community that we have, they’re fun to be around. It just makes everything flow.”
“As a team, we’re all really close,” Kriegel said. “We’re all really good friends outside of sports. I think that helps a lot. Then we’ve got some of the best coaches in the state, I think. They obviously make us this good, get us in this position where we are right now. That helps a lot, too.”
Iowa Valley only has five seniors on its roster, which bodes well for next season. But it’s about this season right now.
“We’ve grown a lot since that Week 0 game against Springville, which is awesome to see,” Krull said. “We’ve had to battle through some adversity. We’ve had some guys get banged up or not be able to finish a complete half or a complete game early in the season because of cramps. So we’ve been able to develop some depth at different positions ... That’s been huge. Our guys just seem to get better each and every week.”
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
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