Iowa high school football: Gazette-area Week 2 games to watch

The following are area football capsules for Week 2 of the Iowa high school football season:

Marshalltown at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Site and time: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, at Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Marshalltown is 0-1; Jefferson is 1-0.

Overview: Close the book on Jefferson’s ghastly 26-game losing streak, snapped last week with a 33-24 victory at Muscatine. Now, let’s look ahead, and dare to dream a bit. Five more games on Jefferson’s schedule look entirely winnable, including each of the next four. Despite a 48-0 loss to Marshalltown last year, the J-Hawks appear to be — at the very least — on equal terms with the Bobcats this time around. Junior Ishara Kalolero ran for 251 yards and two touchdowns last week, and the J-Hawks allowed just three points in the final three quarters. Marshalltown is coming off a 32-3 loss to Mason City, managing just 205 yards of offense.

Williamsburg at Cedar Rapids Xavier

Site and time: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Saints Field

Records and rankings: Both teams are 1-0. Williamsburg is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A; Xavier is No. 1 in 4A.

Overview: Without a doubt, this is the area game of the week, and one of the top Week 2 matchups statewide. The reigning 4A state champion, Xavier stretched its winning streak to 14 games with a 41-6 rout of former 4A top-10 Waverly-Shell Rock, holding the Go-Hawks to 164 yards. Ronan Thomas completed 7 of 9 passes for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Last year’s 2A runner-up, Williamsburg was equally impressive last week in a 42-14 victory over West Branch. Kellen Cockrell passed for five touchdowns (and 253 yards) and ran for another. Four different Raiders caught TD passes, with Clayten Steckly harnessing two of them.

Linn-Mar at Cedar Rapids Washington

Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Class 5A No. 6 Linn-Mar is 1-0; Washington is 0-1.

Overview: These teams have split their last 10 encounters evenly, with Linn-Mar winning the last two. The Lions are solidly favored to do it again. They opened with a 64-7 romp at Dubuque Senior — it was 43-7 at halftime — behind a five-touchdown night (two passing, three rushing) by junior QB Austin Waller. Talan Sivertsen and Dylan Muszynski combined for 181 rushing yards, and the Lions captured three takeaways. Washington’s fortunes against Dubuque competition weren’t nearly as good, a 28-7 loss to Hempstead. Grady McGuire passed for 175 yards, 101 to J'Quari Willis (on five receptions).

Marion at Benton Community

Site and time: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Van Horne

Records and rankings: Both teams are 1-0.

Overview: Defense was the key word for both teams in Week 1, with the Wolves and the Bobcats both posting shutout victories. Marion stuffed Clear Creek Amana, limiting the Clippers to 191 yards, including 43 ground yards on 40 attempts. Hunter Horak ran for a touchdown, and Trey Franck hit Darius Rouson for a 34-yard TD pass. Benton topped county rival Vinton-Shellsburg for the eighth straight time, 49-0, limiting the Vikings to 182 yards. The Bobcats compiled 348 rushing yards (nearly 10 per carry), and were buoyed by 164 yards and three touchdowns by Owen Tjelmeland.

Dubuque Senior at Cedar Rapids Prairie

Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at John Wall Field

Records and rankings: Senior is 0-1; Class 5A No. 7 Prairie is 1-0.

Overview: Prairie made a winner out of first-year coach Kyle Knock in his debut, holding off former 5A No. 3 Cedar Falls, 20-17. Quarterback Will Phillips passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns, both to Apollo Payne (6 receptions, 101 yards). The Hawks will be heavy favorites this week against a Senior squad that absorbed a 64-7 beating at the hands of Linn-Mar, then get ready for a road trip to No. 1 Southeast Polk in Week 3.

Iowa City West at Urbandale

Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at Urbandale

Records and rankings: West is 1-0; Urbandale is 0-1.

Overview: After outlasting Iowa City Liberty in its opener, West journeys to Central Iowa for an encounter with an unfamiliar opponent. Trojans quarterback Jack Wallace, now in his third year as the West starter, passed for 221 yards in the 35-28 triumph over Liberty, with Izaiah Loveless (7 catches, 191 yards, 2 TDs) the primary target. The Trojans rallied from a 21-14 halftime deficit to pick up the win. Urbandale opened with a 31-0 loss to Indianola, now ranked No. 9 in Class 4A, in which it managed just 33 yards of total offense and netted minus-33 on the ground.

Mid-Prairie at Iowa City Regina

Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at Regina

Records and rankings: Mid-Prairie is 1-0; Class 1A No. 7 Regina is 1-0.

Overview: Regina exhibited some aerial prolificity in a 44-6 opening-week victory over West Liberty. Quarterback Gentry Dumont passed for 179 yards, and receivers Jackson Naeve and Ty Joss made the most of their opportunities. Both caught two passes, and both scored two touchdowns. This will mark a small step up in competition before the Regals make a big climb in Week 3 against 2A No. 8 Mediapolis. Mid-Prairie opened with a 13-0 loss to Wilton, managing 259 yards of offense but no points. Sophomore Kaden Kos collected 13.5 tackles for the Golden Hawks.

Iowa City High at Iowa City Liberty

Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at North Liberty

Records and rankings: Both teams are 0-1.

Overview: When you get a matchup of two ICCSD schools, you’re guaranteed a great quarterback matchup. That’s what you’ll Friday in City’s Drew Larson and Liberty’s Graham Beckman. The latter ranks No. 1 in passing yards (285), and Larson is third with 262. But both teams are 0-1, and the loser will have some substantial ground to make up in the 5A RPI derby. Liberty let a halftime lead get away against Iowa City West, 35-28, and City took a 48-13 defeat against Joliet (Ill.) Catholic. The Bolts own a 3-2 advantage in this series, including a 36-19 win last year at Kinnick Stadium.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy at Pleasant Valley

Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Bettendorf (PVHS)

Records and rankings: Both teams are 0-1. Kennedy is ranked No. 8 in Class 5A.

Overview: Like City-Liberty, this is a battle of good teams that want to avoid 0-2. Kennedy challenged itself with a Saturday night home game with No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling, and competed favorably in a 38-21 defeat. Junior QB Vincenzo Gianforte passed for 269 yards and three touchdowns, completing 22 of 39 passes. Cyrus Courtney caught eight balls for 136 yards and a score. Pleasant Valley suffered a 30-10 loss to Bettendorf last week, allowing 264 rushing yards. Friday marks the first battle between these teams since 2015.

Dubuque Wahlert at Western Dubuque

Site and time: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Epworth

Records and rankings: Both teams are 1-0. Western Dubuque is ranked No. 6 in Class 4A.

Overview: Western Dubuque has stamped itself as one explosive outfit. The Bobcats scored from the start, and never really stopped, in a 61-27 victory over West Delaware last week, the first time they’ve gotten the better of the Hawks since 2011. Tanner Anderson (225 passing yards, five passing TDs) and Grant Glausser (206 rushing yards, 109 receiving yards, four total TDs) were the stars of the show. Wahlert did virtually all of its damage on the ground last week, compiling 392 rushing yards (12.3 per carry) in a 48-12 rout of Camanche. Michael Bormann ran for 208 yards on just 10 carries.

Iowa Valley at WACO

Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at Wayland

Records and rankings: Iowa Valley (2-0) is ranked No. 10 in 8-Player; WACO (1-0) is No. 5.

Overview: Iowa Valley appears to be one of the area’s best 8-player squads, based on early returns. The Tigers outscored their first two opponents by a 108-44 margin, and now test themselves against a 2022 Dome team in WACO. Freshman QB Nolan Kriegel has made an immediate impact, rushing for six touchdowns and passing for two more. WACO got to play its opener Saturday inside Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, and outlasted perennial power Fremont-Mills. Louden Huisenga had one rushing touchdown and one receiving TD. WACO beat Iowa Valley, 54-26, last year.

Easton Valley at Edgewood-Colesburg

Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at Edgewood

Records and rankings: Both teams are 1-0.

Overview: Ed-Co’s transition to 8-player football has included a pair of similar losses to Easton Valley (60-14 and 62-20), but the Vikings should be much more competitive this time around. They opened with an impressive 68-14 win over Elkader Central last week, rushing for 262 yards (11.9 per carry). Pryce Rochford led a balanced ground attack with 114 yards on just six carries, and two touchdowns. Easton Valley can still sling it; sophomore Keagan Lee completed 14 of 20 passes for 283 yards and six TDs in a 61-22 romp over New London.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com