Iowa high school football 2023: Who the ranked teams face in Week 5

With the start of district play in Classes 4A and 3A and group schedules beginning in Class 5A, this week’s Iowa high school football schedule is relatively light on ranked-vs.-ranked games.

The storylines remain plentiful nonetheless. For example:

• Three of the seven ranked matchups come in Class 2A, two in District 1. After beating No. 9 Cherokee last week, No. 4 Western Christian hosts another fellow unbeaten, No. 3 West Lyon. Cherokee has to turn around and face No. 2 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock.

• For the third straight week, Class A’s top-ranked team faces a Top-10 opponent. The previous two lost and fell from the top spot. How will Saint Ansgar (which beat then-No. 1 West Hancock in Week 3) fare at No. 6 Nashua-Plainfield?

• The best district-opening games in 4A and 3A are in Western Iowa, where No. 7 Council Bluffs Lewis Central hosts No. 9 Glenwood in 4A-6 and No. 3 Creston hosts No. 2 Harlan in 3A-6. The Panthers beat Lewis Central, 22-20, a week after the Cyclones lost to those Titans by almost the same margin, 21-20. But two-time defending state champion Harlan remains ranked higher, making this a prove-it week out west.

• Five of the eight 11-player teams that dropped out of the poll this week have an immediate opportunity to shake up the rankings again. Indianola hosts 4A No. 10 Ballard, Webster City welcomes 3A No. 6 Clear Lake and East Buchanan plays host to A No. 5 North Linn. In Class 1A, Sumner-Fredericksburg visits No. 2 MFL MarMac and Avoca AHSTW entertains No. 6 Treynor.

Here’s who all 71 teams ranked in this week’s Gazette poll face.

Class 5A

No. 1 Southeast Polk (4-0) at Sioux City East (2-2)

No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (4-0) vs. Des Moines Roosevelt (2-2), Thursday (at Des Moines Hoover)

No. 3 Bettendorf (4-0) vs. Dubuque Hempstead (3-1)

No. 4 Pleasant Valley (3-1) at Dubuque Senior (0-4)

No. 5 Waukee (3-1) at No. 10 Johnston (2-2)

No. 6 Ankeny Centennial (2-2) vs. Des Moines East (0-4)

No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (2-2) at Iowa City High (2-2)

No. 8 Ankeny (2-2) at Iowa City West (2-2)

No. 9 Waukee Northwest (2-2) vs. Waterloo West (3-1)

No. 10 Johnston (2-2) vs. No. 5 Waukee (3-1)

Class 4A

No. 1 Adel ADM (3-1) at Boone (3-1)

No. 1 Western Dubuque (3-1) vs. Waverly-Shell Rock (0-4)

No. 3 Bondurant-Farrar (3-1) at Newton (2-2)

No. 4 North Scott (3-1) vs. Burlington (2-2)

No. 5 North Polk (3-1) vs. Des Moines North (1-3)

No. 6 Gilbert (4-0) vs. Des Moines Hoover (0-4)

No. 7 Council Bluffs Lewis Central (2-2) vs. No. 9 Glenwood (3-1)

No. 8 Cedar Rapids Xavier (2-2) at Clinton (0-4)

No. 9 Glenwood (3-1) at No. 7 Council Bluffs Lewis Central (2-2)

No. 10 Ballard (2-2) at Indianola (2-2)

No. 10 Norwalk (3-1) vs. Winterset (2-2)

Class 3A

No. 1 Williamsburg (4-0) vs. South Tama (0-4)

No. 2 Harlan (3-1) at No. 3 Creston (4-0)

No. 3 Creston (4-0) vs. No. 2 Harlan (3-1)

No. 4 Davenport Assumption (3-1) vs. Fort Madison (3-1)

No. 5 Hampton-Dumont-CAL (4-0) at Humboldt (2-2)

No. 6 Clear Lake (4-0) at Webster City (3-1)

No. 7 Sioux City Heelan (4-0) at Sioux Center (3-1)

No. 8 Mount Vernon (3-1) at Mount Pleasant (0-4)

No. 9 Solon (3-1) at Grinnell (3-1)

No. 10 Nevada (3-1) at Perry (1-3)

Class 2A

No. 1 Van Meter (4-0) vs. Clarke (2-2)

No. 2 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-0) at No. 9 Cherokee (3-1)

No. 3 West Lyon (4-0) at No. 4 Western Christian (4-0)

No. 4 Western Christian (4-0) vs. No. 3 West Lyon (4-0)

No. 5 Spirit Lake (3-1) vs. Okoboji (0-4)

No. 6 Monticello (3-1) vs. Northeast (1-3)

No. 7 Osage (3-1) vs. North Fayette Valley (1-3)

No. 8 Greene County (3-1) vs. No. 10 Carroll Kuemper (2-2)

No. 9 Cherokee (3-1) vs. No. 2 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-0)

No. 10 Carroll Kuemper (2-2) at No. 8 Greene County (3-1)

Class 1A

No. 1 Grundy Center (4-0) at Waterloo Columbus (3-1), Thursday

No. 2 MFL MarMac (4-0) vs. Sumner-Fredericksburg (3-1)

No. 3 Underwood (3-1) vs. Shenandoah (2-2)

No. 4 Iowa City Regina (4-0) at Cascade (0-4)

No. 5 Denver (4-0) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (2-2)

No. 6 Treynor (4-0) at Avoca AHSTW (2-2)

No. 7 Wilton (4-0) at Durant (0-4)

No. 8 Sigourney-Keota (3-1) at Pleasantville (2-2)

No. 9 Dike-New Hartford (2-2) vs. Central Springs (1-3)

No. 10 Pella Christian (3-1) vs. Eddyville EBF (2-2)

Class A

No. 1 Saint Ansgar (4-0) at No. 6 Nashua-Plainfield (4-0)

No. 2 Woodbury Central (4-0) at Council Bluffs St. Albert (1-3)

No. 3 Madrid (4-0) vs. Earlham (3-1)

No. 4 West Hancock (3-1) at West Fork (1-3)

No. 5 North Linn (4-0) at East Buchanan (2-2)

No. 6 Nashua-Plainfield (4-0) vs. No. 1 Saint Ansgar (4-0)

No. 7 Lisbon (4-0) at Pekin (3-1)

No. 8 Guthrie Center ACGC (4-0) vs. Oakland Riverside (1-3)

No. 9 Lynnville-Sully (3-1) at Wayne (2-2)

No. 10 Lake Mills (4-0) at North Union (2-2)

8-Player

No. 1 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (4-0) vs. Janesville (3-1)

No. 2 Winfield-Mount Union (4-0) vs. English Valleys (2-2)

No. 3 Anita CAM (4-0) at Exira-EHK (2-2)

No. 4 Bedford (4-0) at Mormon Trail (1-3)

No. 5 Remsen St. Mary’s (4-0) at Newell-Fonda (2-2)

No. 6 Central City (3-1) vs. Calamus-Wheatland (1-3)

No. 7 Don Bosco (3-1) at West Central (1-3)

No. 8 Lenox (3-1) at East Union (2-2)

No. 9 Clarksville (5-0) at Turkey Valley (3-1)

No. 10 Westside Ar-We-Va (4-0) vs. Woodbine (2-2)

Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com