Iowa high school football 2024: Gazette-area Week 1 games to watch

The following are area football capsules for Week 1 of the Iowa high school football season:

Cedar Rapids Kennedy at West Des Moines Dowling

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at West Des Moines (Valley Stadium)

Records and rankings: Class 5A No. 6 Kennedy was 6-4 last year; No. 3 Dowling was 9-2.

Overview: Kennedy hung with the perennial-power Maroons for much of their game last year at Kingston Stadium before Dowling pulled away late, 38-21. The Cougars will try to corral Dowling RB Ra’Shawd Davis, who ran for 1,418 yards (second in 5A) and 27 touchdowns (first) last year. Kennedy will counter with a passing attack led by Vinny Gianforte, third in 5A in both passing yards (2,367) and passing TDs (25).

Iowa City High at Joliet (Ill.) Catholic

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at Joliet, Ill.

Records and rankings: Class 5A No. 8 City High was 6-4 last year; Joliet Catholic was 10-4.

Overview: City High absorbed a 48-13 home loss to Joliet Catholic last year, and the Hilltoppers went on to become Illinois Class 5A state runners-up. The Little Hawks face another supreme test, this time on the road. City does return its quarterback; Bobby Bacon passed for 2,193 yards (completing better than two-third of his throws) and 18 touchdowns. Connor Cross and Parker Sutherland both accumulated 18 receptions.

Cedar Rapids Prairie at Cedar Falls

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at Cedar Falls H.S.

Records and rankings: Prairie was 5-5 last year; Cedar Falls was 7-4. Both teams are unranked.

Overview: The Hawks and the Tigers will break in Cedar Falls’ new outdoor, on-campus stadium. The winner probably will warrant some 5A top-10 consideration. Prairie won this game last year, 20-17, at John Wall Field. State 110-meter hurdles champion Quinton Alexander is the top returner on the Hawks’ defense; he collected 54.5 tackles last year. Cedar Falls very nearly pulled off a playoff shocker last year, dropping a 21-20 quarterfinal verdict to eventual champion Southeast Polk.

Iowa City Regina at West Liberty

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at West Liberty

Records and rankings: Regina was 9-2 last year; West Liberty was 1-7. Both teams are unranked.

Overview: New West Liberty head coach Jason Dumont leads the Comets into battle with his old program, and his new squad will be a considerable underdog. Regina rolled to a 44-6 victory last year, and will try to reload around Will Aitchison, who led the team in rushing last year with 567 yards (9.3 per carry). West Liberty’s lone win last year came in Week 3, against West Burlington-Notre Dame. Comets QB Ryker Dengler passed for 1,609 yards as a sophomore.

Waverly-Shell Rock at Cedar Rapids Xavier

When and where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Saints Field

Records and rankings: Class 4A No. 9 WSR was 3-6 last year; No. 7 Xavier was 8-3.

Overview: Waverly-Shell Rock rides a three-game win streak into this season (the Go-Hawks opened 0-6 last year), and this now-veteran squad might be sneaking up on Xavier at the perfect time. That’s because the Saints are reloading after heavy graduation losses. Carter Hoffmann (36 receptions, 549 yards, 6 TDs) is the top returning skill player for the Saints, and Jack Stevenson is a good two-way guy. WSR QB Wesley Hubbard passed for 17 TDs in 2023.

Clear Creek Amana at Marion

When and where: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Wolves Stadium

Records and rankings: CCA was 3-6 last year; Marion was 6-3. Both teams are unranked.

Overview: This might be one of the most evenly contested games in the area Friday. Marion has just missed out on postseason play each of the last two seasons, and — led by quarterback Kaleb Diers (15 offensive TDs) — surely could use a Week 1 win to enhance its RPI. After a successful run at Mount Vernon, Lance Pedersen takes the reins at CCA, and the Clippers probably aren’t that far away from prosperity. Four of their six losses last year were by two scores or less.

Iowa City West at Iowa City Liberty

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at North Liberty

Records and rankings: Both teams were 4-5 last year, and both are unranked.

Overview: West has won the first two encounters with Liberty; it was 35-28 last year. West’s Jack Wallace will start his fourth year as the varsity quarterback. He passed for 1,807 yards and 13 touchdowns (against 10 INTs) as a junior. His top returning target is Mason Woods (35 receptions, 535 yards, three TDs). Liberty has a solid corps of backs and receivers returning; Sutton Koller and Dallas Miller combined for 119 catches, 1,620 yards and 20 TDs as juniors.

Muscatine at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Both teams were 4-5 last year, and both are unranked.

Overview: Jefferson won at Muscatine last year, 33-24, snapping a 26-game losing streak. The J-Hawks rode that momentum (and a soft early schedule) to a 4-0 start before dropping their last five games. Jefferson has a quality core in RB Ishara Kalolero, WR L.J. Nyenow Jr. and L.J. Elophe, and this is the first of six games on the schedule that you could classify as winnable. Get all six, and the J-Hawks should be in the 5A playoffs conversation come late October.

Cedar Rapids Washington at Dubuque Hempstead

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at Dubuque (Dalzell Field)

Records and rankings: Washington was 1-8 last year; Hempstead was 5-4. Both teams are unranked.

Overview: Eric Addy takes over as Washington head coach, and he faces a rebuilding process. One of the first orders of business is to ignite an offensive attack that averaged 11 points per game last season. Fortunately, there are a good number of returners that saw the field a lot as sophomores and juniors. Hempstead captured last year’s opener 28-7, but with as much as the Mustangs lost (and the Warriors return), Washington has an opportunity for a happy bus ride home.

Dubuque Senior at Linn-Mar

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, at Linn-Mar Stadium

Records and rankings: Senior was 2-7 last year; Linn-Mar was 4-6. Both teams are unranked.

Overview: Linn-Mar blitzed Senior 64-7 last year and started 2-0 before the injury cavalcade hit. The Lions are healthy now, and optimistic. Plus, they return starters at most every level on both sides of the ball. Tyree Alons and Dylan Muszynski combined for nearly 1,300 rushing yards, and five of the top six tacklers are back. Senior started 0-7 last year before winning its last two games, against Cedar Rapids Washington and Muscatine.

West Delaware at Western Dubuque

When and where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Epworth

Records and rankings: 3A No. 3 West Delaware was 7-4 last year; 4A No. 3 Western Dubuque was 11-2.

Overview: Western Dubuque rolled up the offense and the points last year at Manchester, 61-27, and advanced all the way to the Class 4A state final. The Bobcats are set at quarterback, but will miss Grant Glausser and his 2,909 rushing yards. West Delaware has the look of a 3A contender. QB Brent Yonkovic is back for his senior campaign after racking up roughly 3,000 yards of offense (and 37 touchdowns). Two of the Hawks’ four losses were by a single point, including a 36-35 quarterfinal heartbreaker to Solon.

North Fayette Valley at Independence

When and where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Independence

Records and rankings: North Fayette Valley was 3-6 last year; Class 3A No. 6 Independence was 7-3.

Overview: There’s a lengthy list of strong 3A teams in the area, and Independence absolutely belongs in that queue. E.J. Miller is the latest in the Mustangs’ recent series of dual-threat quarterbacks; he passed for 1,733 yards last year and rushed for 764, with 27 combined touchdowns. Indee rolled to a 50-22 win over NFV last year at West Union, but the TigerHawks should be competitive Friday and ought to contend for the 2A District 3 title.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com