Iowa high school football: Gazette-area Week 3 games to watch

A dozen of the top Metro/Iowa City and area Iowa high school football games for Week 3:

Davenport Central at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Time and place: 7:15 p.m. Thursday, at Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Both teams are 0-2.

Overview: This shapes up as Jefferson’s best shot this season of a victory. Both teams has suffered a pair of lopsided losses. Jefferson suffered a 77-0 setback to Iowa City High last week while Central fell to Clinton, 50-27, though the Blue Devils were tied at halftime, 21-21. Jefferson sophomore L.J. Elophe has collected 12.5 tackles in two weeks.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy vs. Cedar Rapids Washington

Time and place: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Both teams are 2-0. Kennedy is ranked sixth in Class 5A; Washington is No. 9 in 4A.

Overview: Kennedy put it all together in a 34-0 win at Bettendorf last week. The Cougars held the Bulldogs to 168 yards of offense and forced three turnovers. Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Vincenzo Gianforte was efficient, completing 11 of 17 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Washington has posted a pair of lopsided wins over Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Marion by a combined count of 88-19, fighting off a slow start last week against the Wolves. Watts McBride has rushed for 214 yards and four touchdowns through two games.

Dubuque Wahlert at Cedar Rapids Xavier

Time and place: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Saints Field

Records and rankings: Both teams are 2-0. Wahlert is ranked No. 6 in Class 2A; Xavier is No. 4 in 4A.

Overview: These teams have a common opponent in West Delaware, and both were victorious against the Hawks (Wahlert by a 31-14 verdict in Week 1, Xavier 44-7 last week). The Saints jumped to a 34-7 halftime lead and coasted home thanks to 176 rushing yards and three touchdowns by Michael Cunningham, running his season total to 264 yards (8.8 per carry). Thomas Sundell has 17.5 tackles through two games. Wahlert is vastly improved from its 2021 counterpart that went 3-6. The Golden Eagles have intercepted seven passes already.

Ames at Iowa City High

Time and place: 7 p.m. Friday, at Bates Field

Records and rankings: Ames is 2-0; 5A 10th-ranked City High is 1-1.

Overview: The Little Hawks go for their third straight win in the Little Cy-Hawk game (the teams did not play in 2020 due to COVID-19). Last year, it was 43-5. After dropping its opener, City High bounced back in a big way, 77-0 over Cedar Rapids Jefferson, holding the J-Hawks to zero yards of total offense. Drew Larson has completed 77 percent of his passes thus far, for 501 yards. Ames QB Dallas Sauser is one of the most prolific passers in the state, with 752 yards and seven TDs (against four interceptions) through two weeks. Jalen Lueth (14 receptions, 20.6 ypc, 4 TDs) is the top target.

Pleasant Valley vs. Linn-Mar

Time and place: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at John Wall Field

Records and rankings: Pleasant Valley is 2-0 and ranked No. 3 in Class 5A; Linn-Mar is 1-1.

Overview: This game was moved to the College Community Schools campus due to issues with the new turf at Linn-Mar Stadium. This is likely to be the only home game in which the Lions are misplaced. Regardless of venue, the Lions face a big challenge with Pleasant Valley, which has outscored its first two foes by a 79-6 ledger. The Spartans average nearly 270 yards per game on the ground. Linn-Mar showed some second-half spirit last week after falling behind 25-0 at Iowa City Liberty. The Lions got within 25-14 late in the third quarter, but could draw no closer.

Cedar Rapids Prairie at Cedar Falls

Time and place: 7:15 p.m. Friday at Cedar Falls (UNI-Dome)

Records and rankings: Prairie is 1-1; Class 5A No. 6 Cedar Falls is 2-0.

Overview: Prairie rebounded nicely last week, following a lopsided loss to Pleasant Valley with a 40-20 triumph over Dubuque Senior. Makelle Taylor ran 31 times for 183 yards and a touchdown, and the Hawks broke open a game that was 14-13 at intermission. Prairie will try to solve a Cedar Falls defense that hasn’t yet allowed a point and yielded just 109 yards last week in a 57-0 rout of Waterloo West. Junior Drew Campbell has eight tackles, 6.5 for loss.

Mid-Prairie at Iowa City Regina

Time and place: 7 p.m. Friday, at Regina

Records and rankings: Mid-Prairie is 2-0; Regina is 1-1.

Overview: If it can win this week, Mid-Prairie is a good bet to get to 5-0; the Golden Hawks will be heavy favorites the next two weeks against Eddyville EBF and Central Lee. Braden Hartley has been a workhorse, toting the ball 62 times for 417 yards. After going nowhere in Week 1 against Williamsburg, Regina got its offense going last week in a 49-14 win over West Liberty, getting a pair of receiving touchdowns from Jackson Naeve.

Benton Community at Marion

Time and place: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Thomas Park Field

Records and rankings: Class 3A No. 7 Benton is 2-0; Marion is 0-2.

Overview: From multiple perspectives, it’s difficult to imagine Marion putting up a lot of points. First of all, the Wolves are averaging just 6.5 points per game (33rd in Class 4A). Second, Benton is yielding only 3.5 points per contest (third in 3A). Brennen Blegen has posted 13.5 tackles thus far for the Bobcats, while Carson Bruns (46 carries, 303 yards, 7 TDs) carries much of the load when Benton has the ball. One priority for the Wolves is to get the ball in the hands of Iowa recruit Alex Mota.

Iowa City Liberty at Western Dubuque

Time and place: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Epworth

Records and rankings: Class 4A No. 6 Liberty is 2-0; Western Dubuque is 0-2.

Overview: If there’s been a major surprise in the area so far, it’s been Liberty. The Lightning took down Iowa City High two weeks ago in the Clash at Kinnick, then followed that with a huge first-half effort against Linn-Mar, taking a 25-0 lead into the locker room before coasting home, 25-14. QB Graham Beckman has completed 63 percent of his passes for 562 yards and five touchdowns, with Christian Barney (12 catches, 140 yards, 2 TDs) leading a balanced receiving corps. Western Dubuque’s two losses, both decisive, have come against 4A heavyweights Cedar Rapids Xavier and North Scott.

Dubuque Hempstead at Iowa City West

Time and place: 7 p.m. Friday, at West

Records and rankings: Hempstead is 0-2; West is 1-1.

Overview: West picked up its first win last week, 42-21, over Muscatine behind 127 rushing yards and three touchdowns by Davontae Morris. That highlighted a 373-yard total output by the Trojans. With Hempstead this week and Davenport North on deck, chances are good for West to take a 3-1 mark into the Week 5 Battle for the Boot. The Mustangs have been outscored 84-13 in the first two weeks.

Maquoketa Valley at West Branch

Time and place: 7 p.m. Friday, at West Branch

Records and rankings: Both teams are 2-0. West Branch is ranked fourth in Class 1A.

Overview: A one-win outfit in 2021, Maquoketa Valley has been dominant in its first two encounters of the season, outscoring North Cedar and South Winneshiek by a combined 84-14. Junior Lance McShane has rushed for 452 yards (10.8 per carry) and nine touchdowns. The Wildcats face a swift upgrade in competition Friday, though. Tye Hughes has completed nearly 77 percent of his passes, and Andy Henson has rushed for four touchdowns.

Solon at Williamsburg

Time and place: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Williamsburg

Records and rankings: Class 3A sixth-ranked Solon is 1-1; 2A No. 3 Williamsburg is 2-0.

Overview: Williamsburg seeks to complete a non-district hat trick against rugged competition (to say the least). The Raiders already have picked up wins over Iowa City Regina and Van Meter, ending the latter’s 60-game regular-season winning streak. Along the way, they have collected eight takeaways, including eight interceptions by Iowa recruit Derek Weisskopf. They’ll welcome an angry crew from Solon, which watched its 19-game winning streak against Mount Vernon end last week, 17-14. Brett White leads the Spartans in rushing (123 yards) and tackles (23).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com