Iowa high school football playoffs: Gazette-area quarterfinal games to watch

The 12 Iowa high school football playoff quarterfinal games Friday involving Metro and area schools. All games kickoff at 7 p.m.

Iowa City High at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (Class 5A)

Place: Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Kennedy is 10-0 and ranked No. 1. City High is 9-1 and No. 7.

Overview: Kennedy brushed past Dubuque Senior in the round of 16, 23-9. City High overwhelmed ninth-ranked Urbandale, 47-21. Kennedy running back Jazan Williams had 257 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Senior. Quarterback Carson Blietz has thrown for 1,588 yards and 17 TDs this season: 13 of those to receiver Jeron Senters and tight end Brenden Linde. City High leads 5A in scoring at 47.1 points per game. The Little Hawks broke out to a 34-7 halftime lead against Urbandale, getting three interceptions and two TD pass on trick plays from Gable Mitchell. Ben Kueter has nine TDs rushing and receiving and leads City High with 83 tackles, an amazing 35.5 for loss.

Ankeny at Cedar Rapids Prairie (5A)

Records and rankings: Both teams are 8-2. Prairie is ranked fourth, Ankeny third.

Overview: Ankeny beat Waukee Northwest last week, 42-3. Running back Colin Kadolph had 210 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Quarterback J.J. Kohl has thrown for 1,780 yards and 22 touchdowns (to just three interceptions) this season and is considered a top college prospect for the class of 2023. Prairie brushed past Bettendorf last week, 24-6, getting 165 yards passing and 123 rushing from quarterback Brandon Vlcko. He has just over 2,000 yards passing and rushing this season. Ankeny’s losses were to Ankeny Centennial by seven points and West Des Moines Valley by three. Prairie’s losses were to Cedar Falls by three and Southeast Polk by one.

Webster City at Cedar Rapids Xavier (4A)

Records and rankings: Webster City is ranked eighth with an 8-2 record. Xavier is No. 2 with a 9-1 mark.

Overview: Xavier flew past Burlington last week in the round of 16, 45-8. Webster City beat up on No. 10 Norwalk, 57-20. Xavier ran for 312 yards against Burlington but did not have a 100-yard individual rusher. Fullback Christian Stanek had three TD runs and led the Saints in tackles from his linebacker spot. Xavier’s lone loss was to No. 1 North Scott, which lost last week. Webster City lost two of its first three games, to undefeated Humboldt and Waverly-Shell Rock. Hall of Famer Bob Howard is the Lynx’s head coach, and he employs, of course, the unique single-wing offense. WC has rushed for over 3,000 yards this season.

Decorah at Winterset (4A)

Records and rankings: Decorah is ranked 10th with a 7-3 record. Winterset (8-2) is No. 7.

Overview: Decorah shocked the state last week by eliminating top-ranked defending state champion North Scott, 14-10. Winterset got past Clear Creek Amana, 24-17. Decorah lost two of its first three games and its regular-season finale, yet finds itself in the quarterfinals. The Vikings have gotten 1,469 yards passing from QB Keenan Tyler. He’s also the team’s leading rusher, with a combined 25 TDs. Winterset’s losses were by a point to third-ranked Lewis Central and 1A top-ranked Van Meter. Running back Dawson Forgy has rushed for 1,891 yards and 28 TDs.

Independence at Humboldt (3A)

Records and rankings: Independence is 9-1 and ranked seventh. Humboldt is 10-0 and No. 5.

Overview: Independence picked up a 26-6 round of 16 win at seventh-ranked Benton Community last week. Humboldt beat up on Hampton-Dumont/CAL, 47-6. Everyone knows Indee is led by running back Marcus Beatty, whose senior season has included 2,250 yards and 24 yards rushing. The Mustangs’ lone loss came late in the regular season to third-ranked West Delaware. Humboldt’s closest game was a 19-15 win over ninth-ranked Nevada. Quarterback Caden Matson has been just shy of incredible for the Wildcats: throwing for 2,319 yards and 30 TDs and rushing for 1,310 yards and 13 TDs.

Solon at West Delaware (3A)

Records and rankings: These teams are tied at third in the final 3A poll by The Gazette. Solon is 10-0, West Delaware is 9-1, its lone loss to 4A No. 2 Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Overview: Quite a delicious matchup here. Solon got past Davenport Assumption last week, 24-17, while West Delaware rolled past Grinnell, 48-0. Not only are these teams tied at third ranked, they are 4-5 in the state’s final RPI, West Delaware the 4. Hence, the home game for the Hawks. WD quarterback Kyle Cole has rushed and passed for 24 combined TDs, actually rushing for more yards (1,002 to 936 passing). Solon counterpart Blake Timmons has 27 combined rushing/passing TDs. Running back Sean Stahle is a 1,000-yard rusher with 17 TDs on the ground. Both Timmons and Stahle are just juniors.

North Fayette Valley at Waukon (2A)

Records and rankings: Both teams come in 9-1. Waukon is rated third, NFV 10th.

Overview: These teams met in the regular season, with Waukon coming out on top, 48-21. The Indians have won five straight against their Northeast Iowa rivals, after NFV had reeled off a six-game win streak previously. Waukon seeks its fifth consecutive trip to the state semifinals. Running back Pat Hennessy has rushed for 1,639 yards and 24 TDs for Waukon, with Lincoln Snitker adding 700 yards and nine TDs. The duo ranks 1-2 on the team in tackles. NFV is a run-heavy team, with 3,020 rushing yards. Yet the TigerHawks don’t have a 1,000-yard rusher individually, with QB Kaleb White the leading rusher with 949 yards and 13 TDs.

Williamsburg at West Marshall (2A)

Records and rankings: Williamsburg comes in unranked at 7-3. West Marshall is 2A’s No. 1 team with a 9-1 record.

Overview: West Marshall had a rougher time winning its round-of-16 game, getting past Mid-Prairie, 26-14. Williamsburg, meanwhile, shut out Monroe PCM, 35-0. Williamsburg is on a seven-game win streak, after dropping its first three games to very good teams Iowa City Regina, Van Meter and Solon. The Raiders have posted three straight shutouts defensively and have not allowed a point in their last 13 quarters. QB Cade Ritchie has thrown for 1,370 yards and 24 TDs. West Marshall’s loss came in Week 2 to 3A eighth-ranked Nevada, 35-12. The Trojans are a ground-heavy group, with Preston Pope rushing for 1,712 yards and Peyton Hart 977. Comparing the scores, WM beat PCM in the regular season, 30-7.

MFL MarMac at Dyersville Beckman (1A)

Records and rankings: Beckman is 10-0 and ranked sixth. MFL MarMac is unranked and 8-2.

Overview: If Decorah’s round-of-16 win over North Scott was the state’s big stunner last week, MFL MarMac’s 21-7 victory over No. 3 Iowa City Regina certainly was 1A. Or perhaps you want to flip those upsets. These teams met in the penultimate game of the regular season, a 41-7 Beckman win. QB Cayden Gassmann threw for 237 yards and a TD in that game for Beckman. Owen Huehnergarth has 1,456 yards rushing and 22 TDs. Cullen McShane and Gabe McGeough are a good 1-2 rushing punch for MFL MarMac, with McShane rushing for 1,089 yards and 15 TDs, McGeough 987 yards and eight TDs.

Sigourney-Keota at Dike-New Hartford (1A)

Records and rankings: Both teams are 10-0. Dike-New Hartford is ranked fourth, Sigourney-Keota fifth.

Overview: Five of the final eight in 1A are undefeated. Dike-New Hartford has playoff wins over Eagle Grove (49-0) and eighth-ranked Pella Christian (35-14). Sigourney-Keota beat Durant in the first round (34-8) and Waterloo Columbus in the round of 16 (18-7). Cade Molyneux heads S-K’s single-wing offensive attack with 1,862 yards and 24 TDs rushing. Jerek Hall leads D-NH with 1,643 yards and 20 TDs rushing. Pella Christian is the lone common opponent here, with Sigourney-Keota winning in the regular season, 20-13.

North Tama at Grundy Center (A)

Records and rankings: Grundy Center (9-1) is ranked second. North Tama (8-2) is unranked.

Overview: North Tama has regrouped after a pair of shutout losses to end the regular season, including 28-0 to Grundy Center. It hasn’t been easy in the postseason for the Redhawks, who beat Wapello in the first round, 23-22, before edging Lynnville-Sully last week, 12-8. Grundy Center beat Saint Ansgar in the first round, 35-8, then eked past Earlham last week, 6-0, despite accumulating just 137 yards of total offense. The Spartans, who lost in last year’s title game, have allowed just 38 points all season, including in Week 2 of the regular season, a 13-10 loss to Dike-New Hartford. QB Gabe Kopriva has thrown for 2,887 yards and 23 TDs for North Tama.

Wapsie Valley at East Buchanan (A)

Records and rankings: East Buchanan (9-1) is ranked seventh. Wapsie Valley (8-2) is not ranked.

Overview: Wapsie Valley has rebounded after dropping two of its first three games: to Denver and Grundy Center by a combined 77-0. The Warriors upset third-ranked North Linn last week, 7-6. WV beat Alburnett in the first round, 28-6. East Buchanan lost its second game of the season, 20-0, to North Linn. The Bucs have playoff wins over Mason City Newman (44-29) and fourth-ranked Lisbon (12-8). EB looks to pound you offensively on the ground, with running back Adam Hackett rushing for 1,564 yards and 19 TDs. Holten Robinson leads Wapsie offensively with 967 yards rushing and 11 TDs.

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com