Iowa high school football rankings: The Gazette’s 2024 post-Week 8 poll

Wire to wire. Coast to coast. Start to finish.

That’s Remsen St. Mary’s in 8-Player football.

St. Mary’s will be the lone team that maintained the No. 1 spot from preseason to final poll by The Gazette’s panel.

Only one opponent — Woodbine, in Week 7 — played within 30 points of the Hawks, who take an 8-0 record into a first-round playoff game at home against West Bend-Mallard.

The postseason also awaits in Class 2A, Class 1A and Class A. West Lyon, Grundy Center and West Hancock are the No. 1 teams in those respective classes.

New leaders have emerged in 5A and 4A.

West Des Moines Dowling replaces West Des Moines Valley in the big-school class after the latter suffered a 13-10 overtime loss to Ankeny.

Dowling edged Southeast Polk, 35-34, last week and earned five first-place votes. The lone unbeaten in 5A, Bettendorf is up to No. 2, followed by Ankeny Centennial, Valley and Johnston.

Iowa City Liberty and Linn-Mar are sixth and seventh.

Former 4A No. 1 Lewis Central suffered a 21-7 loss to Norwalk last week, giving panelists a conundrum with three unbeatens.

Pella and North Polk each received three first-place votes, with the Dutch edging the Comets by a 57-55 margin in poll points. Decorah is No. 3, followed by Adel ADM and Lewis Central.

Williamsburg takes the 3A No. 1 ranking into a Week 9 district-title showdown at Van Horne against No. 8 Benton Community.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Dubuque Wahlert, both 8-0, are Nos. 2 and 3, followed by Mount Vernon and Humboldt.

The top six in 2A are unchanged from last week. West Lyon is followed by Monroe PCM, Spirit Lake, Van Meter, Carroll Kuemper and North Fayette Valley.

Losses by former top-five teams Wilton and Emmetsburg shook up the 1A leaderboard.

Grundy Center stays on top, with Dike-New Hartford, South Hardin, Sigourney-Keota and Treynor climbing to complete the top five.

Each of last week’s Class A top nine teams were Week 7 winners. West Hancock, Guthrie Center ACGC, Saint Ansgar, Lisbon and Tri-Center are the top five teams.

St. Mary’s is followed in 8-Player by Algona Garrigan, Don Bosco, Lenox and Audubon.

The Gazette’s post-Week 8 football poll

CLASS 5A W-L Pts. Pvs

(First-place votes in parentheses)

1. West Des Moines Dowling (5) 7-1 59 2

2. Bettendorf (1) 8-0 52 3

3. Ankeny Centennial 6-2 38 5

4. West Des Moines Valley 6-2 37 1

5. Johnston 6-2 36 6

6. Iowa City Liberty 7-1 32 8

7. Linn-Mar 7-1 28 7

8. Pleasant Valley 6-2 21 4

9. Sioux City East 6-2 9 10

10. Ankeny 4-4 8 —

Dropped out: Iowa City High (9).

Others receiving votes: Iowa City High 5, Southeast Polk 5.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Pella (3) 8-0 57 2

2. North Polk (3) 8-0 55 3

3. Decorah 8-0 49 4

4. Adel ADM 7-1 38 5

5. Lewis Central 7-1 36 1

T-6. Gilbert 7-1 26 8

T-6. North Scott 6-2 26 7

8. Norwalk 5-3 13 —

9. Western Dubuque 6-2 9 10

10. Cedar Rapids Xavier 5-3 8 6

Dropped out: Newton (9).

Others receiving votes: Spencer 5, Waverly-Shell Rock 5, Clear Creek Amana 3.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Williamsburg (4) 7-1 56 1

2. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (1) 8-0 52 2

3. Dubuque Wahlert (1) 8-0 50 2

4. Mount Vernon 7-1 40 4

5. Humboldt 7-1 39 5

6. Algona 7-1 28 6

7. Independence 6-2 26 8

8. Benton Community 6-2 17 9

9. Sioux City Heelan 6-2 12 7

10. Solon 6-2 10 10

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS 2A (Final) W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Lyon (4) 8-0 58 1

2. Monroe PCM (1) 8-0 53 2

3. Spirit Lake (1) 7-1 50 3

4. Van Meter 7-1 42 4

5. Carroll Kuemper 7-1 37 5

6. North Fayette Valley 7-1 29 6

7. Roland-Story 6-2 23 8

8. Cherokee 6-2 14 10

9. Anamosa 7-1 10 —

10. Mid-Prairie 5-3 7 —

Dropped out: Northeast (7), Central Lyon-GLR (9).

Others receiving votes: Central Lyon-GLR 4, West Burlington-Notre Dame 2, West Marshall 1.

CLASS 1A (Final) W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Grundy Center (6) 8-0 60 1

2. Dike-New Hartford 7-1 54 3

3. South Hardin 7-1 40 5

4. Sigourney-Keota 7-1 38 7

5. Treynor 7-1 36 6

6. Hinton 7-1 23 8

7. Wilton 7-1 22 2

8. Iowa City Regina 7-1 21 9

9. Emmetsburg 7-1 12 4

10. Dyersville Beckman 6-2 10 10

Others receiving votes: Ida Grove OABCIG 6, Manson-NW Webster 6, Avoca AHSTW 2.

CLASS A (Final) W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Hancock (4) 8-0 58 1

2. Guthrie Center ACGC (2) 8-0 54 2

3. Saint Ansgar 7-1 45 3

4. Lisbon 8-0 40 4

5. Tri-Center 7-1 38 4

6. Le Mars Gehlen 7-1 31 6

7. Maquoketa Valley 7-1 21 7

8. Oakland Riverside 6-2 12 9

9. Pekin 7-1 11 8

10. Madrid 6-2 10 10

Others receiving votes: Earlham 6, Woodbury Central 5, Wapsie Valley 1.

8-PLAYER (Final) W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Remsen St. Mary’s (4) 8-0 56 1

2. Algona Garrigan (2) 8-0 50 2

3. Don Bosco 8-0 46 3

4. Lenox 8-0 45 4

5. Audubon 8-0 41 5

6. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 7-1 30 7

7. Bedford 7-1 24 8

8. Edgewood-Colesburg 8-0 14 9

9. Woodbine 7-1 12 10

T-10. Fremont-Mills 7-1 4 —

T-10. Janesville 7-1 4 —

Dropped out: Iowa Valley (6).

Others receiving votes: WACO 3, Belle Plaine 1.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com