Iowa high school football rankings: The Gazette’s post-Week 5 poll

For the first time all season, The Gazette’s football poll sports some stability this week.

All eight No. 1-ranked teams (including co-leaders in Class 4A) were triumphant in Week 5, leading largely to status quo throughout every class.

The most notable change came in Class 1A, where former No. 2 MFL MarMac suffered a 13-9 setback to Sumner-Fredericksburg, knocking the Bulldogs down seven notches.

In 5A, the top nine teams are the same as last week, though a handful of Week 6 showdowns promises shuffling next week.

Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Dowling have been 1 and 2 all season, with the Rams maintaining a 59-55 advantage in poll points.

Bettendorf, Waukee and Pleasant Valley round out the top five.

Southeast Polk faces another challenge this week, a tricky endeavor with a 2-3 Johnston squad. Bettendorf is at No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy while No. 8 Ankeny plays at No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Western Dubuque and Adel ADM, both 4-1, share the lead in a deep, balanced 4A for the second straight week, and the rest of the top eight holds in place from last week. That includes No. 6 Gilbert, the lone unbeaten in the class.

Bondurant-Farrar, North Scott and North Polk round out the top five. The Lancers visit No. 8 Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday.

Williamsburg remains a unanimous No. 1 in 3A after shelling South Tama, 61-6, Friday; the Raiders led that one 27-0 before taking an offensive snap thanks to two punt-return touchdowns and two interception returns for scores, all by Rayce Heitman.

Creston climbed to No. 2 in the wake of a showdown win over Harlan, which drops to fifth. Davenport Assumption climbs to third; Cleak Lake is fourth.

Assumption will break in Mount Vernon’s new stadium Friday against the sixth-rated Mustangs.

Van Meter, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock and West Lyon still appear to the head of the class in 2A. That trio is followed by Spirit Lake and Monticello.

Grundy Center is a unanimous No. 1 in 1A. Underwood, Iowa City Regina, Denver and Treynor all climbed a spot with MFL MarMac’s loss.

Saint Ansgar and Woodbury Central are the top two teams in Class A, with West Hancock leapfrogging Madrid for the No. 2 spot. Guthrie Center ACGC is up three notches to No. 5.

The top nine 8-Player teams remain in place from last week; Gladbrook-Reinbeck maintains a slim lead at No. 1 over Winfield-Mount Union and Anita CAM. Bedford and Remsen St. Mary’s are fourth and fifth.

Also Monday, the Iowa High School Athletic Association released its first rankings in 2A, 1A, A and 8-Player, with Central Lyon-GLR, Grundy Center, Saint Ansgar and Winfield-Mount Union on top.

The IHSAA will use its final rankings (after Week 8) to rank the playoff semifinalists at the UNI-Dome, and also will play a role in bracketing the teams prior to the Round of 16.

The Gazette’s post-Week 5 Iowa high school football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Southeast Polk (5) 5-0 59 1

2. West Des Moines Dowling (1) 5-0 55 2

3. Bettendorf 5-0 48 3

4. Pleasant Valley 4-1 34 4

5. Waukee 4-1 30 5

6. Ankeny Centennial 3-2 28 6

7. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 3-2 27 7

8. Ankeny 3-2 21 8

9. Waukee Northwest 3-2 17 9

10. Cedar Rapids Prairie 3-2 6 —

Dropped out: Johnston (10).

Others receiving votes: Cedar Falls 5.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

T-1. Adel ADM (1) 4-1 55 1

T-1. Western Dubuque (3) 4-1 55 1

3. Bondurant-Farrar (2) 4-1 46 3

4. North Scott 4-1 39 4

5. North Polk 4-1 37 5

6. Gilbert 5-0 26 6

7. Lewis Central 3-2 25 7

8. Cedar Rapids Xavier 3-2 20 8

9. Norwalk 4-1 16 10

T-10. Indianola 3-2 4 —

T-10. Pella 3-2 4 —

Dropped out: Glenwood (9), Ballard (10).

Others receiving votes: Le Mars 2, Decorah 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Williamsburg (6) 5-0 60 1

2. Creston 5-0 53 3

3. Davenport Assumption 4-1 41 4

4. Clear Lake 5-0 39 6

5. Harlan 3-2 36 2

6. Mount Vernon 4-1 26 8

7. Solon 4-1 25 9

8. Sioux Center 4-1 20 —

9. Nevada 4-1 8 10

10. Hampton-Dumont/CAL 4-1 7 5

Dropped out: Sioux City Heelan (7).

Others receiving votes: Benton Community 6, Algona 5, Humboldt 2, Sioux City Heelan 2.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Van Meter (3) 5-0 57 1

2. Central Lyon-GLR (3) 5-0 56 2

3. West Lyon 5-0 49 3

4. Spirit Lake4-1 39 5

5. Monticello4-1 33 6

6. Western Christian 4-1 32 4

7. Carroll Kuemper 3-2 28 10

8. Roland-Story 3-2 8 —

T-9. Cherokee 3-2 6 9

T-9. Monroe PCM 2-2 6 —

Dropped out: Osage (7), Greene County (8).

Others receiving votes: Des Moines Christian 5, North Fayette Valley 4, Clarinda 2, Greene County 2, Osage 2, Estherville ELC 1.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Grundy Center (6) 5-0 60 1

2. Underwood 4-1 54 3

3. Iowa City Regina 5-0 46 4

4. Denver 5-0 42 5

5. Treynor 5-0 30 6

6. Dike-New Hartford 3-2 21 9

7. Wilton 5-0 20 7

8. Sumner-Fredericksburg 4-1 18 —

9. MFL MarMac 4-1 15 2

10. Sigourney-Keota 4-1 10 8

Dropped out: Pella Christian (10).

Others receiving votes: Pella Christian 8, West Branch 5, Avoca AHSTW 1.

CLASS A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Saint Ansgar (4) 5-0 57 1

2. Woodbury Central (2) 5-0 54 2

3. West Hancock 4-1 47 4

4. Madrid 5-0 41 3

5. Guthrie Center ACGC 5-0 29 8

6. Lisbon 5-0 24 7

7. Lynnville-Sully 4-1 20 9

8. Lake Mills 5-0 17 10

9. Wapsie Valley 4-1 12 —

10. Starmont 4-1 8 —

Dropped out: North Linn (5), Nashia-Plainfield (6).

Others receiving votes: Nashua-Plainfield 7, South Central Calhoun 6, East Buchanan 5, Logan-Magnolia 2, North Linn 1.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts Pvs

1. Gladbrook-Reinbeck (3) 5-0 56 1

2. Winfield-Mount Union (2) 5-0 52 2

3. Anita CAM (1) 5-0 51 3

4. Bedford 5-0 38 4

5. Remsen St. Mary’s (1) 5-0 37 5

6. Central City 3-1 32 6

7. Don Bosco 4-1 23 7

8. Lenox 4-1 16 8

9. Clarksville 6-0 14 9

10. WACO 4-1 7 —

Dropped out: Ar-We-Va (10).

Others receiving votes: Moravia 4.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com