Iowa high school football rankings: The Gazette’s post-Week 6 poll

After some volatility — particularly in Class 1A — in recent weeks, the top of each class stayed firm after Week 6 in The Gazette’s football poll.

The top three teams in each class remained virtually the same. And the only No. 4 team to fall was Newell-Fonda in 8-Player, and that was to No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s.

So the top end of each class is basically rinse-and-repeat from last week.

Ankeny maintains a slim margin over No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling and Pleasant Valley in Class 5A. All three teams retained their two first-place votes. The Hawks accumulated 54 poll points, Dowling 53, Pleasant Valley 50.

Southeast Polk is No. 4 and hosts co-No. 5 Cedar Rapids Prairie this week at Pleasant Hill. The Hawks share the fifth spot with Ankeny Centennial.

Lewis Central, Waverly-Shell Rock and Cedar Rapids Xavier remain the top three in Class 4A, with the defending champion Titans earning all of the first-place votes for the seventh straight poll.

Carlisle and Indianola are tied for fourth, and the Warren County rivals square off Friday at Indianola.

The state’s game of the week for Friday is in Class 3A, where No. 1 Harlan welcomes No. 3 Adel ADM. Humboldt is second, with Mount Vernon and Nevada completing the top five.

In Class 2A, the top four teams — Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, Williamsburg, Spirit Lake and West Marshall — are holding fast from a week ago. Ida Grove OABCIG returns to the top five.

As has been the case all season, 1A remains the toughest class to pinpoint. Van Meter is at No. 1 for the second straight week, earning 52 poll points and a pair of first-place votes. Then, it’s West Sioux (50 and two), West Branch (49 and two) and Underwood (46 and one). Dike-New Hartford is fifth after edging Aplington-Parkersburg last week.

The top five teams in Class A are unbeaten, led by defending champion West Hancock.

Grundy Center and Woodbury Central are tied for second, with Lynnville-Sully and Avoca AHSTW rounding out the top five.

Remsen St. Mary’s has been a unanimous 8-Player No. 1 all season, and the Hawks solidified their standing with a surprisingly easy, 61-13, win over Newell-Fonda.

No. 2 Don Bosco faces a home challenge this week against No. 6 Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

WACO is No. 3; Easton Valley and Lenox are tied for fourth.

The Gazette high school football poll, post-Week 6

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Ankeny (2) 5-1 54 1

2. West Des Moines Dowling (2) 5-1 53 2

3. Pleasant Valley (2) 6-0 50 3

4. Southeast Polk 5-1 47 4

5. Ankeny Centennial 4-2 30 9

(tie) Cedar Rapids Prairie 5-1 30 7

7. Iowa City High 4-2 19 10

8. Cedar Falls 4-2 15 —

9. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 5-1 11 5

10. Urbandale 4-2 8 6

Dropped out: West Des Moines Valley (8).

Others receiving votes: West Des Moines Valley 5, Iowa City West 4, Davenport West 2, Waukee Northwest 2.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Lewis Central (6) 6-0 60 1

2. Waverly-Shell Rock 6-0 52 2

3. Cedar Rapids Xavier 6-0 50 3

4. Carlisle 5-1 37 4

(tie) Indianola 5-1 37 5

6. Iowa City Liberty 5-1 27 7

7. Bondurant-Farrar 5-1 23 7

8. Newton 6-0 17 9

9. Norwalk 4-2 13 6

10. North Scott 4-2 8 —

Dropped out: Cedar Rapids Washington (10).

Others receiving votes: Spencer 4, Cedar Rapids Washington 2.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Harlan (5) 5-1 59 1

2. Humboldt (1) 6-0 53 2

3. Adel ADM 6-0 50 3

4. Mount Vernon 6-0 41 4

5. Nevada 5-1 29 7

6. Solon 4-2 27 9

7. Independence 6-1 26 8

8. North Polk 4-2 25 5

9. Creston 5-1 10 6

10. Hampton-Dumont/CAL 4-2 3 10

(tie) MOC-Floyd Valley 4-2 3 —

Dropped out: None.

Others receiving votes: Algona 2, Benton Community 1, West Delaware 1.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Central Lyon-GLR (5) 6-0 59 1

2. Williamsburg (1) 6-0 53 2

3. Spirit Lake 6-0 49 3

4. West Marshall 6-0 40 4

5. Ida Grove OABCIG 5-1 38 6

6. West Lyon 4-2 23 8

7. Greene County 5-1 21 9

8. Osage 4-2 13 —

9. Clarion CGD 4-2 10 —

(tie) New Hampton 5-1 10 5

Dropped out: Dubuque Wahlert (7), Estherville ELC (10).

Others receiving votes: Monticello 8, Crestwood 3, Waukon 3.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Van Meter (2) 5-1 52 1

2. West Sioux (1) 5-1 50 2

3. West Branch (2) 6-0 49 3

4. Underwood (1) 6-0 46 4

5. Dike-New Hartford 5-1 36 6

6. Carroll Kuemper 6-0 31 8

7. Aplington-Parkersburg 5-1 25 5

8. Pella Christian 5-1 15 10

9. MFL MarMac 5-1 7 —

10. Guthrie Center ACGC 5-1 4 —

(tie) Mediapolis 5-1 4 —

Dropped out: Durant (7), Dyersville Beckman (9).

Others receiving votes: Durant 3, Sigourney-Keota 3, Western Christian 3, South Hamilton 2.

CLASS A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Hancock (4) 6-0 57 1

2. Grundy Center 6-0 49 2

(tie) Woodbury Central (1) 6-0 49 2

4. Lynnville-Sully (1) 6-0 46 4

5. Avoca AHSTW 6-0 38 6

6. North Linn 5-1 24 7

7. Hartley HMS 4-2 17 5

8. East Buchanan 5-1 16 8

9. Le Mars Gehlen 5-1 13 9

10. Alburnett 5-1 9 10

Dropped out: Wapsie Valley (10).

Others receiving votes: Wapsie Valley 6, Columbus Community 5, Mount Ayr 1.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Remsen St. Mary’s (6) 6-0 60 1

2. Don Bosco 6-0 49 3

3. WACO 7-0 47 2

4. Easton Valley 4-1 37 6

(tie) Lenox 6-0 37 5

6. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 6-0 31 7

7. West Harrison 6-0 22 9

8. Newell-Fonda 5-1 14 4

9. Baxter 6-0 10 10

10. Harris-Lake Park 5-1 9 —

Dropped out: Ruthven GTRA (8).

Others receiving votes: Fremont-Mills 6, Ruthven GTRA 4, Southeast Warren 3, Tripoli 1.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com