Iowa high school football roundup: Week 5 scores, stats and more

Gazette area scores, stats and more from Week 5 of the 2022 Iowa high school football season.

4A No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier 38, Cedar Rapids Washington 0

Duane Schulte allowed his mind to wander through the misty final minutes at Kingston Stadium.

“I was kind of thinking about all the former players we’ve had,” he said. “They all helped us get to this point.

“And I’m happy for the current guys that can say they were here for this moment. It’s not my win, it’s Xavier’s win.”

Xavier’s win; Schulte’s win. For the last 25 years, they’ve been one and the same.

Two hundred and the same, actually.

Class 4A third-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier whipped Cedar Rapids Washington on both sides of the ball in a 38-0 Class 4A District 4 football rout Friday night.

For Xavier — and for Schulte — it is the 200th victory in the program’s 25th year, 200-70 to be exact.

“It starts with the players,” said Schulte, whose career mark is 225-84 (he coached at Cedar Rapids LaSalle before becoming Xavier’s first head coach in 1998). “You’ve got to have players willing to do what you ask them to do, and families that support them. And assistant coaches ... football is a sport where you have to have great assistant coaches.

“I know it’s a cliche, but the guys did their jobs tonight.”

And did them extremely well.

Xavier (5-0 overall, 1-0 district) outgained Washington (2-3, 0-1) by a margin of 315 yards to 42, and the Warriors were below zero yards against Xavier’s first-string defense.

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Linder

Iowa City High 49, Iowa City West 0

First, Iowa City High handed out the kicking.

Then, the Little Hawks took “The Boot.” They left little doubt where the traveling trophy was heading.

Quarterback Drew Larson scored as a passer, rusher and receiver, contributing to six total touchdowns and the Little Hawks dominated crosstown rival Iowa City West, 49-0, in the Battle for the Boot on Friday night at West’s Trojans Field.

“We talk about confidence and preparation and we were really confident in our preparation,” City High Coach Mitch Moore said. “We came out here and played our style of football. This was the first time we played similar to how we did last year — with energy, passion and great communication. Played loose.”

Larson finished with 293 total yards, including 250 and four touchdowns through the air. He added a 1-yard QB sneak for a score and reeled in a 15-yard TD pass from Oliver Kniss.

“I loved it,” Larson said. “I love being on the field at all times, helping my team in any way I can.”

» Read more from The Gazette’s K.J. Pilcher

4A No. 9 Iowa City Liberty 20, 4A No. 8 North Scott 16

Iowa City Liberty was quiet for 2 1/2 quarters.

The Lightning made enough of a ruckus in the final quarter-and-a-half to make up for it.

After putting up just 69 yards of total offense in the first half and trailing 9-0, the Lightning offense finally struck at the 5:38 mark in the third quarter.

Liberty opened the second half with a 19-play, 84-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard TD pass from Graham Beckman to Christian Barney.

Beckman threw his second touchdown on a deep pass to Garret Gregoire, who alluded two defenders along the sideline for an 80-yard score.

Following a botched punt attempt by North Scott, Liberty took possession at the Lancers’ 29. Two plays later, Beckman found Wyatt Williams for a 24-yard TD to give the Lightning their first lead of the game at 20-16 with 8:06 left.

Beckman completed 14 of 21 passes for 204 and three touchdowns.

“Garret, Christian, Wyatt, and everybody, Lucas (Meyer), and all of them (receivers), they’re crazy good,” Beckman said. “I can trust them all when I throw the ball.”

Liberty’s defense held from there.

“Our players just have a lot of guts,” said Liberty Coach James Harris. “They believe. I just appreciated them pounding the stone and believing.”

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Ryan Pleggenkuhle

5A No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie 49, Ottumwa 14

Early on, Ottumwa looked the part, but deflating turnovers and a multi-faceted offensive attack eventually overwhelmed the Bulldogs as Cedar Rapids Prairie took a 49-14 homecoming win Friday night at home.

Ottumwa’s dynamic backfield gave the Class 5A eighth-ranked Hawks fits for much of the first half, but the Prairie defense increasingly found itself in the Bulldogs’ backfield as the game snowballed in Prairie’s favor.

Big fullback Cooper Derby took Ottumwa’s first snap and rumbled 42 yards into the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.

Prairie responded with a 75-yard kickoff return to the Ottumwa 19. Makelle Taylor scored from 14 yards out two plays later to tie the score, 7-7, with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

Ottumwa (2-3) continued to rip off big runs on its ensuing possession, crossing midfield. From the Prairie 37, there was a fumble on the exchange and the Hawks fell on it.

Sullivan found Taylor open on the right sideline. Taylor shook off a handful of tackles and found himself with open field, scampering in for a 59-yard touchdown.

Again, moving the ball into Prairie territory, Tanner Schark’s first pass of the game was picked off by Jack Wagemester. The Bulldogs offense would never be the same.

“Our linebackers did a great job adjusting toward the end of the game,” Wagemester said. “We were able to handle business.”

Taylor finished with 148 yards of total offense. Prairie outgained the Bulldogs 365-247, with all of Ottumwa’s yards coming on the ground.

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Culley Kline

Linn-Mar 56, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 6

It was so unbelievable that all TJ Jackson could do was shake his head and laugh.

The Linn-Mar senior had a homecoming game for the ages on Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium. It started with him taking back the opening kickoff 88 yards for a score. That was followed shortly after by a 51-yard scoring pass from Austin Waller. The 6-foot, 160-pound speedster capped his short night with a 90-yard punt return for a score midway through the second quarter as the Lions rolled to a 56-6 victory over Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

“On a homecoming night, that's the best way to do it,” he said of his performance. “I really didn't expect it. The last 40 yards (of his punt return) I was just laughing because I was thinking there was no way this was happening.”

Friday's game also marked the Lions’ first appearance at Linn-Mar Stadium since the final game of the 2021 regular season. A delay in the installation of new turf forced the team to practice at Oak Ridge Middle School and play their first home game against Pleasant Valley at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Coach Tim Lovell and Jackson said getting back to Linn-Mar Stadium provided an extra spark.

“We haven't been in here since the last game of the season last year against Prairie,” Lovell said. “We got to be here starting on Monday. We moved all our stuff over from Oak Ridge on Monday, had to practice on probably the hottest day of the year on Tuesday, then practice in the morning on Wednesday because of the homecoming parade that afternoon.”

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Mike Condon

8P No. 6 Easton Valley 49, Central City 6

What do you take out of this game between two good 8-Player football teams?

1. Despite losing its quarterback to injury in the season opener, Easton Valley has found the answers necessary to overcome that and remain the potent offensive team it had been before.

2. Central City has turned things around in 2022 and may have already clinched just the school’s third football playoff qualification. There’s some math you’ve gotta due to officially figure all that out, but bottom line is it’d be a shocker if the Wildcats won’t be playing in the postseason.

Central City also figured out a couple more things in this disappointing 49-6 homecoming loss.

“That we have got a lot of little things to take care of,” Coach Matt Miers said. “When you’re going against a team like that, as much as they’ve won the last two years, our guys facing the bright lights, a big game, we just made some mistakes early on. It wasn’t just one person, it was a lot of guys making a lot of mistakes.”

Like a fumble on the very first offensive play of the game. Easton Valley (4-1) turned that into a touchdown on its first offensive play.

QB Hayden Felkey threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns and caught a 2-point conversion pass for Easton Valley.

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Johnson

1A No. 5 West Branch 35, 1A No. 10 Mediapolis 13

Andy Henson rushed for 163 yards and four touchdowns as fith-ranked West Branch dominated No. 10 Mediapolis, 35-13.

Mediapolis’ Anthony Isley scored on the opening kickoff, but the Bears scored 35 unanswered points.

Quarterback Tye Hughes added 233 total yards and a passing TD.

Mediapolis (4-1, 1-1) totaled just 74 yards, 80 came on their final drive.

West Branch travels to No. 8 Durant next week for another battle of undefeated teams.

— Jason Miller

5A No. 5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 38, Dubuque Senior 0

Donovan Slick-Driscoll scored on runs of 25 and 56 yards as the Cougars rolled in Dubuque.

Zion Jackson-Collins opened the scoring for the Cougars, breaking loose for a 44-yard scamper. Trevor Scott scored on a 17-yard run.

— Danny Miller, Dubuque Telegraph-Herald

Western Dubuque 42, Marion 7

Grant Glausser ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns as the Bobcats won their Class 4A District 2 opener at Buchman Field.

Brett Harris completed 11 of 17 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown as Western Dubuque (3-2, 1-0) won its third straight game heading into next week’s district showdown at Decorah.

Alex Mota ran for 129 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 9 yards for Marion (2-3, 0-1), which had its two-game winning streak snapped.

— Tim O’Neill, Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Monticello 42, West Liberty 0

Monticello’s defense held West Liberty to 65 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers as the Panthers won at home.

Senior Dylan Roher rushed eight times for 133 yards and scored on runs of 17 and 58 yards as Monticello (3-2, 2-0) built a 35-0 halftime lead.

West Liberty dropped to 1-4, 1-1.

— Pete Temple

3A No. 7 Independence 56, South Tama 6

Mitchell Johnson passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more, all in the first half, as the Mustangs rolled at home.

Trey Weber rushed for 85 yards and a TD, also in the first half. Johnson completed 9 of 12 passes for 192 and rushed for 60 on nine carries.

Independence scored two late TDs on runs by EJ Miller and AJ Kitner.

— Matt Shannon

West Delaware 35, Center Point-Urbana 7

Will Ward rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawks won on the road.

Ward scored on runs of 5, 15 and 29.

Logan Peyton added 138 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Peyton scored on runs of 35 and 29 yards.

— Bill Logan

Turkey Valley 61, Janesville 8

Noah Hanson rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns as the Trojans won at home.

He also completed his only two passes for 47 rushing and another TD.

Oliver Schmitt added 83 rushing yards and three TDs and Carson Busta chipped in with 69 yards and a TD.

— Darin Svenson

Midland 78, Springville 0

Quarterback Caden Ballou rushed for 62 yards on 11 carries and scored four touchdowns and Zain Sauer added 69 yards and a TD on just four carries as the Eagles cruised on the road.

Ballou completed 9 of 14 passes for 179 yards and another TD as the Eagles amassed 394 total yards of offense (215 rushing and 179 passing), taking advantage of seven Oriole turnovers.

— Daryl Schepanski

Mason City 13, Decorah 7

Quarterback Kale Hobart hit Kaden Tyler in stride for a game-winning 68-yard touchdown with 41 seconds left.

The Vikings lead 7-0 at halftime on quarterback Brady Stille’s 1-yard run.

The Riverhawks tied the game with 2:21 left when Hobart found Tyler in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard TD.

There were eight turnovers in the game. Mason City had six, Decorah had two.

— Randy Iverson

Camanche 25, Anamosa 21

Camanche scored a game-winning touchdown with 1:30 remaining, erasing a 21-19 deficit.

Devin Brophy completed 10 of 20 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown and added 39 rushing yards and a TD for the Raiders.

— Daryl Schepanski

Scoreboard

» Live Gazette area scoreboard

» How the ranked teams fared in Week 5

» Bound statewide scorelist