Iowa high school football roundup: Week 8 scores, stats and more

Gazette area scores, stats and more from Week 8 of the 2022 Iowa high school football season.

3A No. 5 Independence 21, West Delaware 20

Mitchell Johnson engineered a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, and fifth-ranked Independence tipped West Delaware in a Class 3A District 3 football thriller, 21-20, at Brown Field.

“It came down to the last play, and we made the last play,” Johnson said.

As a result, the Mustangs (8-1 overall, 4-0 district) have firm control of the district race heading into the final week, at home against Center Point-Urbana.

The game was decided by one point, one PAT kick, 1 yard (Indee finished with a 348-347 advantage in that department).

“Great high school football game,” West Delaware Coach Doug Winkowitsch said.

Independence prevailed despite getting stopped inside the West Delaware 5-yard line twice.

The Mustangs got the ball back at their own 24 with 10:45 left. They converted a third-and-8, a fourth-and-5 and a third-and-four in a 13-play, 76-yard march.

Johnson capped it with a 2-yard TD pass to Josh Beatty. Daniel Bass added the PAT and the Mustangs led, 21-20, with 5:24 left.

Clutch drive.

Johnson finished with 206 passing yards (16 of 25) and 92 on the ground (on 29 carries).

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Linder

4A No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier 42, Newton 3

Cedar Rapids Xavier quarterback Ronan Thomas achieved a first.

The Saints defense was their signature dominant selves.

Thomas accounted for five touchdowns and the defense didn’t allow a TD for the fifth straight game. Both helped third-ranked Xavier capture the Class 4A District 4 title with a 42-3 victory over Newton Friday night at Saints Field.

“It’s hard to win any game on a Friday night,” Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. “For these guys to win enough for a district title, like other teams Xavier’s had, it holds water.”

Thomas helped lead the way. The junior was nearly perfect, passing for a personal best four TDs, and rushing for another to contribute the Saints’ last five scores.

“It was exciting,” said Thomas, who completed 9 of 10 passes for 164 yards. “I’m really thankful for my line so I could do that, but it’s obviously exciting to do that.”

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

5A No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie 49, Iowa City West 28

Have a game, Makelle Taylor.

No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie got back on the winning track Friday defeating Iowa City West, 49-28, in a 5A District 4 contest at Trojan Stadium.

The Hawks were led by Taylor, who tied a school record for most touchdowns in a game with five.

“It’s really just my line,” Taylor said. “We just came out here trying to destroy everything the whole game. We just wanted to prove to everybody that we’re here to stay.

“We’re trying to get a playoff win. We’re trying to get to the (UNI) Dome.”

Prairie’s offense stayed hot throughout the contest and was never forced to punt.

Taylor got the scoring started for Prairie (6-2), capping an opening 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard TD.

He rushed 27 times for 149 yards and had three receptions for 66 yards.

“He’s a special player,” Bliss said. “I’m just proud of his efforts.”

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Ryan Pleggenkuhle

3A No. 7 Solon 51, Grinnell 7

Get ahead, stay ahead.

Solon started quick via an opportune defense that gave the offense ample opportunity to get on track.

And get on track they did.

On the strength of five forced first-half turnovers and a monster night from quarterback/defensive back Blake Timmons, the Class 3A seventh-ranked Spartans ran away from Grinnell, 51-7, Friday night in a battle of District 5 unbeatens.

Solon (4-0, 6-2) clinched the district crown.

“It feels great,” Timmons said. “That’s one of our goals, but our bigger goals are still in front of us. We’re excited. We’re growing at the right time.”

Grinnell (4-4, 3-1) started well enough. The Tigers’ first snap resulted in a 5-yard completion. As Braden Johnson fought for extra yards, Sean Stahle ripped the ball away and took it 26 yards for a Solon touchdown 20 seconds into the game.

Grinnell responded with quarterback Brady Coffman ripping off a 31-yard run. Tailback Kinnick Johnson added a 21-yarder, then scored from 3 yards out to quickly tie the game.

It took the Spartans 29 seconds to answer. Brett White took off for 46 yards on Solon’s first play from scrimmage. Timmons weaved his way through the defense on a 20-yard keeper into the end zone to cap a three-play, 66-yard drive.

The second half began the same as the first, a Solon touchdown on the first snap. Timmons took off down the right side for a 67-yard touchdown run. It was a sign of things to come as the second half was dominated by the Spartans.

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Culley Kline

Cedar Rapids Washington 21, Oskaloosa 6

No, the Warriors didn’t play the best of games, especially offensively, but did enough to brush past Oskaloosa, 21-6, on Senior Night at Kingston Stadium.

“We did enough to win,” Washington Coach Maurice Blue said. “Now it’s on to Pella.”

The Warriors fielded the opening kickoff, got a first down, then Malik Epps-Keller and Watts McBride hooked up on a 68-yard screen pass for TD. McBride took the pass, cut toward the middle and found nothing but artificial green just 2:21 in.

Oskaloosa went three-and-out on its first possession, with Washington taking over in good field position at its 43 after a short Indians punt. Quarterback Stevie Cain (who rotated series with Epps-Keller in the first half) hit Jaden Harris for 25 yards to the Osky 2, with Harris fumbling to the 1 and teammate Michael Blank bailing him out by recovering at the 1.

Cain sneaked into the end zone for the score. But Washington was very sloppy offensively the rest of the half, committing penalties and fumbling away the football at the Oskaloosa 13 late in the second quarter.

“I think it’s all about just sharpening up,” McBride said. “Taking away the little mistakes, we show what we can do. We have flashes with big plays ... I think it’s promising. I think the guys are still growing, guys are getting better.”

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Johnson

Linn-Mar 72, Davenport Central 0

The focus was there from start to finish.

When it was over on Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium, the Lions had a record-setting 72-0 win over Davenport Central on Senior Night and an opportunity to earn a return trip to the Class 5A playoffs.

The point total broke the mark of 66 set in 1966 in a Linn-Mar win over Midland. It also set the stage for a showdown next Friday night at No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie.

The Hawks (6-2) already have a playoff berth in hand. Linn-Mar, which was No. 17 in the RPI entering this week, needs a win to be assured of a spot in the 16-team field. A loss could leave the Lions outside the top 16.

“It's basically a playoff game for us next week,” said senior running back Carter Henderson. “We have to have the focus we had this week in practice and be ready to go.”

One player who has been coming on has been Henderson. He missed some time early due to injury, but has been getting stronger each week. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior had scoring runs of 11, 29 and 42 yards in the first half as the Lions built a 51-0 lead at intermission.

He finished with 116 yards on seven carries, pushing his season total to 711 yards and 12 touchdowns. For Linn-Mar to make a run into the playoffs, Henderson will be counted on to carry a big load.

“I definitely am feeling a lot better after going through rehab,” Henderson said. “I feel like I am back at 100 percent.”

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Mike Condon

A No. 10 Alburnett 32, Columbus Community 31 (OT)

Mason Neighbor’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Payton Baker and a successful PAT kick lifted the Pirates in overtime.

Alburnett captured the Class A District 5 crown with a 6-0 district record (7-1 overall). Columbus falls to 7-1, 6-1.

2A No. 10 Monticello 58, Northeast 28

The Panthers wrapped up the Class 2A District 5 title at home, thanks largely to a wild second quarter that saw the them outscore Northeast, 31-14.

Quarterback Preston Ries scored three touchdowns on runs of 56, 67 and 25 yards in a span of 4:24 during that quarter. Ries finished with 257 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the Panthers (6-2, 5-0), and also passed for 163 yards and four more scores. Dylan Roher rushed 13 times for 146 yards and Tate Petersen had 10 catches for 119 yards and two TDs.

— Pete Temple

1A No. 3 West Branch 54, Wilton 7

Andy Henson scored four times on the ground and eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark as the Bears (8-0) completed an unbeaten regular season and claimed their 20th district title since 1992.

Quarterback Tye Hughes threw for 245 yards, also going over 1,000 yards for the season.

West Branch will host a first-round playoff game next Friday.

— Jason Miller

Decorah 45, Waterloo East 6

Jaden Baker scored two second-quarter touchdowns to power the Vikings in Waterloo.

He scored on a 4-yard run then added an 53-yard punt return as Decorah took a 28-0 lead into halftime.

Ben Wymer scored on a 26-yard run in the first quarter, Erik Hjelle added a field goal and 13-yard TD run, quarterback Brady Stille hit Casey Brickley for a 15-yard score and Louis Bucksa threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dakota Johnson.

— Randy Iverson

4A No. 2 Waverly-Shell Rock 35, Western Dubuque 14

The Go-Hawks rode a massive 28-point second half surge past the visiting Bobcats.

McCrae Hagarty scored four second-half touchdowns on runs of 29, 59, 2 and 46 yards to break a 7-7 halftime tie.

Asa Newsom opened the scoring with a 67-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Western Dubuque tied it on a 23-yard Brett Harris pass to Caleb Klein.

— Ethan Petrik, Waterloo Courier

West Liberty 32, Anamosa 13

West Liberty’s Ty Jones grabbed two touchdown passes from quarterback Drake Collins as the Comets won on the road.

The second Collins-Jones TD came via a Hail Mary on a fourth-and-30 play with 8:40 remaining, extending a 24-13 Comets lead to 32-14.

Jones also grabbed a second-quarter, 14-yard TD pass as West Liberty led 16-0 before Anamosa’s Aiden Strube scored on a 22-yard pass from quarterback Devin Brophy with 28 seconds left in the first half.

Anamosa’s Angelo Cudahy opened the second half with a 74-yard kickoff return.

The win clinched a playoff spot for West Liberty and ended Anamosa’s season.

— Daryl Schepanski

Davenport Assumption 12, Vinton-Shellsburg 7

Derrick Bass’ 85-yard touchdown with 3:42 to go in the game was the difference in a game dominated most of the way by the Vikings defense.

The Knights managed twice to drive inside the Vinton-Shellsburg 10 in the first half, but both times they had to settle for field goals from Billy Moore to take an early 6-0 lead. But with 7:42 to go in the half, Zach Staab went up the middle 68 yards for a touchdown, and Merritt Bodeker’s extra point made it 7-6, and that’s how the half ended.

The Vikings shut Assumption down for most of second half and the offense ate up a lot of time, before Bass’ TD run.

The Vikings (2-6) will host No. 3 Mount Vernon next Friday night, while the Knights (3-5) will host Maquoketa.

— Jeff Holmes

A No. 8 East Buchanan 69, South Winneshiek 13

Ryland Cornell rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs won in Calmar.

East Buchanan totaled 445 yards on the ground, also getting 107 and a TD from Hunter Bowers and 82 and three TDs from Tanner Thurn.

Keegan Streeter led the Warriors with 131 rushing yards.

— Darin Svenson

A No. 6 North Linn 48, Maquoketa Valley 6

Tate Haughenbury completed 13 of 20 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns as the Lynx won in Delhi.

Scoreboard

» Live Gazette area scoreboard

» How the ranked teams fared in Week 8

» Bound statewide scorelist