Iowa high school football scores: Live updates from Friday’s state semifinals

Beckman Catholic players stand for the National Anthem before the team’s 1A state tournament semi final against Van Meter on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

The Iowa high school state football semifinals continued Friday with games in Class 1A and Class 5A at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Get all the scores and stats here, plus a recap of our live updates and complete Gazette area coverage.

State football coverage

» How to watch state football semifinals on TV and live stream

» Iowa City High has too many miscues in 5A semifinal loss to Southeast Polk

» No. 1 Van Meter ends Beckman’s run in 1A state football semifinals

» Better together: Iowa City High sophomore duo share friendship and quarterback duties

» Thursday’s state football semifinal scores, stats and more

Class 5A: No. 2 Southeast Polk 33, No. 7 Iowa City High 7

Southeast Polk ran out to a 23-0 halftime lead, taking advantage of multiple City High mistakes and some Xavier Nwankpa excellence to score on short fields.

Nwankpa had a touchdown catch and returned the opening kickoff of the second half for another TD. A 75-yard Nwankpa punt return set up the first of four Josh Wilson field goals in the game.

» Game story | Photo gallery | Box score

8:01 4TH: Southeast Polk 33, Iowa City High 7

Josh Wilson connected on his fourth field goal of the game, this one from 25 yards. It was a 13-play, 53-yard drive.

2:52 3RD: Southeast Polk 30, Iowa City High 7

Iowa City High got on the board with a 19-play, 66-yard touchdown drive. Drew Larson found Ben Kueter in the corner of the end zone for a 1-yard TD pass on third-and-goal. The Little Hawks converted five third downs and a fourth-and-2 on the drive.

11:47 3RD: Southeast Polk 30, Iowa City High 0

Xavier Nwankpa was stopped 13 yards short of a punt return touchdown in the first half. He couldn’t be brought down on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Southeast Polk 5-star returned it 94 yards for a TD to continue the Rams’ dominance on the scoreboard.

2:31 2ND: Southeast Polk 23, Iowa City High 0

Another City High mistake, and this time Southeast Polk capitalized fully. Stephen Saywahn recovered a popped-up kickoff for the Rams at the City 18 before any Little Hawks fielded it. Then Titus Christiansen ran in a 13-yard touchdown on the second play of the drive.

3:15 2ND: Southeast Polk 16, Iowa City High 0

Josh Wilson kicked his third field goal of the first half and showed some range with a 38-yarder. This was a six-play, 35-yard drive for the Rams. Both teams have just 61 yards of offense at this juncture.

6:42 2ND: Southeast Polk 13, Iowa City High 0

Obald Niyonkuru picked off a tipped City High pass at the City 15, but once again the Little Hawks held the Rams to a field goal in the red zone. Josh Wilson converted from 22 yards.

10:12 2ND: Southeast Polk 10, Iowa City High 0

Xavier Nwankpa returned a City High punt 75 yards to the 13, but the Rams couldn’t punch it in. Instead, Josh Wilson extended the lead with a 23-yard field goal.

8:35 1ST: Southeast Polk 7, Iowa City High 0

Jaxon Dailey and Xavier Nwankpa teamed up to give Southeast Polk the early lead with a 17-yard touchdown pass. It was a short four-play, 30-yard drive for the Rams after the Little Hawks went backward on their first drive. City High has already been flagged for two penalties.

Class 5A: No. 3 Ankeny 35, No. 6 West Des Moines Valley 13

Colin Kadolph rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 52-yard touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 89 yards for another score to lead defending 4A champion Ankeny to the first 5A title game.

J.J. Kohl was 6-of-10 passing for 127 yards and two TDs for the Hawks.

» Box score

5:40 4TH: Ankeny 35, West Des Moines Valley 13

In two plays, Ankeny pretty much sealed its spot in the 5A title game. Tamden Webb-Tate picked off a Valley pass at the Ankeny 36 and returned it 21 yards. On the next play, J.J. Kohl dropped in a 43-yard touchdown pass to Brady McCullough.

6:27 4TH: Ankeny 28, West Des Moines Valley 13

Colin Kadolph had scored via a kick return and two runs. How about a catch? The Ankeny running back took a short J.J. Kohl pass 52 yards to the house to add to his scoring haul and to the Hawks’ lead.

10:33 4TH: Ankeny 21, West Des Moines Valley 13

Dawson Stine made this a one-possession game with his second field goal of the night, this one from 33 yards. The Tigers converted on fourth-and-1 from the Ankeny 37 with a Mason Morrow 2-yard run to keep the drive alive.

9:31 3RD: Ankeny 21, West Des Moines Valley 10

Colin Kadolph scored his third touchdown of the game on the first possession of the second half. This 5-yard run required a lot less effort than the first two TDs. Quarterback J.J. Kohl set it up with a 53-yard run on the prior play.

0:22 2ND: Ankeny 14, West Des Moines Valley 10

Valley put together a big drive just before the end of the half. It was 11 plays and 80 yards in 5:15, capped by Mason Morrow’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Eli Raridon.

5:37 2ND: Ankeny 14, West Des Moines Valley 3

First it was a long touchdown run. This time, Colin Kadolph burned Ankeny with a kick return, taking it 89 yards for a touchdown to extend the Hawks’ lead.

5:49 2ND: Ankeny 7, West Des Moines Valley 3

Valley got on the board with a 32-yard Dawson Stine field goal. That was set up by Cade Grevengoed’s 47-yard punt return to the Ankeny 23. Braden Simonsen sacked Mason Morrow for a 9-yard loss on third-and-goal from the 7 to force the field goal attempt.

6:42 1ST: Ankeny 7, West Des Moines Valley 0

Colin Kadolph broke free up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown run to give the Hawks an early lead.

Class 1A: No. 7 West Sioux 24, No. 4 Dike-New Hartford 21 (2OT)

Noel Lopez’s 21-yard field goal in the second overtime sent the Falcons to the title game. DNH’s prior attempt hit the left upright.

West Sioux outgained Dike-New Hartford 522-123, but had to rally from 14-0 down to force overtime after turning it over four times, including a pair of pick-6s.

» Box score

OT: Dike-New Hartford 21, West Sioux 21

Carter Bultman scored on a 2-yard run on West Sioux’s second play of OT. DNH struck back when Devon Kollasch came down with a 10-yard pass in the end zone.

END 4TH: Dike-New Hartford 14, West Sioux 14

West Sioux’s Blake Van Ballegooyen came up with an interception near midfield with 59 seconds left to give the Falcons a chance to win in regulation. West Sioux got to the DNH 26, but Noel Lopez’s 43-yard field goal attempt was short, sending this game to overtime.

2:43 4TH: Dike-New Hartford 14, West Sioux 14

When West Sioux was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the DNH 5 with 3:57 remaining, that might have seemed like its last best chance. Instead, the Falcons forced a punt, then quickly tied it up. Dylan Wiggins found Carter Bultman behind the defense for a 56-yard touchdown and the ensuing extra point tied it up.

2:31 3RD: Dike-New Hartford 14, West Sioux 7

West Sioux got on the board on fourth-and-2, as Brady Lynott ran 11 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons have overcome four turnovers, including a third-quarter fumble on what was a 59-yard pass play, to get within seven.

0:46 1ST: Dike-New Hartford 14, West Sioux 0

Make it three picks and two pick-6s for the Wolverines. This time Braxten Johnson picked off a West Sioux pass and took it 78 yards to the end zone to double Dike-New Hartford’s lead. That was Johnson’s second interception of the quarter.

6:14 1ST: Dike-New Hartford 7, West Sioux 0

Defense strikes first. Nate Graves picked off a West Sioux pass and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown to get the scoring started.

Class 1A: No. 1 Van Meter 28, No. 6 Dyersville Beckman 7

Van Meter took a 28-7 lead in the first half and made it stand up with three fourth-down stops in the second half, including one from the Van Meter 6 as the Trailblazers were threatening to cut into the lead in the third quarter.

Jack Pettit completed five passes in the game, and two were for touchdowns to Ganon Archer. Pettit rushed for 98 yards. Dalton Van Pelt ran for 173 yards and a TD and Chris Scheck returned a punt for another score. Beckman quarterback Cayden Gassmann passed for 171 yards and a touchdown and ran for 79 yards.

» Game story | Photo gallery | Box score

0:33 2ND: Van Meter 28, Dyersville Beckman 7

Ganon Archer came up with his second touchdown catch of the second quarter on a similar play to extend the Bulldogs’ lead going into halftime. This one was a 14-yard pass from Jack Pettit to the end zone. Pettit converted a fourth-and-2 from the 28 two plays earlier with a 12-yard run.

10:13 2ND: Van Meter 21, Dyersville Beckman 7

Ganon Archer made a leaping catch in the end zone while being defended closely for a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jack Pettit. The Bulldogs’ first three touchdowns have come in three facets: punt return, rush and pass. This was a nine-play, 80-yard drive that included a pair of third-down conversions.

1:44 1ST: Van Meter 14, Dyersville Beckman 7

The Trailblazers struck back with some big plays in the passing game. On the first play of the drive, quarterback Carter Gassman rolled left, then looked back to his right and hit Conner Grover with no Bulldogs near him for a 53-yard gain. A few plays later, Gassman hit Max Mullis for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

4:03 1ST: Van Meter 14, Dyersville Beckman 0

The Bulldogs capitalized on a Beckman fumble that was recovered by Casey Trudo at the Beckman 45. After converting a fourth-and-3 from the 38 via an 8-yard Jack Pettit pass to Chris Schreck, Pettit ran for 11 yards, then Dalton Van Pelt got outside and scored on an 19-yard run.

7:25 1ST: Van Meter 7, Dyersville Beckman 0

The first points of the day come via special teams. Van Meter’s Chris Schreck returned a punt 46 yards for a touchdown to put the Bulldogs on top.