Iowa high school football rankings: Power of Class 2A District 2 reflected in this week’s poll

The sorting-out process in Class 2A District 2 is about to begin.

Five of the top eight teams in 2A, according to The Gazette’s weekly football rankings, hail from that region. The other team — Clarion CGD — is 3-0.

Only four of the six will make the playoffs, even with the postseason expanded to 32 teams in that class. So there isn’t much room for error.

And it starts Friday.

The biggest of the big is at Gowrie, where top-ranked Ida Grove OABCIG takes a 29-game winning streak to face Southeast Valley, which shares the No. 3 slot with Spirit Lake.

Spirit Lake hosts No. 8 Pocahontas Area, and No. 5 Estherville ELC — the only team in the district which has absorbed a defeat — is at CGD.

See? Every game is a biggie.

There is one change at the top in this week’s rankings; North Scott leapfrogged Indianola in Class 4A. The Lancers rolled over Davenport Assumption, while Indianola fought past Pella, 44-37.

The other leaders are the same: Southeast Polk in 5A, Harlan in 3A, OABCIG in 2A, Van Meter in 1A, West Hancock in Class A and Anita CAM in 8-Player.

Southeast Polk, Harlan and Van Meter are unanimous No. 1s.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy climbed to No. 2 in 5A after whipping Cedar Rapids Washington, 48-7. West Des Moines Valley and Ankeny are tied for third, with Urbandale fifth.

Southeast Polk is at Ankeny this week.

North Scott owns a 58-56 poll-points edge on Indianola this week in 4A. Lewis Central is third, followed by Cedar Rapids Xavier and Waverly-Shell Rock.

Xavier hosts North Scott on Friday in a rematch of last year’s state semifinal, won by the Lancers.

Harlan’s closest challengers in 3A are Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, Independence, West Delaware and Humboldt.

In addition to the glut of District 2 teams, another powerhouse resides in northwest Iowa, in District 1. Despite a 1-2 record, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock is No. 2.

Van Meter and Underwood remain the top two teams in 1A. Iowa City Regina is third, then it’s Dike-New Hartford at No. 4. MFL MarMac and Sigourney-Keota share the 5 spot.

West Hancock is No. 1 in Class A for the second week and is followed by Grundy Center, Woodbury Central, Lisbon and Logan-Magnolia. North Linn is sixth.

The No. 1 votes in 8-Player were split four different ways. CAM received three of them; Audubon, Montezuma and Easton Valley got one apiece and are rated 2-3-4, with Remsen St. Mary’s fifth.

THE GAZETTE FOOTBALL POLL

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Southeast Polk (6) 3-0 60 1

2. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 3-0 50 4

T-3. Ankeny 2-1 43 10

T-3. West Des Moines Valley 2-1 43 6

5. Urbandale 2-1 25 4

6. West Des Moines Dowling 1-2 24 2

7. Cedar Falls 2-1 23 9

8. Johnston 2-1 20 8

9. Cedar Rapids Prairie 2-1 14 3

10. Ankeny Centennial 2-1 12 --

Dropped out: Pleasant Valley (7).

Others receiving votes: Iowa City High 10, Linn-Mar 6.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

1. North Scott (4) 3-0 58 2

2. Indianola (2) 3-0 56 1

3. Lewis Central 2-1 43 4

4. Cedar Rapids Xavier 3-0 42 4

5. Waverly-Shell Rock 3-0 37 7

6. Bondurant-Farrar 3-0 29 8

7. Fort Dodge 3-0 23 10

8. Cedar Rapids Washington 2-1 17 3

9. Winterset 2-1 11 6

10. Newton 3-0 6 --

Dropped out: Norwalk (9).

Others receiving votes: Oskaloosa 4, Norwalk 2, Fort Madison 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Harlan (6) 3-0 60 1

2. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 3-0 53 2

3. Independence 3-0 41 4

4. West Delaware 2-1 37 6

5. Humboldt 3-0 36 8

6. Solon 3-0 35 5

7. Nevada 3-0 21 9

T-8. Davenport Assumption 2-1 17 7

T-8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 2-1 17 3

10. Algona 3-0 8 10

Dropped out: DeWitt Central (10), Mount Vernon (10).

Others receiving votes: Mount Vernon 3, Adel ADM 2.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Ida Grove OABCIG (4) 3-0 58 1

2. Central Lyon-GLR (1) 1-2 48 3

T-3. Southeast Valley 3-0 43 4

T-3. Spirit Lake (1) 3-0 43 5

5. Estherville ELC 2-1 41 2

6. West Marshall 2-1 30 6

7. Waukon 2-1 25 10

8. Pocahontas Area 3-0 17 --

9. North Fayette Valley 3-0 6 --

T-10. Greene County 2-1 5 --

T-10. West Lyon 1-2 5 7

Dropped out: Monticello (8), Monroe PCM (9).

Others receiving votes: Clarion CGD 3, Camanche 2, Cherokee 2, Clarke 2.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Van Meter (6) 3-0 60 1

2. Underwood 3-0 54 2

3. Iowa City Regina 3-0 39 4

4. Dike-New Hartford 3-0 34 6

T-5. MFL MarMac 3-0 29 5

T-5. Sigourney-Keota 3-0 29 8

7. Pella Christian 3-0 27 7

8. West Sioux 2-1 20 2

9. Dyersville Beckman 3-0 18 9

10. Guthrie Center ACGC 3-0 11 10

Others receiving votes: Cardinal 3, Mediapolis 2, Waterloo Columbus 2, West Branch 2.

CLASS A W-L Pts Pvs

1. West Hancock (5) 3-0 59 1

2. Grundy Center (1) 2-1 53 2

3. Woodbury Central 3-0 44 3

4. Lisbon 2-1 37 5

5. Logan-Magnolia 2-1 31 6

6. North Linn 3-0 29 7

7. Oakland Riverside 3-0 28 4

8. Hartley HMS 2-1 18 8

9. North Tama 3-0 16 9

10. Mason City Newman 2-1 5 10

Dropped out: Saint Ansgar (10).

Others receiving votes: Tri-Center 4, Earlham 3, Saint Ansgar 3, Ogden 1.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts Pvs

1. Anita CAM (3) 3-0 56 1

2. Audubon (1) 3-0 52 2

3. Montezuma (1) 4-0 49 3

4. Easton Valley (1) 3-0 39 4

5. Remsen St. Mary’s 3-0 37 5

6. Janesville 3-0 26 6

T-7. New London 2-0 25 8

T-7. Newell-Fonda 3-0 25 7

9. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 3-0 5 10

T-10. Lansing Kee 3-0 4 --

T-10. Ruthven GTRA 3-0 4 --

Dropped out: Fremont-Mills (9)

Others receiving votes: Lenox 3, Turkey Valley 3, WACO 2.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com