Iowa high school football rankings: Washington-Kennedy matchup Friday will be a clash of top-5 teams

When Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington collide Friday night at Kingston Stadium, it will be more than just a bragging-rights Metro football contest.

It will be a top-five showdown.

Kennedy (2-0) climbed to three spots to No. 4 in this week’s Gazette Class 5A football poll, released Monday. Washington (2-0) remained steady at No. 3 in 4A.

Four Metro teams are in this week’s poll, same as preseason and same as last week.

Cedar Rapids Prairie (2-0) is No. 3 in 5A; Cedar Rapids Xavier (2-0) is up to a fourth-place tie in 4A. The Hawks have a biggie Friday at home against 5A No. 9 Cedar Falls; the Saints are at Dubuque Wahlert.

There are massive changes in the 2A and Class A balloting after a week full of upsets in those classes.

In 2A, Ida Grove OABCIG is the new team on top after last week’s co-leaders — Central Lyon/George-Little Rock and West Marshall — both suffered defeats.

Three of the top four Class A teams (Grundy Center, Logan-Magnolia and Mason City Newman) went down last week, and that allowed West Hancock to climb two notches to No. 1.

Southeast Polk (5A), Indianola (4A), Harlan (3A), Van Meter (1A) and Anita CAM (8-Player) remain on top of their respective classes.

Southeast Polk already has wins over West Des Moines Dowling and West Des Moines Valley under its belt and remains a unanimous choice in the big-school class. Dowling is No. 2 this week, Prairie is third and Kennedy and Urbandale share the No. 4 slot.

Indianola and North Scott were tied for No. 1 in 4A last week, and now the Indians hold a 57-56 advantage in poll points. Both received three first-place votes.

Washington has won its first two games by a 105-9 advantage, and Xavier moved up after holding off West Delaware 23-21 last week. The Saints share the No. 4 position with Lewis Central.

Harlan and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley are still 1-2 in 3A, with Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Independence and Solon climbing a spot after West Delaware’s loss. The Hawks are sixth.

OABCIG won the 2A title in 2019 and was crowned in 1A last year. The Falcons lead a District 2 field that houses four of the top five 2A teams (Estherville-Lincoln Central is second, Southeast Valley fourth, Spirit Lake fifth), and the round robin of showdowns there will begin in Week 4.

Central Lyon-GLR is No. 3 despite an 0-2 start.

The 1A top five are unchanged from a week ago. Van Meter remains a unanimous No. 1, then Underwood and West Sioux are tied for fourth. Iowa City Regina and MFL MarMac round out the top five.

West Hancock jumped to the top in Class A after whipping then-No. 4 Mason City Newman, 32-6. Grundy Center slipped just one spot to No. 2, and Woodbury Central soared six spots after knocking off Logan-Magnolia. Oakland Riverside and Lisbon complete the top five.

CAM continues to expand its 8-Player lead — it’s now 56-52 over Audubon. The Cougars received three first-place votes. Audubon earned one, as did No. 3 Montezuma and No. 4 Easton Valley. Defending champion Remsen St. Mary’s is fifth.

The Gazette Iowa high school football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Southeast Polk (6) 2-0 60 1

2. West Des Moines Dowling 1-1 52 3

3. Cedar Rapids Prairie 2-0 48 4

T-4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 2-0 40 7

T-4. Urbandale 2-0 40 8

6. West Des Moines Valley 1-1 22 5

7. Pleasant Valley 1-1 17 9

8. Johnston 1-1 14 6

9. Cedar Falls 1-1 11 10

10. Ankeny 1-1 10 2

Others receiving votes: Ankeny Centennial 4, Des Moines Roosevelt 3, Iowa City High 3, Waukee Northwest 3, Dubuque Senior 1, Linn-Mar 1, Sioux City East 1.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Indianola (3) 2-0 57 1

2. North Scott (3) 2-0 56 1

3. Cedar Rapids Washington 2-0 39 3

T-4. Cedar Rapids Xavier 2-0 36 6

T-4. Lewis Central 1-1 36 4

6. Winterset 2-0 32 5

7. Waverly-Shell Rock 2-0 24 8

8. Bondurant-Farrar 2-0 20 7

9. Norwalk 2-0 17 9

10. Fort Dodge 2-0 8 —

Dropped out: Glenwood (10).

Others receiving votes: Pella 3, Oskaloosa 2.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Harlan (6) 2-0 60 1

2. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 2-0 52 2

3. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 2-0 40 4

4. Independence 2-0 34 5

5. Solon 2-0 33 6

6. West Delaware 1-1 31 3

7. Davenport Assumption 2-0 29 7

8. Humboldt 2-0 25 7

9. Nevada 2-0 16 10

T-10. Algona 2-0 3 —

T-10. DeWitt Central 2-0 3 —

T-10. Mount Vernon 1-1 3 9

Others receiving votes: Adel ADM 1.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Ida Grove OABCIG (2) 2-0 56 4

2. Estherville ELC (2) 2-0 54 6

3. Central Lyon-GLR (1) 0-2 38 1

4. Southeast Valley 2-0 35 7

5. Spirit Lake (1) 2-0 34 8

6. West Marshall 1-1 23 1

7. West Lyon 1-1 19 3

8. Monticello 2-0 17 —

9. Monroe PCM 1-1 15 5

10. Waukon 1-1 11 —

Dropped out: Clear Lake (9), Williamsburg (10).

Others receiving votes: Centerville 8, Jesup 5, Unity Christian 5, Pocahontas Area 2, Williamsburg 2, North Fayette Valley 1.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Van Meter (6) 2-0 60 1

T-2. Underwood 2-0 47 2

T-2. West Sioux 2-0 47 3

4. Iowa City Regina 2-0 39 4

5. MFL MarMac 2-0 33 5

6. Dike-New Hartford 2-0 25 9

7. Pella Christian 2-0 22 8

8. Sigourney-Keota 2-0 20 7

9. Dyersville Beckman 2-0 15 9

10. Guthrie Center ACGC 2-0 9 —

Dropped out: South Central Calhoun (6).

Others receiving votes: Denver 4, Cardinal 3, Mediapolis 2, West Branch 2, South Central Calhoun 1, Waterloo Columbus 1.

CLASS A W-L Pts Pvs

1. West Hancock (5) 2-0 59 3

2. Grundy Center (1) 1-1 48 1

3. Woodbury Central 2-0 45 9

4. Oakland Riverside 2-0 37 6

5. Lisbon 1-1 35 5

6. Logan-Magnolia 1-1 31 2

7. North Linn 2-0 23 9

8. Hartley HMS 1-1 15 7

9. North Tama 2-0 13 —

T-10. Mason City Newman 1-1 5 4

T-10. Saint Ansgar 1-1 5 —

Dropped out: Avoca AHSTW (7).

Others receiving votes: Tri-Center 4, Earlham 3, Lawton-Bronson 3, Ogden 2, South O’Brien 2.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts Pvs

1. Anita CAM (3) 2-0 56 1

2. Audubon (1) 2-0 52 2

3. Montezuma (1) 3-0 49 3

4. Easton Valley (1) 2-0 38 4

5. Remsen St. Mary’s 2-0 35 5

6. Janesville 2-0 26 6

7. Newell-Fonda 2-0 21 8

8. New London 1-0 18 7

9. Fremont-Mills 1-1 7 9

10. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 2-0 6 —

Dropped out: Don Bosco (9).

Others receiving votes: Coon Rapids-Bayard 5, Lansing Kee 4, Exira-EHK 3, Ruthven GTRA 3, Lenox 2, Turkey Valley 2, Winfield-Mount Union 2, WACO 1.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com