West Marshall climbs to the top in Gazette’s final Class 2A balloting

Cedar Rapids Kennedy defensive back Dkhai Pope (21) and linebacker Dylan Davis take down Dubuque Senior wide receiver Hayden Francois (8) in a game Sept. 23. The Cougars remain No. 1 in this week’s Gazette Class 5A football rankings. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

The merry-go-round continues in Class 2A, and who knows how it will stop spinning when the Iowa high school football season concludes in the UNI-Dome.

West Marshall is the latest No. 1 in The Gazette’s football poll in that class. The Trojans (7-1) climb after former top-ranked Southeast Valley suffered a 21-14 loss last week to Spirit Lake.

The Trojans are the fourth team to hold the top spot, and they’ll hold it for keeps. The regular season ends after eight weeks in the smaller four classes, and this is The Gazette’s final poll for those classes, who start the postseason Friday night.

Van Meter (8-0) was a wire-to-wire No. 1 in 1A, holding that spot unanimously all season. West Hancock (8-0) is the top team in Class A, and Anita CAM (8-0) has been the top team in 8-Player all season.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy, North Scott and Harlan — all 8-0 — are the top teams in 5A, 4A and 3A. They each have one week of the regular season left before opening the playoffs Oct. 29.

The 2A door has been revolving mostly due to the balance and strength of Northwest Iowa in that class. No. 2 Ida Grove OABCIG, co-No. 3 Southeast Valley, No. 5 Spirit Lake and co-No. 8 Estherville ELC all reside in one district; No. 6 West Lyon and co-No. 8 Central Lyon-GLR are in another.

Central Lyon-GLR, OABCIG and Southeast Valley all spent time atop the 2A poll this season.

Last year’s 2A champion, Waukon shares the No. 3 spot with Southeast Valley.

Van Meter got all six of the No. 1 votes in 1A votes; Underwood received all of the No. 2 tallies. After that, it’s Iowa City Regina at No. 3, then Dike-New Hartford and Sigourney-Keota.

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West Hancock picked up five first-place votes in Class A and holds a 59-54 advantage in poll points over Grundy Center. North Linn is third; Lisbon and Logan-Magnolia share the No. 4 rung.

CAM is a decisive No. 1 in 8-Player, picking up four first-place votes and 58 poll points. Montezuma is second, followed by Remsen St. Mary’s, Easton Valley and Audubon.

Kennedy’s unbeaten season was in a bit of danger at halftime Friday night; the Cougars trailed Johnston, 7-0. But they picked up the pace in the second half and won, 24-10, retaining five first-place votes and a 59-54 edge on No. 2 Southeast Polk. Ankeny, Urbandale and West Des Moines Dowling round out the top five.

North Scott remains a unanimous No. 1 in 4A, leading Cedar Rapids Xavier — a team it defeated 20-8 earlier this season. Indianola and Lewis Central are tied for third; Waverly-Shell Rock is fifth.

Harlan has been unanimous atop the 3A list all season and is followed by Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley and Solon. Humboldt and West Delaware are tied for third.

The Gazette will release one more 5A/4A/3A poll next Monday.

The Gazette Iowa high school football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (5) 8-0 59 1

2. Southeast Polk (1) 7-1 54 2

3. Ankeny 6-2 43 4

4. Urbandale 7-1 35 5

5. West Des Moines Dowling 5-3 33 9

6. Cedar Rapids Prairie 6-2 30 6

7. West Des Moines Valley 6-2 25 3

8. Iowa City High 7-1 20 7

9. Linn-Mar 7-1 17 8

10. Pleasant Valley 6-2 14 10

Dropped out: Cedar Falls (10).

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

1. North Scott (6) 8-0 60 1

2. Cedar Rapids Xavier 7-1 53 2

T-3. Indianola 7-1 38 8

T-3. Lewis Central 6-2 38 4

5. Waverly-Shell Rock 7-1 36 6

6. Winterset 7-1 33 7

7. Bondurant-Farrar 7-1 26 3

T-8. Decorah 6-2 16 10

T-8. Webster City 6-2 16 9

10. Norwalk 6-2 14 5

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Harlan (6) 8-0 60 1

2. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 8-0 53 2

3. Solon 8-0 43 4

T-4. Humboldt 8-0 42 5

T-4. West Delaware 7-1 42 3

6. Independence 7-1 25 6

7. Benton Community 7-1 24 8

8. Nevada 7-1 19 7

9. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6-2 15 9

10. Adel ADM 6-2 7 10

Dropped out: Algona (10).

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS 2A (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. West Marshall (2) 7-1 50 2

2. Ida Grove OABCIG (1) 7-1 49 3

T-3. Southeast Valley (2) 7-1 43 1

T-3. Waukon (1) 7-1 43 4

5. Spirit Lake 6-2 34 7

6. West Lyon 6-2 32 5

7. Greene County 7-1 27 5

T-8. Central Lyon-GLR 5-3 20 7

T-8. Estherville ELC 5-3 20 9

10. North Fayette Valley 7-1 7 —

Dropped out: Williamsburg (10).

Others receiving votes: Williamsburg 5.

CLASS 1A (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. Van Meter (6) 8-0 60 1

2. Underwood 8-0 54 2

3. Iowa City Regina 8-0 44 3

4. Dike-New Hartford 8-0 39 4

5. Sigourney-Keota 8-0 38 5

6. Dyersville Beckman 8-0 28 6

7. West Sioux 7-1 27 6

8. Pella Christian 7-1 19 9

9. Guthrie Center ACGC 7-1 9 8

10. Waterloo Columbus 6-2 6 10

Others receiving votes: Denver 5, South Central Calhoun 1.

CLASS A (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. West Hancock (5) 8-0 59 1

2. Grundy Center (1) 7-1 54 2

3. North Linn 8-0 42 3

T-4. Lisbon 7-1 41 4

T-4. Logan-Magnolia 7-1 41 5

6. Woodbury Central 7-1 24 7

7. East Buchanan 7-1 18 9

8. North Butler 7-1 14 6

T-9. Hartley HMS 6-2 10 —

T-9. Lynnville-Sully 7-1 10 —

Dropped out: Belle Plaine (8), Southwest Valley (10).

Others receiving votes: Wapsie Valley 7, Mason City Newman 5, Mount Ayr 3, Tri-Center 2.

8-PLAYER (Final) W-L Pts Pvs

1. Anita CAM (4) 8-0 58 1

2. Montezuma (1) 9-0 51 2

3. Remsen St. Mary’s 8-0 46 3

4. Easton Valley (1) 8-0 43 4

5. Audubon 7-1 39 5

6. Turkey Valley 8-0 28 6

7. WACO 8-0 22 7

8. Lenox 8-0 20 8

9. Lansing Kee 7-1 14 9

10. Don Bosco 6-2 3 10

Others receiving votes: Janesville 2, Newell-Fonda 2, Baxter 1, Ruthven GTRA 1.

Class 5A RPI update

The Iowa High School updated its Ratings Percentage Index standings for Class 5A on Monday.

RPI is determined by three factors: W-L percentage (37.5 percent), opponents’ W-L percentage (37.5 percent) and opponents’ opponents’ W-L percentage (25 percent).

Here is how the top 20 teams stand through eight weeks:

1. Southeast Polk (7-1, 40-32, 356-292, .6738)

2. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (8-0, 28-44, 353-295, .6570)

3. West Des Moines Valley (6-2, 44-28, 333-315, .6389)

4. Urbandale (7-1, 31-41, 358-290, .6277)

5. Cedar Rapids Prairie (6-2, 41-31, 333-315, .6233)

6. Linn-Mar (7-1, 30-42, 358-290, .6225)

7. Ankeny (6-2, 38-34, 352-296, .6150)

8. Pleasant Valley (6-2, 39-33, 326-322, .6101)

9. Iowa City High (7-1, 27-45, 358-290, .6069)

10. West Des Moines Dowling (5-3, 43-29, 341-307, .5899)

11. Cedar Falls (5-3, 36-36, 336-312, .5515)