High school football: Iowa City Liberty chases a 5A state championship Friday, and ‘Dowling’s just another monster in our way.’
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High school football: Iowa City Liberty chases a 5A state championship Friday, and ‘Dowling’s just another monster in our way.’
Fresh off its first state-tournament appearance in school history, Maquoketa is No. 1
Cedar Rapids Xavier and Iowa City Regina play for titles in Class 3A and Class 1A, respectively.
The Iowa City Liberty football team put together three 80-yard scoring drives, had more than a two-to-one advantage in time of possession and beat Waukee Northwest, 31-15, in a Friday night Class 5A Iowa playoff football semifinal. Liberty is the first school not from a Des Moines suburban school to make it to a biggest-school class championship game since 2018.
See photos as the Iowa City Liberty Lightning took on the Waukee Northwest Wolves in a Class 5A Iowa high school football state championships semifinal.
Cedar Rapids Xavier and Newton face off in a Class 4A Iowa high school football playoff semifinal at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. It is one of four games Thursday.
A 15-yard touchdown pass from Reece Rettig to Pryor Reiners with 1:30 left gave Iowa City Liberty a 31-28 win over four-time defending state champion Southeast Polk in a thrilling Class 5A quarterfinal Friday night. Liberty gets Waukee Northwest in next week’s semifinals.
Photos of Southeast Polk vs. Iowa City Liberty Iowa High School state football quarterfinal in North Liberty Friday, November 7, 2025
The Iowa High School Athletic Association football playoffs have reached the state quarterfinals. Teams across the state in all classes will compete for a chance to play at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls next week.
State cross country, Class 4A: Cedar Falls’ Jaden Merrick leads a pack of four sub-15 finishers in the boys’ race. Liberty’s Keegan Decker finishes third for the second straight year. Prairie is 4th in the boys’ team race; City High girls and boys are 7th.
See photos from the Iowa Class 2A and Class 3A state cross country championships.
It didn’t look great for Iowa City Liberty’s football team when star quarterback Reece Rettig had to come out of the game with a leg injury in the second quarter of its Class 5A playoff football first-rounder Friday night against Waukee. But Rettig returned, and the Lightning rambled to a 34-20 win. Next up is Southeast Polk, which Liberty beat in the regular season but is the four-time defending 5A champion.
High school football teams play in the Iowa High School Athletic Association playoffs. All seven classes will compete in the Round of 16 for a spot in the state quarterfinals.
Paustian’s effort has paid dividends in his first two weeks of high school competition. Paustian remained unbeaten, pinning Marion’s Lucas Stearns for the 150-pound title Saturday at the Mount Vernon Invitational.
Women’s basketball: Hannah Stuelke -- and the rest of Iowa’s post posse -- regain their mojo in Iowa’s 102-68 victory over Lindenwood.
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