Four Downs: Week 4 Iowa high school football questions

The Gazette's Jeff Linder, K.J. Pilcher and Jeff Johnson tackle Week 4 prep football questions.

1st and 10

Q: What is the deepest or most competitive district?

JL: In terms of depth and entertainment, I'm going to go with 8-Player District 1. Six of the seven teams currently are or have been in the Gazette/KGYM top 10. Five of them (Remsen St. Mary's, Newell-Fonda, Ruthven GTRA, Harris-Lake Park and Kingsley-Pierson) reside there now. Several very good small-school programs from northwest Iowa will miss out on the playoffs, and it's a shame.

2nd and Long

Q: How will injury impact Cedar Rapids Prairie's season?

KJP: Losing Levi Usher is a substantial blow to Prairie's postseason prospects, but the Hawks still have a strong playoff contender despite the versatile Usher, who had surgery and is expected to return for baseball. Usher did a lot of things on offense, keeping the defense honest and preventing them from keying on the rush. He was also a leader in the defensive backfield and special teams. Offensively, Keegan Simmons and Braxton Zimmerman have combined for 755 rushing yards and eight TDs. They will continue to produce behind a strong line, but another playmaker may need to emerge.

3rd and Short

Q: Is there any place in Iowa that could come close to the new $70-million prep stadium in Texas?

JJ: The closest in Iowa would be Johnston's brand-new football stadium, which seats 5,300 fans and cost $8.9 million. But, really, we're talking apples and oranges when it comes to high school football in Iowa and Texas. If you want to know how fanatical people are about Texas prep football, check out ESPN's '30 for 30' on Carter High School in Dallas.

4th and Goal 

Q: Of your top-ranked teams, which one are you most confident will be No. 1 at season's end?

JL: Three stand out, but I'm going to go with Council Bluffs St. Albert (Class A) as the most likely champion. The Falcons have destroyed everything in sight, outscoring the first three opponents 149-7, and the first two opponents were quite good (Logan-Magnolia and Carroll Kuemper). Honorable-mention nod to West Lyon in 1A and West Des Moines Dowling in 4A.

KJP: West Des Moines Dowling. The Maroons have reloaded and are in good position for a fifth title. Dowling has started strong, scoring 42 points in each of the first three games, including a 42-12 win over rival West Des Moines Valley. The Maroons are the pick until someone beats them in the postseason.

JJ: About as confident as I could possibly be in four-time defending champ West Des Moines Dowling. The Maroons just keep rolling, clocking rival West Des Moines Valley last week. Class 4A is Dowling's world, and everyone else is just living in it.