Kennedy-Washington will be a top-10 battle

It's official: Friday's Metro contest at Kingston Stadium is now a top-10 battle.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy joined the Gazette/KCRG/KGYM Class 4A football rankings after holding off Iowa City West, 34-31, in the first week behind a 265-yard, four-touchdown outburst from running back Tyler Dralle.

The Cougars, coming off a 3-8 season in 2014, are tied for 10th. Kennedy will face No. 3 Cedar Rapids Washington on Friday. The Warriors slipped a spot after defeating Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 27-14, Saturday afternoon.

The No. 1 teams remain the same in all six classes after winning their openers. West Des Moines Valley (4A), Pella (3A), North Fayette Valley (2A), Iowa City Regina (1A), Gladbrook-Reinbeck (Class A) and Newell-Fonda (8-Player) are still on top.

Pella and Regina remained unanimous top picks. Pella defeated Washington (Iowa), 42-24, while Regina downed Solon, 21-13, in a turnover-plagued game.

Pella will play at Dallas Center-Grimes this week in a 3A battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. Dallas Center-Grimes is coming off an impressive 39-6 win over Carlisle.

Cedar Rapids Xavier is No. 3 in 3A. The Saints' opener with 4A No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling was canceled by Friday's thunderstorm. The Saints will play an eight-game regular-season schedule, starting Friday at home against Davenport Assumption.

Valley pasted Waukee, 44-13, in a 4A top-five battle on Friday behind two rushing touchdowns and a passing TD from quarterback Rocky Lombardi.

Defending 2A state champion North Fayette Valley opened with a 22-7 win over Decorah, a Class 3A team. The TigerHawks host Independence on Friday.

Regina, which has won five consecutive state titles, is at Cascade on Friday.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck, the 2014 Class A state runner-up, debuted the new season with a 13-6 triumph over 2A Union. The Rebels have a showdown Friday at 1A No. 2 Dike-New Hartford.

Newell-Fonda, the defending 8-player champion, put some distance between itself and the field after beating then-No. 3 West Bend-Mallard, 34-18. The Mustangs host Harris-Lake Park this week.

GAZETTE/KCRG/KGYM FOOTBALL POLL

(First place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 4A

Rank

Team

W-L

Points

Previous

1.

West Des Moines Valley (7)

1-0

78

1

2.

West Des Moines Dowling (1)

0-0

67

3

3.

Cedar Rapids Washington

1-0

64

2

4.

Bettendorf

1-0

51

5

5.

Ankeny Centennial

1-0

38

8

6.

Cedar Falls

1-0

36

7

7.

Ankeny

1-0

29

6

8.

Waukee

0-1

18

4

9.

Lewis Central

1-0

15

9

T-10.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy

1-0

13

NR

T-10.

Johnston

1-0

13

NR

Dropped out: Ames (10)Others receiving votes: Pleasant Valley 8, Fort Dodge 5, Ames 2, Urbandale 2, Dubuque Senior 1

CLASS 3A

Rank

Team

W-L

Points

Previous

1.

Pella (8)

1-0

80

1

2.

Dallas Center-Grimes

1-0

64

3

3.

Cedar Rapids Xavier

0-0

62

2

4.

West Delaware

1-0

54

4

5.

Sioux City Heelan

1-0

53

4

T-6.

Waverly-Shell Rock

1-0

27

8

T-6.

Webster City

1-0

27

NR

8.

Carroll

1-0

24

8

9.

Norwalk

1-0

20

NR

T-10.

Harlan

1-0

9

NR

T-10.

Solon

0-1

9

7

Dropped out: Carlisle (6), Gilbert (10)

Others receiving votes: Davenport Assumption 5, Carlisle 3, Bondurant-Farrar 2, Spencer 1

CLASS 2A

Rank

Team

W-L

Points

Previous

1.

North Fayette Valley (4)

1-0

61

1

2.

Central Lyon-GLR (1)

1-0

56

2

3.

Albia (1)

1-0

48

4

4.

Spirit Lake (1)

1-0

47

3

5.

South Tama

1-0

39

7

6.

Dyersville Beckman

1-0

38

5

7.

Sioux Center

1-0

33

6

8.

Baxter CMB (1)

1-0

26

9

9.

Anamosa

1-0

19

10

10.

Williamsburg

1-0

17

NR

Dropped out: Clear Lake (8)Others receiving votes: Hampton-Dumont 14, Waukon 10, Center Point-Urbana 9, New Hampton 8, Mount Vernon 7, Clarinda 6, MOC-Floyd Valley 1, Union 1

CLASS 1A

Rank

Team

W-L

Points

Previous

1.

Iowa City Regina (8)

1-0

80

1

2.

Dike-New Hartford

1-0

64

3

3.

West Branch

1-0

60

4

4.

Hinton

1-0

45

9

5.

IKM-Manning

1-0

40

6

6.

Pella Christian

1-0

37

NR

7.

South Winneshiek

0-1

26

2

8.

Saint Ansgar

1-0

23

NR

9.

Madrid

1-0

19

NR

10.

West Lyon

0-1

16

6

Dropped out: Fort Dodge St. Edmond (5), Avoca AHSTW (8), South Central Calhoun (10)Others receiving votes: Panorama 13, Ridge View 6, Avoca AHSTW 3, Central Decatur 3, Des Moines Christian 2, Underwood 2, Fort Dodge St. Edmond 1

CLASS A

Rank

Team

W-L

Points

Previous

1.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck (6)

1-0

78

1

2.

Logan-Magnolia (1)

1-0

66

2

3.

Pekin

1-0

63

3

4.

Denver

1-0

50

5

5.

BGM (1)

1-0

38

7

6.

Belmond-Klemme

1-0

31

8

7.

Montezuma

1-0

26

9

8.

Audubon

1-0

17

NR

9.

Mount Ayr

0-1

15

6

10.

Bedford

1-0

10

NR

Dropped out: Ackley AGWSR (4), Maquoketa Valley (10)Others receiving votes: South O'Brien 8, West Sioux 8, Maquoketa Valley 7, Earlham 6, Westwood 6, Algona Garrigan 5, Council Bluffs St. Albert 4, Ackley AGWSR 2

8-PLAYER

Rank

Team

W-L

Points

Previous

1.

Newell-Fonda (7)

1-0

73

1

2.

Coon Rapids-Bayard

1-0

54

2

3.

Don Bosco

0-0

50

5

4.

Glidden-Ralston (1)

1-0

49

4

5.

Fremont-Mills

1-0

48

6

6.

Marcus MMC

1-0

40

7

T-7.

HLV

2-0

32

8

T-7.

West Bend-Mallard

0-1

32

3

9.

Janesville

1-0

26

9

10.

Ruthven GTRA

1-0

17

10

Others receiving votes: Elkader Central 11, Colo-Nesco 4, Turkey Valley 4

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com