Week 5 area football capsules

Area capsules for Week 5 of the high school football season:

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY at CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Thursday, at Kingston Stadium (Jefferson is the home team, and its fans will sit on the west side)

* Records and rankings: Kennedy is 0-4 overall, 0-0 Class 4A District 5; Jefferson is 2-2, 0-0. Both teams are unranked.

* Overview: Class 4A district football makes its official debut on Thursday, and it's a needed fresh start for winless Kennedy. The Cougars faced a difficult pre-district schedule, and now deal with a Jefferson outfit that is gaining confidence. The J-Hawks went to Davenport the past two weeks and came home with convincing wins, including a 62-0 rout of Davenport West last week. Jesse Furrow has passed for 587 yards and four touchdowns. Kennedy fell way behind early before making it look respectable late a week ago in a 40-28 loss to Pleasant Valley.

IOWA CITY WEST at DAVENPORT CENTRAL

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Thursday, at Davenport (Brady Street Stadium)

* Records and rankings: Both teams are 2-2 overall, 0-0 Class 4A District 7. Both are unranked.

* Overview: West has recaptured The Boot, rolling past Iowa City High last week, 30-6. Despite a 2-2 start, the Trojans still are a pretty good bet to win the 4A-7 title, though Dubuque Hempstead and Pleasant Valley figure to contend. Aaron Bleil has passed for 514 yards, with Oliver Martin (18 catches, 176 yards) the prime target. Martin's two interceptions lead a defense that been the Trojans' better unit thus far. Tony Marshall (249 yards) leads a balanced rushing attack for Central.

MUSCATINE at CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Kingston Stadium

* Records and rankings: Muscatine is 3-1 overall, 0-0 Class 4A District 6; No. 2 Washington is 4-0, 0-0.

* Overview: The Warriors stamped themselves as - easily - the best 4A team in the Metro with a 43-3 rout of Linn-Mar last week, returning a pair of blocked punts for touchdowns. Much has been said about Washington's playmakers, but the Warriors lead 4A in scoring defense at 9 points per game. Tavian Patrick (377 yards) and Johnny Dobbs (234 yards, five TDs) spearhead the ground attack. A pass-happy outfit in recent years, Muscatine has developed balance in a nice 3-1 start. Quarterback Matt Weiskamp has passed for 396 yards and rushed for 207.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE at BURLINGTON

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Burlington

* Records and rankings: Prairie is 2-2 overall, 0-0 Class 4A District 6; Burlington is 3-1, 0-0. Both teams are unranked.

* Overview: Prairie posted its best effort of the season last Friday, snatching seven takeaways in a 13-7 upset of then-No. 7 North Scott at John Wall Field. Dakota Simonsen came in for injured quarterback Trey Beckman (concussion) and threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score. Beckman will not play this week. Keagan Pinter has rushed for 437 yards and leads the Hawks' ground attack. Burlington has capitalized on a weak early schedule, averaging 38.5 points per game. Three Burlington backs have rushed for more than 200 yards, led by Garrett Grimshaw (434 yards, six TDs).

WATERLOO EAST at LINN-MAR

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Linn-Mar Stadium

* Records and rankings: East is 0-4 overall, 0-0 Class 4A District 5; Linn-Mar is 3-1, 0-0. Both teams are unranked.

* Overview: Linn-Mar is heavily favored to bounce back from last week's 43-3 loss to Cedar Rapids Washington, a defeat that dropped the Lions out of the 4A top 10. Just about everything that could go wrong, did for the Lions in a second quarter in which they surrendered 36 points. Speedy Perrion Scott leads the Linn-Mar rushing attack with 298 yards and four touchdowns. East has struggled mightily through the first four weeks, getting shut out four times and being outscored by a margin of 161-14.

IOWA CITY HIGH at OTTUMWA

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Ottumwa

* Records and rankings: City High is 0-4 overall, 0-0 Class 4A District 6; Ottumwa is 3-1, 0-0. Both teams are unranked.

* Overview: City High is more than happy to leave the pre-district portion of its schedule behind and start fresh. The Little Hawks faced an ambitious schedule, and its closest defeat was a 14-pointer in the opener. Track star Bryson Runge has been a bright spot, rushing for 246 yaards and counting 19 receptions. Ottumwa opened with three straight wins before bowing to Indianola, 26-23, in double overtime last week. The Bulldogs also have an overtime win (against Marshalltown).

MAQUOKETA at CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Saints Field

* Records and rankings: Maquoketa is 0-4 overall, 0-2 Class 3A District 4; No. 2 Xavier is 3-1, 2-0.

* Overview: Based on Xavier's first two district games, this has the potential to get out of hand in a hurry. The Saints have outscored their first two district opponents 87-3, and have outpointed their three 3A foes by a 117-9 margin. Maquoketa, on the other hand, hasn't come closer than 20 points to any of its four opponents. Xavier's Jay Kortemeyer has rushed for 427 yards, averaging about 6 yards per carry. The Saints' defensive scoring average (8.3 points per game) is tops in 3A.

DeWITT CENTRAL at MARION

* Site and time: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Thomas Park Field

* Records and rankings: Central is 2-2 overall, 0-2 Class 3A District 4; Marion is 1-3, 0-1. Both teams are unranked.

* Overview: Quite possibly, a game of district survival in 3A-4, with the loser in a corner as far as playoff potential is concerned. Central tries to bounce back after a humbling 59-3 loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier last week, while Marion tries to slow a three-game losing slide. The Indians were competitive most of the way last week in a 21-7 loss at Solon. Kory Walsh has run for 340 yards and five touchdowns for Marion. The Sabers counter with the running tandem of Mason Cousins and Logan Sheppard (293 and 292 yards, respectively).

HIGHLAND at IOWA CITY REGINA

* Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at Regina

* Records and rankings: Both teams are 3-1 overall, 2-0 Class 1A District 6. Regina is ranked No. 2.

* Overview: Regina has sprinted through its first two district games by a margin of 87-12, and though Highland is off to a 3-1 start, this could be more of the same. Two of the most prolific quarterbacks in 1A will be on display: Regina's Drew Cook is fourth in the class with 835 yards (with a 10-to-0 TD-to-INT rate) while Highland sophomore Jake Wood is fifth with 765 yards. Highland's Brian Garcia already has 88 carries this season for 493 yards and five TDs. The Huskies have won three games in a row.

NEW HAMPTON at CENTER POINT-URBANA

* Site and time: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Center Point

* Records and rankings: Seventh-ranked New Hampton is 3-1 overall, 1-0 Class 2A District 3; No. 8 CPU is 4-0, 2-0.

* Overview: Just another showdown in a loaded 2A-3. Center Point-Urbana has been one of the area's big surprises this year, and has conquered some tough foes already. Consider this - CPU's first three wins were against teams that are now 3-1. But there are still numerous challenges ahead, and this is certainly one of them. Brandon Kinsey is third in 2A in rushing (689 yards) and leads in carries (132). New Hampton suffered its first loss last week, an 18-7 decision to 1A No. 3 South Winneshiek.

BELLEVUE at WEST BRANCH

* Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at West Branch

* Records and rankings: Tenth-ranked Bellevue is 4-0 overall, 2-0 Class 1A District 5; No. 5 West Branch is 4-0, 1-0.

* Overview: After outscoring North Cedar 42-28 last week, West Branch faces another battle of unbeatens. Bellevue is one of the most improved teams around after a 3-6 campaign in 2013, and can credit a defense that surrenders just 6.5 points per game. That defensive unit will be severely tested by a Bears attack that puts up 44.5 points per contest and is dangerous both by land (Luke Lenoch has rushed for 822 yards and 11 TDs) and by air (Lucas Lamont has thrown for 579 yards and eight TDs).

MAQUOKETA VALLEY at LISBON

* Site and time: 7 p.m. Friday, at Lisbon

* TV: KCRG 9.2

* Records and rankings: No. 1 Maquoketa Valley is 4-0 overall, 2-0 Class A District 5; Lisbon is 2-2, 2-0.

* Overview: This is probably the final potential stumbling block for Maquoketa Valley, which has done nothing to diminish its role as heavy district favorite. The Wildcats are averaging 43.3 points per game behind the rugged running of Ryan Parmely, who has posted 596 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. A pre-district schedule of top-flight 1A opponents has prepared Lisbon for this; the Lions have won two straight, including a 54-8 romp over East Buchanan. Backs Connor Woodward and Benton Frey have combined for 562 ground yards.

OTHER GAMES INVOLVING METRO/IOWA CITY TEAMS

* Cedar Valley Christian (1-3 overall, 0-2 8-Man District 4) at Lansing Kee (3-1, 1-1), 7 p.m. Friday