Jeff Linder

Teams like Cedar Rapids Prairie, Linn-Mar and North Linn are climbing The Gazette’s Iowa high school football rankings after big Week 3 wins. The Prep Football Huddle podcast discusses what stood out last week and the Week 4 games that might shake up the next poll.

Area volleyball Super Ten through matches played Sept. 17: Status quo among the top four -- Mount Vernon, Cedar Rapids Xavier, West Delaware and Beckman.

Prep volleyball: Class 3A top-ranked Mount Vernon rallies, beats West Delaware in the state’s first outdoor volleyball match in front of a crowd of nearly 2,000.

How is Linn-Mar making co-head coaches work? Which 0-3 team is in desperate need of a victory? Sifting through the Class 5A jumble and identifying coaches who would make good podcast hosts. The Gazette’s Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford share their thoughts on these Iowa high school football topics.

West Delaware welcomes Mount Vernon for the first outdoor high school volleyball match in state history Tuesday night. The forecast for Manchester at first serve calls for 71 degrees, no chance of rain and wind out of the south at 6 mph.

Ankeny Centennial is the newest Class 5A No. 1 in The Gazette’s Iowa high school football poll.

Women’s basketball: Iowa’s Lucy Olsen, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks earn 3rd-team preseason all-American honors from Lindy’s Magazine

Solon avenged two losses earlier this season to Linn-Mar with a semifinal victory in the Linn-Mar Invitational volleyball tournament. Pleasant Valley won the title.

Class 3A third-ranked Mount Vernon fought past Benton Community, 15-13, in a non-district football game Friday night at Bobcat Stadium. Ethan Wood knocked the ball free on Benton’s final, frantic drive, the Mustangs recovered and improved to 3-0.

Iowa City West’s Moustafa Tiea got to the front early and captured the boys’ individual title at the 18-team Cedar Rapids Invitational cross country meet Thursday afternoon at Seminole Valley Park. Tiea was clocked in 15:38.

A dozen of the top Gazette-area Iowa high school football games to watch in Week 3.

Which Iowa high school football teams made the biggest statements in Week 2? We look back at some key Gazette-area games and how those results shook up the rankings on the Prep Football Huddle.

Prep volleyball notes: Early adjustments have Clear Creek Amana clicking once again. The Clippers have followed a season-opening loss with 14 consecutive victories.

Area volleyball Super Ten through matches played Sept. 10: Mount Vernon and Cedar Rapids Xavier retain the top two spots; unbeaten West Delaware continues to climb.

What teams have made big strides in the opening weeks? Why the disparity in 8-Player District 7? Most impressive start and your top fantasy league picks? The Gazette’s Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford share their thoughts on these topics.