Linn-Mar Lions

When you need to understand the wonders of high school football in Eastern Iowa, people seek our answers. Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, Nathan Ford and K.J. Pilcher address midseason MVP candidates, deep talent pools in the Metro, midseason surprises and whether seven classes work.

This hasn’t been a typical football season for Linn-Mar. The Lions were disrupted and displaced in the preseason thanks to problems with the installation of new field turf at their stadium. Instead of sulking about the inconvenience of off-campus practices and even playing the first home game at another Metro school, they opted to take on the challenges.

Linn-Mar’s T.J. Jackson returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the Lions produced the final three scores to down Class 4A No. 9 Cedar Rapids Washington, 30-12.

Photos from Linn-Mar’s 30-12 win over Cedar Rapids Washington in a Week 4 Iowa high school football game.

Here are a dozen Gazette-area Week 4 Iowa high school football games to watch, including a 4A top-10 battle of unbeatens between Cedar Rapids Xavier and North Scott.

Prep volleyball: Marion wins the Linn-Mar Invitational, topping 5A No. 1 Pleasant Valley (twice), then outlasting Davenport Assumption for the title.

NIL is the first topic on this week’s Prep Football Huddle podcast. Then, it’s back to the field. Jeff Johnson, Jeff Linder and K.J. Pilcher discuss the Iowa high school football teams and players that had the best performances last week, plus the games to watch this week.

Here are a dozen Gazette-area Week 3 Iowa high school football games to watch, including the Cedar Rapids Kennedy-Cedar Rapids Washington rivalry at Kingston Stadium.