Area football capsules, Week 5

 A dozen key area football games for Week 5: 

WATERLOO WEST at CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Thursday, at Kingston Stadium

TV: KCRG 9.2

Records and rankings: West is 2-2 overall; 1-1 MVC Valley Division. Washington is 1-3, 1-1.

Notable: Both teams took a big step forward last week. Washington picked up its first win, 26-21 over Linn-Mar while the Wahawks set the MVC on its ear with a 17-16 shocker over Cedar Falls. Alex Young scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 44 seconds remaining, then added the two-point conversion. Young ranks fourth in Class 4A with 635 rushing yards, and has nine touchdowns. Reid Snitker scored a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Warriors broke a 14-14 halftime tie against Linn-Mar. 

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER at CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Kingston Stadium

Records and rankings: Class 4A No. 1 Xavier is 4-0; Kennedy is 3-1.

Notable: Xavier has posted three consecutive shutouts and has outscored its competition by a margin of 140-7. The Saints have won 13 consecutive regular-season games, the last of which was a 38-0 triumph at Dubuque Wahlert. Brendan Miller has rushed for 410 yards and five touchdowns. We can safely put the Kennedy-is-slow-out-of -the-gates trend to rest. At 3-1, the Cougars are three games ahead of their pace from last year. Kennedy slogged past Dubuque Senior, 19-9, in a weather-delayed game last week. Miles Moa has rushed for 324 yards. 

DUBUQUE HEMPSTEAD at IOWA CITY HIGH

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Bates Field

Records and rankings: Both teams are 3-1 overall, 2-0 MVC Mississippi Division.

Notable: The winner of this game claims sole possession of first place in the Mississippi Division. Last year, it was Dubuque Senior that made strides from the MVC's depths; this year, it's Hempstead. The Mustangs have won three straight games, but the schedule does pick up from here on out. The top two rushers in the conference will be on display -- City's Xavier Washpun has rushed for 679 yards on eight touchdowns; Hempstead's Matt Zenner has netted 658 yards and seven scores.

 

IOWA CITY WEST at DUBUQUE SENIOR

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Dubuque

Records and rankings: Class 4A No. 3 West is 4-0 overall, 1-0 MVC Mississippi Division; Senior is 1-3, 0-1.

Notable: After starting the season with three straight blowouts, West had to sweat out a 21-14 win over Cedar Rapids Prairie last week, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull it out. Nate Boland has passed for 661 yards and six touchdowns, without an interception. Senior continues to disappoint, despite a stingy defense. The Rams are 10th in Class 4A in scoring defense (14.8 points per game), but have been undone by an attack that has managed just 12.5 ppg. 

DUBUQUE WAHLERT at CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at John Wall Field.

Records and rankings: Wahlert is 2-2 overall, 0-1 MVC Valley Division; Prairie is 1-3, 0-1.

Notable: Prairie is a misleading 1-3 -- its three-game losing streak has come against teams that are a combined 11-1, and the Hawks had a chance to win two of them. They suffered a 21-14 heartbreaker last week against Iowa City West, letting a fourth-quarter lead get away. Friday could be turnaround day, though, because the schedule eases dramatically from here on out. Jesse Vizzini has been a quality performer on both sides of the ball. Riley Hasken has rushed for 314 yards for the Golden Eagles. 

MARION at MAQUOKETA

Time and site: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Maquoketa.

Records and rankings: Marion is 2-2 overall, 1-0 Class 3A District 6; Maquoketa is 3-1, 2-0.

Notable: Thanks in part to a win via forfeit against DeWitt Central, Maquoketa owns sole possession of the lead in 3A-6. This is one of two pivotal games in the district Friday -- Solon (3-1, 1-0) at DeWitt Central (1-3, 1-1) is the other -- that will begin to establish pecking order. Marion absorbed a 42-14 non-district loss to Washington (Iowa) last week. Trevor Hardman has passed for 513 yards, 393 to Quinn Cannoy, who has scored seven touchdowns. Maquoketa's Cohl Kueter has collected 46 tackles. 

CARDINAL at IOWA CITY REGINA

Time and site: 7 p.m. Friday, at Regina.

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

Notable: Regina has emerged unscathed from a challenging three-week stretch, handling Solon, West Branch and Eddyville EBF in convincing fashion. Now, the Regals take their 46-game winning streak into homecoming week against Cardinal, probably the weakest squad in the district. Regina didn't miss a beat without leading rusher Riley Dixon last week. Drew Cook (son of head coach Marv Cook) has passed for 550 yards, completing 65 percent of his passes. 

LINN-MAR at CEDAR FALLS

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Cedar Falls (UNI-Dome).

Records and rankings: Linn-Mar is 1-3 overall, 1-1 MVC Valley Division; Cedar Falls is 3-1, 1-1.

Notable: Cedar Falls fell out of the 4A rankings after a surprising 17-16 loss to Waterloo West last week, and the Tigers figure to be an angry team this week in the UNI-Dome. They are difficult to score upon anyway; their 10.8-point defensive average ranks fourth in 4A. Points are plentiful when Linn-Mar is involved; the Lions average 30 points per game but yield 39 per contest. Ryan Schmidt has passed for 932 yards and has a big-play receiver in Griffin Brennecke, who averages 36.2 yards per catch.

 

CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON at WATERLOO EAST

Time and site: 7:15 p.m. Friday, at Waterloo

Records and rankings: Both teams are 0-4 overall, 0-2 MVC Mississippi Division.

Notable: Somebody's got to win, and this matchup comes at a needed time for Jefferson, which has dropped 10 straight games. Neither team has had much success offensively this season; the J-Hawks' 7.3 points per game ranks 46th in Class 4A; East is scoring 10 points per game, which stands 43rd. Jefferson's Layne Sullivan has passed for 455 yards while Brandon Wiederin has intercepted a pair of passes. 

WEST DELAWARE at DECORAH

Time and site: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Decorah.

TV: KCRG 9.2

Records and rankings: West Delaware is 4-0 overall, Class 3A District 5; No. 3 Decorah is 4-0, 1-0.

Notable: It's probably safe to say that the winner of this game will emerge as the 3A-5 district champion. This is a battle of unbeatens, since West Delaware's Week 1 loss to DeWitt Central was overturned because the Sabers used an ineligible player. The Hawks have been an offensive juggernaut in district play, scoring 111 points in the first two league games behind Brent Lammers (805 passing yards, 10 touchdowns). Defending state champon Decorah has stretched its winning streak to 18 games behind a defense that has allowed 29 points in four games. Holt Johansen is a two-way star, rushing for 366 yards and collecting 22 tackles. 

CENTER POINT-URBANA at DYERSVILLE BECKMAN

Time and site: 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Dyersville.

Records and rankings: CPU is 3-1 overall, 1-0 Class 2A District 4; Beckman is 2-2, 1-1.

Notable: At the season's midpoint, the 2A-4 race resembles a game of Musical Chairs. Five quality teams, with only four playoff spots available. The winner of this game is a good bet to be dancing when the music stops in four weeks. Center Point-Urbana has bounced back nicely after a Week 1 loss to Union, winning the last three games by a margin of 134-19. Brandon Kinsey (426 yards, 10 TDs) is averaging nearly 11 yards per carry. Beckman has been bitten somewhat by injuries. Tony Anstoetter has caught 12 passes for 235 yards, and also has a team-high 29 tackles to his credit. 

WINFIELD-MOUNT UNION at LISBON

Time and site: 7 p.m. Friday, at Lisbon.

Records and rankings: WMU is 2-2 overall, 1-1 Class A District 5; Lisbon is 2-2, 2-0.

Notable: After an 0-2 start, Lisbon has stormed through its first two district games, winning by margins of 56-8 (over Van Buren) and 54-2 (against Danville). The Lions already own sole possession of first place in the district. Logan Rickard has passed for 444 yards and eight touchdowns, while Tyler Svatosch has run for 353 yards and six scores. 

OTHER METRO/IOWA CITY GAMES:* Cedar Valley Christian (0-3 overall, 0-2 Eight-Man District 7) at Lansing Kee (2-3, 2-1), 7 p.m.