The top 10 high school football games this week

The week's top area football games:

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON at LINN-MAR

Time & place: 7:15 p.m., at Armstrong Field

Records: Washington is 5-1; Linn-Mar is 6-0.

Notable: A difficult stretch run kicks in for Class 4A sixth-ranked Linn-Mar; the Lions close the regular season with Washington, Iowa City High and Cedar Rapids Xavier. No. 10 Washington is coming off its first defeat of the season, a 31-0 blanking at the hands of City High. Last year's contest was one of the best played in the area throughout 2009; Linn-Mar won it, 41-38. There's extremely little difference between these teams' brilliant running backs: Washington's Alex Carr has rushed for 1,104 yards and 18 touchdowns; Linn-Mar's Jer Garman has totalled 1,101 yards and 17 TDs.

WILLIAMSBURG at SOLON

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at Solon

Records: Williamsburg is 6-0 overall, 4-0 Class 3A District 6; Solon is 5-1, 4-0.

Notable: Williamsburg has held the No. 1 rating in Class 3A for four weeks and is the highest-scoring team in 3A at 47.8 points per game. Last week, Williamsburg pulled away from a tight game in the third quarter, scored the final 41 points and beat Benton Community, 62-19. The Raiders have been lethal by both land and air: Brett Waughop has rushed for 751 yards and 12 touchdowns while Kelly O'Rourke has passed for 1,034 yards and 14 TDs. No. 5 Solon has regrouped nicely after its 42-game win streak ended in Week 2 at the hands of Iowa City Regina. The Spartans have rattled off four straight victories and have outscored the opposition 159-30 in district play. J.J. Hanus has completed 78 percent of his passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns.

TURKEY VALLEY at STARMONT

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at Arlington

Records: Both teams are 6-0 overall, 4-0 Class 1A District 5.

Notable: Sole possession of the 1A-5 lead is at stake between two of the best defensive teams in Class 1A. Starmont's 6.5 defensive points per game rank third in the class; Turkey Valley is fourth at 8.3 and has held five of six foes to single digits. So don't expect a lot of points. And don't figure on a lot of passes: the sixth-ranked Trojans have put it in the air 39 times in six games, No. 9 Starmont 28. Turkey Valley's Jordan Mitchel needs one mere yard to hit the 1,000-yard plateau. He has 10 touchdowns. Ethan Moses leads Starmont's ground attack at 627 yards and nine scores.

PRESTON at WEST CENTRAL

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at Maynard

Records: Preston is 7-0 overall, 6-0 Eight Man District 4. West Central is 5-1, 5-0.

Notable: Third-ranked Preston already has a playoff berth in the bag, and can wrap up the district championship with a road win. West Central also could clinch a playoff berth Friday, regardless of outcome. Preston is allowing only 10.7 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the eight-man game in Iowa. The Trojans' top two offensive threats are juniors - Blake Tebbe has rushed for 936 yards and 19 touchdowns while Jason Feddersen has thrown for 726 yards and 14 TDs. West Central sophomore Michael Lincoln has rushed for 775 yards and nine touchdowns, and three of his eight receptions have resulted in scores.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK at WEST DELAWARE

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at Manchester

Records: WSR is 6-0 overall, 4-0 Class 3A District 4; West Delaware is 4-2, 3-1.

Notable: West Delaware slipped out of the district lead with a loss to Decorah last week, but the Hawks have an immediate opportunity for redemption against the ninth-rated Go-Hawks. WSR has been extremely salty on both sides of the ball, averaging 44.5 points per game while allowing 9.8. The Go-Hawks' attack has been run-by-committee; five backs have collected more than 250 yards this season. Bryce Miller leads the bunch at 474 yards. West Delaware's Brandon Domeyer has run for 888 yards and 15 touchdowns.

SUMNER-FREDERICKSBURG at NORTH FAYETTE

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at West Union

Records: Sumner-Fredericksburg is 3-3 overall, 3-1 Class 2A District 4; North Fayette is 6-0, 4-0.

Notable: Second-rated North Fayette has experienced little resistance on its way to 6-0. The Hawks are the highest-scoring team in Class 2A, averaging 46.8 points per game, and they haven't experienced a game closer than 20 points. Jake Greco has rushed for 771 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Hawks average 316 yards rushing per game. Sumner-Fredericksburg has put together impressive performances in back-to-back weeks to reach the .500 mark, including a 28-7 win over Monticello last week. Kyle Frisch has 27 receptions for 327 yards.

MAQUOKETA VALLEY at CLAYTON RIDGE

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at Guttenberg

Records: Maquoketa Valley is 3-3 overall, 2-2 Class 1A District 5; Clayton Ridge is 5-2, 2-2.

Notable: By the end of the season, both teams may look back at this game as one that propelled them into the playoffs or left them on the outside looking in. Maquoketa Valley's 15-man roster mustered a terrific performance last week in a 17-7 win over Wapsie Valley. After slowing Wapsie's Connor O'Brien - then the state's leading rusher - somewhat, the Wildcats have another stern challenge in Clayton Ridge's Jeremy Greve, who has netted 866 yards and 12 touchdowns. Kyle Whitman has run for 596 yards for Maquoketa Valley.

MARION at DE WITT CENTRAL

Time & place: 7:30 p.m., at DeWitt

Records: Marion is 6-0 overall, 4-0 Class 3A District 5; Central is 2-4, 2-2.

Notable: Defense has carried Marion to perfection through the first two-thirds of the season; the fifth-ranked Indians' 6.3-point defensive average is second to Pella in 3A. Still, they weren't sharp last week against Center Point-Urbana. The winless Stormin' Pointers stayed close for much of the contest before Marion prevailed, 25-7. Marion faces Union next week in a game that probably will determine the district champion. Junior Colton Storla has rushed for 928 yards and 12 touchdowns while Dusty Albaugh has 20 catches for 384 yards. Joe Feldpausch has rushed for 821 yards and 10 TDs for Central, which probably needs two wins in the last three weeks to make the playoffs.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY at IOWA CITY WEST

Time & place: 7:15 p.m., at Trojan Field

Records: Kennedy is 2-4; West is 3-3.

Notable: After starting 0-3, Kennedy has won two of its last three. If the Cougars can get past this hurdle, they should be able to come all the way back for a winning regular season. Christian French, who recently narrowed his college search to six schools, has caught nine passes for 106 yards and is third on the team in tackles at 46. West hopes to pick up the pieces after a 42-0 loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier last week.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE at CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON

Time & place: 7:15 p.m., at Kingston Stadium

Records: Prairie is 1-5; Jefferson is 0-6.

Notable: It's a down year for both participants in this year's Kolache Bowl. Prairie picked up its first win last week, 19-18, over Waterloo East, and can still make the playoffs if it wins this week and picks up an upset in the final two weeks.

OTHER METRO/IOWA CITY GAMES Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-2) at Waterloo East (1-5), 7:15 p.m.Durant (3-3) at Iowa City Regina (6-0), 7 p.m.Iowa City High (6-0) at Dubuque Wahlert (2-4), 7:15 p.m.