Iowa high school football roundup: Third-round playoff scores, stats and more

The traditional Iowa high school football playoffs truly kicked off Friday night with the round of 16 in each of the six classes.

Winners advanced to the state quarterfinals next Friday.

Here are all the scores, plus complete Gazette area coverage.

» Brackets: Here are the state quarterfinal matchups

» Feature: Sigourney-Keota dominates after last season's disappointment

4A: No. 5 Iowa City West 38, No. 7 Dubuque Hempstead 24

Iowa City West had more than its share of problems slowing down Dubuque Hempstead in the first half of Friday's night's Class 4A third-round game at Trojan Field.

The second half was a different story.

West's defense allowed just one score over the final 24 minutes and senior quarterback Marcus Morgan made the big plays when called upon, lifting the Trojans to a 38-24 victory at Trojan Field.

No. 5 West (5-0) advances to a quarterfinal round contest next Friday night against Pleasant Valley.

'That's a well-coached, physical, strong team,' said West Coach Garrett Hartwig of the Mustangs. 'Both teams had to get adjusted to each other and we just kept swinging and it worked out.'

» Read the full story from Gazette correspondent Mike Condon

Moving on, still unbeaten.@ICWestFB breaks a 24-24 tie in the 4th quarter to beat Hempstead and advance to the 4A quarterfinals#iahsfb pic.twitter.com/tVNn7eY6A5

— Iowa Prep Sports (@iowaprepsports)

4A: Cedar Rapids Kennedy 45, No. 9 Cedar Rapids Prairie 14

Quarterback Max White did all kinds of Max White things, running for 251 yards and throwing for another 50. His sweet feet produced a pair of short rushing touchdowns, and he threw a 12-yard TD pass to Reid Pakkebier.

'That's always just been our M.O., just run the heck out of the ball,' he said. 'I mean, I can throw it. But when you don't have to, you don't. I think we showed that tonight.'

Running back Demarcus Ray, who went to Prairie last year, added 131 rushing yards and two scores. Then there was Connor Colby's incredibly apropos 37-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

The University of Iowa signee was one of the big dudes up front who literally muscled their team to victory here. Ray ran for 4 yards on a carry but fumbled, with Colby picking up the loose ball and rolling his way 37 yards to the end zone.

» Read the full story from The Gazette's Jeff Johnson

3A: No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier 17, Dubuque Wahlert 14

If top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier had designs on sailing into the Class 3A quarterfinals, Dubuque Wahlert did not oblige.

The Golden Eagles (6-3) gave Xavier all it could handle but the Saints (9-0) had a response to every threat. Xavier survived a tense battle, 17-14, Friday night at Saints Field.

Whalert's Carson Cummer got behind the secondary and hauled in a 67-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Rudiger to tie the game 14-14 with 7:19 to play.

Once again, the Saints answered. Jack Lux and Jaxon Rexroth alternated successful runs into Wahlert territory. Nick Kramer hauled in a sprawling 17-yard grab to set the Saints up at the Wahlert 19. Lincoln Oakley's 30-yard field goal split the uprights with 2:55 left.

» Read the full story from Gazette correspondent Culley Kline

3A: No. 9 West Delaware 47, No. 4 Washington 14

A football team has a decided advantage when it goes into the locker room at halftime with 243 yards of offense to its opponent's 6 total yards.

West Delaware was that team and clinched Friday's night's 47-14 Class 3A third-round win over fourth-ranked Washington with a strip-sack by Carson Petion on the Demons' first offensive play of the second half.

The Hawks will face No. 8 North Scott in the quarterfinals.

'I was so impressed with our defensive line and we have some special kids on offense running the ball,' West Delaware head coach Doug Winkowitsch said. 'We run the ball so effectively that it brings in play action. It is a nice balance for us.'

The resulting drive ended with Jared Voss scoring his third of five touchdowns for a 28-0 lead with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter. His fourth TD was a pin-point aerial to Kyle Kelley, who had five catches for 77 yards.

Voss finished 8 of 11 for 117 yards.

» Read the full story from The Union's Doug Brenneman

2A: West Liberty 20, No. 2 Williamsburg 14

With seven seconds remaining in a tie game, the second-ranked Raiders lined up for what would have been a game-winning 39-yard field goal.

Instead, it turned into a game-winner for the Comets.

West Liberty blocked the kick and senior Lake Newton returned it for a touchdown as time expired.

— Ryan Timmerman, Muscatine Journal

What an unbelievable finish! In a tied game, West Liberty blocks Williamsburg's field goal attempt, and Lake Newton returns it for a game-winning touchdown as time expires! West Liberty wins a thriller 20-14 to advance to the quarterfinals! @WestLibAthletic @WestLibertyCSD pic.twitter.com/p25MWHwkOD

— Joey Donia - KWQC (@JoeyDonia)

2A: No. 4 Waukon 46, Monticello 14

Trailing 7-6, fourth-ranked Waukon scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 34-7 halftime lead, then rolled past the visiting Panthers.

Ethan O'Neill rushed for 160 yards and four touchdowns for the Indians (7-1). Quarterback Creed Welch added 135 rushing yards.

Monticello retires 6-2.

— Pete Temple

2A: No. 6 Solon 37, Independence 21

The formula seemed simple and very effective.

Rely on your strength and stop what your opponent does well.

Solon executed that plan to perfection for most of the game and now finds itself with seven straight victories and one away from a return trip to the UNI-Dome.

The sixth-ranked Spartans contained Independence's rush attack with a stout defense and a balanced offense for a 37-21 victory in the Class 2A football playoff game Friday night at Spartan Stadium. They will No. 4 Waukon the quarterfinals.

'It's a good feeling to have, being so close last year and being another win from going back to the Dome,' Solon senior Jackson Ryan said. 'It feels really nice.'

Solon's focus was to establish its run game, while putting the clamps on Mustangs versatile running back Marcus Beatty, who averaged 207 rushing yards per game before Friday.

The Spartans succeeded where most teams didn't, holding him to 83 yards on the ground, including just 25 in the first half.

» Read the full story from The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher

2A: No. 9 Camanche 35, Tipton 29

The Indians scored on a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to hold off the upset-minded Tigers in Class 2A.

The Tigers' Caden Schmidt caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Payten Elijah with 38 seconds remaining, cutting the Camanche lead to six points, but the Indians' Brennan Kramer recovered the onside kick to preserve the victory.

Cade Everson, who led Camanche with 171 rushing yards, broke a 22-22 deadlock with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:41 remaining the game.

Elijah led Tipton with 112 rushing yards on 13 carries, including a 65-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

— Steve Batterson, Quad City Times

1A: No. 3 Sigourney-Keota 35, Dyersville Beckman 14

Sam Sieren scored four touchdowns for the third-ranked Cobras, who will host Waterloo Columbus in the Class 1A quarterfinals next Friday.

Beckman couldn't capitalize in the red zone and untimely turnovers spelled doom for the Trailblazers, who end the season 6-3.

Sigourney-Keota (9-0) led 14-0 at halftime.

— Andy Krutsinger, Southeast Iowa Union

A: No. 2 Iowa City Regina 28, Alburnett 7

Although it's common for Iowa City Regina senior Alec Wick to run, catch, punt and kick the ball on any given night for the No. 2 Regals, Friday night was different.

Alburnett was able to hold the Regals to just 95 yards on the ground on 21 carries including 59 yards on 12 carries from leading rusher Theo Kolie. But the home team found other ways to move the ball, primarily through the air to Wick.

'Our focus was to stop the run and run the football,' Alburnett Coach Rich Velazquez said. 'We never went away from that.'

Senior signal-caller Ashton Cook was 19-of-29 passing for 387 yards and three touchdowns. One of the scores was a 76-yarder to Wick that tied the score at 7-7 with 1:47 remaining in the opening quarter, the other two were to Kolie.

'We knew what they were going to do and we just came out and executed,' Wick said. 'We have a great (offensive) line up there blocking for Ashton (Cook) and he's a great quarterback. It's just great to come out here and do that.'

Wick totaled nine catches for 236 yards, with one 4-yard rush, 4-of-4 on PAT kicks and he also had an interception on defense to go with three punts.

Alburnett finished the year 6-3 overall after going 1-8 a year ago.

'This is something they aren't used to being a part of on the gridiron,' Velazquez said. 'This is something we can build on with a young group. We're going to have 17 kids returning, and hopefully more kids joining them, which has us excited for the future.'

— Justin Webster

A: No. 3 Saint Ansgar 42, No. 7 South Winneshiek 6

The third-ranked Saints ran for 421 yards and scored the first six times they had the ball to advance to the Class A quarterfinals.

Ryan Cole rushed for 264 yards and scored four touchdowns for Saint Ansgar (9-0).

Seventh-ranked South Winneshiek's lone touchdown was an 11-yard pass from Jacob Herold to Nick Holien in the third quarter. The Warriors end the season 8-2.

— Darin Svenson

A: No. 5 MFL MarMac 22, No. 4 Edgewood-Colesburg 14

Edgewood-Colesburg's Parker Rochford may have had the most entertaining runs of the night.

But the most effective runs belonged to MFL MarMac.

The fifth-ranked Bulldogs improved to 9-1 and will advance to the Class A quarterfinals after a 22-14 win over the No. 5 Vikings Friday night at Community Dreams Field in Edgewood.

Ed-Co closes at 8-1.

Gabe McGeough and Cullen McShane, MFL MarMac's pair of 1,000-yard offensive weapons, ran wild — especially in the second half for the Bulldogs.

The Vikings went into halftime up 7-6, but McShane capped a 15-play drive with a 13-yard TD run, and 2-point conversion on the first play of the fourth quarter to put MFL MarMac up 14-7.

After Rochford weaved his way for a 23-yard game-tying TD run, McGeough finished off an efficient 80-yard drive with a 2-yard score to put MFL MarMac back on top.

— Tim Gregory, Telegraph Herald

A: No. 8 Wapsie Valley 15, Lisbon 8

Wapsie Valley scored touchdowns late in the third quarter and early in the fourth before using a late goal-line stand to edge the No. 10 Lions.

'At halftime, things didn't look so good,' Wapsie Valley Coach Tony Foster said. 'We weren't moving the ball real well and they were grinding it out on us. And then we came out in the beginning of the second half and it got worse. Our kids hung in there and kept their composure. Fortunately, we were able to finally get it going.'

Lisbon finished with 281 rushing yards, but was held to just eight points. The Lions only completed two passes for a total of 1 yard.

— Craig Sesker, Waterloo Courier

Friday's Iowa high school football playoff scores

CLASS 4A

No. 6 Pleasant Valley 10, Bettendorf 6

No. 5 Iowa City West 38, No. 7 Dubuque Hempstead 24

No. 1 Southeast Polk 41, Ankeny Centennial 7

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 45, No. 9 Cedar Rapids Prairie 14

No. 3 Ankeny 37, No. 10 Cedar Falls 16

No. 4 Waukee 50, Indianola 28

No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling 38, Waterloo West 12

West Des Moines Valley 41, No. 8 Urbandale 0

CLASS 3A

Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 42, Spencer 7

No. 6 Webster City 28, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 21

No. 7 Lewis Central 34, Ballard 6

No. 2 Harlan 49, Carlisle 42

Grinnell 6, No. 10 Pella 0

No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier 17, Dubuque Wahlert 14

No. 9 West Delaware 47, No. 4 Washington 14

No. 8 North Scott 13, No. 5 Davenport Assumption 10

CLASS 2A

No. 3 Central Lyon-GLR 28, No. 10 Estherville Lincoln Central 6

No. 5 West Lyon 12, No. 8 Spirit Lake 0

No. 7 West Marshall 27, Atlantic 7

No. 1 Monroe PCM 42, Greene County 0

No. 9 Camanche 35, Tipton 29

West Liberty 20, No. 2 Williamsburg 14

No. 4 Waukon 46, Monticello 14

No. 6 Solon 37, Independence 21

CLASS 1A

No. 1 Ida Grove OABCIG 41, Western Christian 14

No. 8 West Sioux 36, No. 9 Emmetsburg 15

No. 7 South Central Calhoun 20, No. 4 South Hamilton 8

No. 6 Southeast Valley 34, Denver 7

No. 2 Van Meter 49, Pella Christian 23

No. 5 Underwood 42, Mount Ayr 17

No. 10 Waterloo Columbus 32, Mediapolis 20

No. 3 Sigourney-Keota 35, Dyersville Beckman 14

CLASS A

Council Bluffs St. Albert 20, South O'Brien 8

No. 6 Logan-Magnolia 36, No. 10 Oakland Riverside 14

No. 9 West Hancock 56, Hartley HMS 18

No. 1 Grundy Center 40, Nodaway Valley 0

No. 8 Wapsie Valley 15, Lisbon 8

No. 2 Iowa City Regina 28, Alburnett 7

No. 5 MFL MarMac 22, No. 4 Edgewood-Colesburg 14

No. 3 Saint Ansgar 42, No. 7 South Winneshiek 6

8-PLAYER

No. 2 Remsen St. Mary's 53, Harris-Lake Park 13

No. 3 Audubon 28, No. 9 Newell-Fonda 6

No. 4 Anita CAM 62, Lamoni 6

No. 8 Fremont-Mills 58, Martensdale-St. Marys 42

No. 10 Janesville 66, New London 22

No. 1 Don Bosco 44, Tripoli 38

No. 7 Easton Valley 55, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 0

No. 5 Montezuma 56, BGM 14

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