A couple weeks ago
before the season started, I decided to do a composite ranking of all six high
school football classes in Iowa.
http://trevorstakeonsports.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-composite-preseason-high-school.html
After I did this I got
to thinking that it might be cool to do another ranking every few weeks, look
back and compare.
We are only two weeks
into the high school football season, so we do not have the largest sample size
but we have a much better feel for teams than we did before the season started.
So here is a composite ranking through two weeks.
The rankings come from
the Des Moines Register, Cedar Rapids Gazette and Radio Iowa.
A team received 10
points for 1st place, 9 for second and so on. Props to the six people at the
Gazette who voted, because they did a similar criterion, the caveat to their
system is that created ties, in the event of a tie, the teams split the points
in half or in-thirds if it was a three-way tie.
All schools that received
top-ten rankings by at least one publication are on this composite.
Any
who, let’s look at those composite rankings.
Record and total votes
are in parentheses.
CLASS 8-MAN
Undefeated Teams Remaining: 18
1:
Don Bosco (2-0, 30)
2:
Newell-Fonda (2-0, 23)
3:
Midland, Wyoming (3-0, 20)
4:
New London (2-0, 19)
5:
Exira-EHK (2-0, 18)
6:
Iowa Valley (3-0, 16)
7:
Turkey Valley (2-0, 13)
8:
Ar-We-Va (2-0, 11)
9:
CAM, Anita (2-0, 4)
10:
Riceville (2-0, 3)
10:
Southeast Warren (3-0, 3)
10:
Fremont-Mills (1-1, 3)
13:
Coon Rapids-Bayard (1-1, 2)
Thoughts
Don Bosco is the
consensus top team and rightfully so. The Dons, who were also the favorite in
the preseason, have won their first two games by a combined score of 134-12.
Fremont-Mills came into the season ranked 2nd in the composites, but they
suffered a crushing loss to Exira-EHK on opening night. Speaking of the
Spartans, they began the season in a four way tie for 10th, but have posted two
impressive wins to begin the season. One team missing from this composite is
Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Rebels have been an 11-man power, but they recently
dropped down to 8-man. The transition from 11-man to 8-man is not as easy as
you think and it certainly did not help that they drew two ranked opponents
(Don Bosco and Turkey Valley) to kick off the season. Ar-We-Va began the season
ranked seventh with 7.5 total points, since then they've posted two impressive
victories and gained 3.5 points, but lost one spot in the composite rankings.
CAM, Southeast Warren and Coon Rapids-Bayard failed to garner any preseason love, but have all had two strong games to start the season and find themselves
getting some statewide attention.
My Top Ten
1:
Don Bosco
2:
Newell-Fonda
3:
Exira-EHK
4:
New London
5:
Turkey Valley
6:
Iowa Valley
7:
Midland, Wyoming
8:
CAM, Anita
9:
Fremont-Mills
10:
Southeast Warren
CLASS A
Undefeated Teams Remaining: 19
1:
Hudson (2-0, 30)
2:
Bishop Garrigan (2-0, 27)
3:
AHSTW (2-0, 16)
4:
St. Albert (1-1, 15)
5:
East Buchanan (2-0, 13)
6:
Wapsie Valley (2-0, 12)
7:
West Hancock (1-1, 10.5)
8:
Belmond-Klemme (2-0, 10)
9:
Pekin (2-0, 8)
9:
IKM-Manning (2-0, 8)
11:
St. Ansgar (1-1, 5)
11:
Sioux Central (2-0, 5)
13:
Westwood, Sloan (2-0, 3)
14:
Hinton (2-0, 2.5)
Thoughts
The top three appear
pretty clear at this point according to the composite. Fourth on is where it
gets interesting. In the three polls, St. Albert has a third-place vote, a
fourth-place vote and is not in the top ten in the other one. It is worth
noting, that the poll that has the Falcons ranked third also has their record
listed as 2-0 (they lost to Kuemper in Week 1). I'm not saying the Falcons
aren't worthy of being ranked fourth, their track record would say that they
are, but it could be part of why they are ranked so high. Outside of St.
Albert, the rest of the top ten are separated by a mere five points. The top
ten is pretty similar to what it was a few weeks ago except Belmond-Klemme has
made their way in thanks to a pair of 55-point wins along with Wapsie Valley,
who boasts wins over Denver and Clayton Ridge-Guttenberg. The two teams they
ousted? Belle Plaine and Lynnville-Sully, who dropped games to Grundy Center
and Sigourney respectively. Two area Class A teams, Southwest Valley and
Tri-Center are on the outside looking in, but they could find themselves
cracking the top ten if they keep winning.
My Top Ten
1:
Hudson
2:
Bishop Garrigan
3:
AHSTW
4:
Belmond-Klemme
5:
East Buchanan
6:
St. Albert
7:
Wapsie Valley
8:
IKM-Manning
9:
Pekin
10:
Sioux Central
CLASS 1A
Undefeated Teams Remaining: 15
1:
Van Meter (2-0, 26)
2:
Iowa City, Regina (1-1, 22)
2:
Dike-New Hartford (2-0, 22)
4:
West Branch (2-0, 20)
5:
West Lyon (2-0, 19)
6:
South Central Calhoun (2-0, 17)
7:
West Sioux (1-1, 14)
8:
Wilton (2-0, 9)
9:
Pella Christian (1-1, 7)
10:
Panorama (2-0, 2)
11:
Bellevue (2-0, 2)
12:
Cascade (1-1, 2)
13:
Sumner-Fredericksburg (2-0, 1)
14:
Interstate 35 (2-0, 1)
15:
North Linn (2-0, 1)
Thoughts
This is the only class
where each of three sets of rankings has a different team ranked number one;
defending champion Van Meter along with Iowa City Regina and Dike-New Hartford
all boasts a number one ranking in a respective poll. Van Meter and Dike-New
Hartford have started their 2018 seasons with two wins while Regina suffered a
44-7 loss to Cedar Rapids, Xavier, the top-ranked team in Class 3A. West Branch
has relied on the arm of Beau Cornwell to pick up two wins by a combined
61-points while perennial power West Lyon has picked up two wins over Central
Lyon and Sioux Center. South Central Calhoun looked pretty salty in a 36-6
handling of Kuemper Catholic last weekend and don't overlook the one loss
suffered by both Pella Christian and West Sioux. Those two losses came at the
hands of Van Meter and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley respectively. Both of those
teams are ranked number one in their respective classes, so those are quality
losses for sure. Interstate 35 has been one of the most interesting teams so
far this season. The Road Runners have amassed early season wins over former
Pride of Iowa Conference foes Central Decatur and Mount Ayr. They will host
Panorama next week, another team that has received some state-wide love thanks
to wins over St. Edmond and Manson-Northwest Webster by a combined 71 points.
My Top Ten
1: Van Meter
2: Dike-New Hartford
3: West Lyon
4: Iowa City, Regina
5: West Branch
6: South Central Calhoun
7: West Sioux
8: Pella Christian
9: Wilton
10: Interstate 35
CLASS 2A
Undefeated Teams Remaining: 17
1:
Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (2-0, 29)
2:
Union Community (2-0, 27)
3:
PCM, Monroe (2-0, 25)
4:
Spirit Lake (2-0, 20)
5:
Benton (2-0, 14)
6:
Waukon (1-1, 12)
7:
Clear Lake (1-1, 9)
8:
Southeast Valley (2-0, 5)
9:
Centerville (2-0, 5)
10:
Sheldon (2-0, 4)
10:
Algona (2-0, 4)
10:
West Marshall (1-1, 4)
13:
Estherville Lincoln Central (2-0, 3)
13:
Greene County (2-0, 3)
Thoughts
This should not surprise
anyone, but Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley is good at football. They boast two
impressive wins over West Sioux and Western Christian but face a tough task
with West Lyon this week. The other team to receive a first place ranking,
Union Community has relied on a balanced offense and a stingy defense to start
the season 2-0. PCM is coming off an impressive win over West Marshall.
Southeast Valley has started their season off with wins over Hampton-Dumont and
Pocahontas Area by a combined score of 88-14. Kuemper Catholic has dropped from
the state rankings after a 36-6 loss to South Central Calhoun. I think that's a
tad excessive, that is a good South Central Calhoun team that defeated Kuemper,
not to mention the Knights controlled St. Albert the week before. Williamsburg,
who was ranked second in the preseason composite poll has suffered losses to
West Marshall and Western Dubuque, both of those programs are receiving
state-wide attention, but the Raiders have lost those two games by a combined
53 points and have fallen out of state rankings entirely.
My Top Ten
1:
Boyden Hull/Rock Valley
2:
PCM, Monroe
3:
Union Community
4:
Benton
5:
Spirit Lake
6:
Southeast Valley
7:
Waukon
8:
Sheldon
9:
Algona
10:
Centerville
CLASS 3A
Undefeated Teams Remaining: 15
1:
Xavier, Cedar Rapids (2-0, 29)
2:
Lewis Central (2-0, 28)
3:
Pella (2-0, 23)
4:
West Delaware (2-0, 20)
5:
Solon (2-0, 16)
5:
North Scott (1-1, 16)
7:
Waverly-Shell Rock (2-0, 11)
8:
Bishop Heelan (2-0, 9)
9:
Epworth, Western Dubuque (2-0, 7)
10:
Sergeant Bluff-Luton (1-1, 5)
11:
Independence (2-0, 1)
Thoughts
I think you can make a
valid argument for both Lewis Central and Xavier holding the top ranking.
Xavier holds a 44-7 victory over Regina, the second-ranked team in Class 1A.
However, Lewis Central holds claim to a dominant 42-14 over a really good
Sergeant Bluff team as well as a 42-7 road win over Carlisle. The teams that
were ranked third and fourth in the preseason rankings; Sergeant Bluff-Luton
and North Scott have each suffered one loss. Sergeant Bluff lost in the
aforementioned Lewis Central game, while North Scott suffered a 28-7 loss to
Class 4A Iowa City West. I consider both of those quality losses. West Delaware
has a blowout win over Wahlert and a slim victory over Marion while Solon holds
a 20-point victory over Mount Vernon and a 7-0 win over West Liberty.
Waverly-Shell Rock just posted an impressive 35-7 win over the seventh ranked
team in Class 2A, Clear Lake. While we can almost always expect Bishop Heelan
to be good, the Crusaders have impressed me this year with a 44-0 win over
Sioux City East and a stingy 21-7 victory over Glenwood.
My Top Ten
1:
Lewis Central
2:
Xavier, Cedar Rapids
3:
Pella
4:
Solon
5:
Wahlert
6:
Waverly-Shell Rock
7:
Bishop Heelan Catholic
8:
Sergeant Bluff-Luton
9:
North Scott
10:
Epworth, Western Dubuque
CLASS 4A
Undefeated Teams Remaining: 14
1:
Valley, West Des Moines (2-0, 28)
2:
Johnston (2-0, 25)
2:
Bettendorf (2-0, 25)
4:
Cedar Falls (2-0, 21)
4:
Dowling Catholic (1-1, 21)
6:
Prairie, Cedar Rapids (2-0, 15)
7:
Ankeny Centennial (2-0, 11.5)
8:
Cedar Rapids, Kennedy (2-0, 8)
9:
Iowa City West (1-1, 6.5)
10:
Fort Dodge (2-0, 3)
11:
Waukee (1-1, 1)
Thoughts
Two media outlets have
Valley ranked as the top team in Iowa's biggest class, while a third has
Johnston ranked as the top dog. Valley took it to previously top-ranked Dowling
Catholic this week and as Ric Flair once said, "to be the man, you got to
beat the man,” If you buy that logic, then Valley is the top team thus
far. Johnston holds a 20-point victory over Urbandale and a 14-9 win over
Ankeny while Bettendorf is fresh off a 10-7 victory over ninth-ranked Iowa City
West. Cedar Falls has yet to surrender a point this season, The Tigers hold
wins over Ames and Iowa City, City High by a combined score of 78-0. Ankeny
Centennial holds claim to wins over Urbandale and Ankeny while Prairie is
averaging 45 points per game. The top 10 consists of the same teams from the
preseason with the exception of Fort Dodge and Cedar Rapids, Kennedy. Kennedy
has allowed just seven points through two games while the Dodgers has scored
100-points in two games thanks to 851-yards from senior quarterback Drake
Miller, who threw for an astounding 481-yards and five touchdowns in a 52-24
win over Ames. This is a team that has shown signs early on that they score
with anybody.
My Top Ten
1:
Valley, WDM
2:
Bettendorf
3:
Johnston
4:
Dowling Catholic
5:
Cedar Falls
6:
Ankeny Centennial
7:
Cedar Rapids, Kennedy
8:
Iowa City, West
9:
Fort Dodge
10:
Prairie, Cedar Rapids
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