Iowa high school football 2025: The Gazette’s post-Week 1 poll

West Des Moines Valley emerged from a Class 5A 1-vs.-2 football showdown last week.

As a reward, the Tigers get another one Friday.

A 20-19 victor over archrival West Des Moines Dowling, Valley strengthened its hold on the big-school top spot in The Gazette’s post-Week 1 poll.

The Tigers garnered five first-place votes and accumulated 59 poll points. Their next opponent, Waukee Northwest, also won a one-point thriller, 25-24, over Ankeny and jumped four spots, into a second-place tie with Dowling.

Northwest received the other first-place vote.

Iowa City Liberty is at No. 4 after yet another one-point verdict, a 15-14 triumph over Cedar Falls. The Lightning are at No. 5 Southeast Polk this week, while Dowling hosts No. 6 Johnston.

Cedar Rapids Xavier becomes a unanimous 4A No. 1 after blasting North Scott on the road, 31-0.

Pella is up a spot to No. 2, while reigning 4A champion North Polk makes a huge jump. Unranked last week, the Comets climb into a third-place tie along with Decorah.

Newton is fifth.

Mount Vernon maintains a healthy margin atop the 3A list. The Mustangs blitzed Monticello, 56-12, last week and retained five first-place votes.

Each of the 3A preseason top seven were Week 1 winners, and movement in that class is minimal. Algona, Sioux City Heelan, Humboldt and Clear Lake round out the top five.

Mount Vernon hosts No. 9 Benton Community this week.

Carroll Kuemper earned all six first-place votes in Class 2A after opening with a 44-28 win over then-No. 4 Cherokee.

The second- and third-ranked teams (Central Lyon/George Little Rock and Van Meter) also were defeated, setting up a new set of challengers to Kuemper.

Ida Grove OABCIG, Monroe PCM and Mid-Prairie are 2-3-4, with CL-GLR remaining in the top five.

The top seven in 1A are unchanged. Reigning champion Grundy Center won its 40th consecutive game, 35-13 over Aplington-Parkersburg, and maintained a narrow lead over 2024 2A champion West Lyon.

Iowa City Regina, South Hardin and 2024 Class A champ Tri-Center round out the top five.

After sharing Class A leadership with Saint Ansgar last week, Maquoketa Valley is flying solo at No. 1 this week.

The Wildcats were 33-0 victors over Starmont on Friday and earned four first-place votes, while No. 2 Saint Ansgar and No. 3 West Hancock grabbed one apiece.

Woodbury Central stands at No. 4, with Guthrie Center ACGC and Marcus MMCRU tied for fifth.

Algona Garrigan remains the top 8-Player team after handling Kingsley-Pierson, 60-20, last week. Woodbine beat then-No. 6 Lenox and solidified its hold on the second spot.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Fremont-Mills and Iowa Valley continue to hold the other top-five spots.

The Gazette’s post-Week 1 football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. West Des Moines Valley (5) 1-0 59 1

T-2. Waukee Northwest (1) 1-0 45 6

T-2. West Des Moines Dowling 0-1 45 2

4. Iowa City Liberty 1-0 39 3

5. Southeast Polk 1-0 33 4

6. Johnston 1-0 29 10

7. Ankeny 0-1 25 5

8. Sioux City East 1-0 16 9

9. Cedar Rapids Prairie 1-0 14 —

10. Waukee 0-1 6 7

Dropped out: Cedar Falls (8).

Others receiving votes: Iowa City West 5, Cedar Falls 3, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 2, Pleasant Valley 1.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Cedar Rapids Xavier (6) 1-0 60 1

2. Pella 1-0 51 3

T-3. Decorah 1-0 38 6

T-3. North Polk 1-0 38 —

5. Newton 1-0 31 7

6. Fort Dodge 1-0 28 5

7. Clear Creek Amana 1-0 23 8

8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 0-1 20 4

9. Lewis Central 0-1 18 2

10. Adel ADM 1-0 16 9

Dropped out: North Scott (9).

Others receiving votes: Gilbert 4, Le Mars 2, Waverly-Shell Rock 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Mount Vernon (5) 1-0 59 1

2. Algona (1) 1-0 52 2

3. Sioux City Heelan 1-0 47 3

4. Humboldt 1-0 39 4

5. Clear Lake 1-0 34 5

6. Solon 1-0 28 6

7. Dubuque Wahlert 1-0 22 7

8. Nevada 1-0 16 9

9. Benton Community 1-0 10 10

10. Independence 1-0 8 —

Dropped out: Harlan (8).

Others receiving votes: Williamsburg 6, MOC-Floyd Valley 5, Webster City 2, Des Moines Christian 1.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Carroll Kuemper (6) 1-0 60 1

2. Ida Grove OABCIG 1-0 45 5

3. Monroe PCM 1-0 43 7

4. Mid-Prairie 1-0 33 6

5. Central Lyon-GLR 0-1 30 2

6. Cherokee 0-1 29 4

7. Roland-Story 1-0 28 7

8. Van Meter 0-1 20 3

9. Osage 1-0 18 9

10. West Branch 1-0 10 —

Dropped out: Spirit Lake (10).

Others receiving votes: Spirit Lake 7, Dike-New Hartford 3, Woodward-Granger 3, Alburnett 1.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Grundy Center (5) 1-0 59 1

2. West Lyon (1) 1-0 54 2

3. Iowa City Regina 1-0 49 3

4. South Hardin 1-0 39 4

5. Tri-Center 1-0 30 5

6. Pleasantville 1-0 26 6

7. Treynor 1-0 25 7

8. Underwood 1-0 21 9

9. Emmetsburg 1-0 13 10

10. Hinton 1-0 11 —

Dropped out: Sigourney-Keota (8).

Others receiving votes: Central Springs 2, Clarion CGD 1.

CLASS A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Maquoketa Valley (4) 1-0 56 1

2. Saint Ansgar (1) 1-0 50 1

3. West Hancock (1) 1-0 44 3

4. Woodbury Central 1-0 42 5

T-5. Guthrie Center ACGC 1-0 30 6

T-5. Marcus MMCRU 1-0 30 8

T-7. South Winneshiek 1-0 16 10

T-7. West Sioux 1-0 16 10

T-9. Madrid 0-1 15 4

T-9. Wapsie Valley 1-0 15 9

Dropped out: Oakland Riverside (7).

Others receiving votes: Mount Ayr 8, Logan-Magnolia 4, Pekin 3, IKM-Manning 1.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Algona Garrigan (5) 1-0 58 1

2. Woodbine (1) 1-0 51 2

3. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 1-0 43 3

4. Fremont-Mills 1-0 39 4

5. Iowa Valley 2-0 35 5

6. Audubon 1-0 26 10

7. Montezuma 1-0 25 7

8. Bedford 1-0 19 10

9. Edgewood-Colesburg 1-0 11 —

10. Easton Valley 1-0 9 —

Dropped out: Lenox (6), Don Bosco (8), Remsen St. Mary’s (8).

Others receiving votes: Don Bosco 5, Wayne 3, Ruthven GTRA 2, Southeast Warren 2, Lenox 1, WACO 1.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com