Iowa high school football 2025: The Gazette’s post-Week 2 poll

Well, you can’t say Waukee Northwest has backed its way into the Class 5A football No. 1 ranking.

Two wins over top-five teams? That will do it.

Northwest gained all six first-place votes from The Gazette’s panel and took over the top spot. A non-playoff team with a 4-5 record in 2024, the Wolves got out of the gate with a 25-24 victory over Ankeny, then held off previous No. 1 West Des Moines Valley, 27-24, last week.

Class A also has a new leader: Saint Ansgar climbed to No. 1 after two consecutive wins, plus North Linn’s 16-0 victory over last week’s leader, Maquoketa Valley.

The other five classes remain the same at the top — Cedar Rapids Xavier (4A), Mount Vernon (3A), Carroll Kuemper (2A), Grundy Center (1A) and Algona Garrigan (8-Player).

Iowa City Liberty made a serious impression Friday, jumping to a 38-0 lead at Southeast Polk (the four-time reigning big-school champion) before winning 38-20.

That enabled the Lightning to climb to No. 2 in 5A. Valley, West Des Moines Dowling and Ankeny complete the top five.

Cedar Rapids Prairie is sixth, Iowa City West 10th.

Xavier is in the midst of a challenging non-district schedule, and has opened 2-0, including a 21-13 victory over Western Dubuque last week. The Saints have another toughie Friday, at home against No. 7 Clear Creek Amana.

Pella remains at No. 2 and is followed by defending-champion North Polk, Decorah and Fort Dodge.

One of the state’s biggest games of Week 3 will be a 3A showdown at Solon — No. 1 Mount Vernon vs. No. 4 Solon. The Mustangs are a unanimous top pick after topping Benton Community, 30-20, last week.

No. 2 Sioux City Heelan also faces a challenge this week, against 5A No. 7 Sioux City East. Clear Lake is ranked third; Dubuque Wahlert is fifth.

The 2A game of the year is a week away: No. 1 Kuemper hosts No. 2 Ida Grove OABCIG in Week 4. The Knights already have two elite wins under their belts, over Cherokee and Algona.

Monroe PCM remains at No. 3 despite a Week 2 loss (30-28, to 3A No. 6 Nevada). Cherokee is fourth, with Osage and Van Meter tied for fifth.

The winner of 41 consecutive games, Grundy Center maintains a slim lead over West Lyon in Class 1A. The Spartans hold a 59-54 advantage in poll points.

Iowa City Regina is third, followed by South Hardin and Pleasantville.

North Linn’s triumph at Delhi enabled six teams to climb a notch. Saint Ansgar gained four first-place votes and 56 poll points and are followed by West Hancock (one No. 1 vote, 51 points) and Woodbury Central (one and 49).

Marcus MMCRU and Guthrie Center ACGC are fourth and fifth. North Linn enters the poll at No. 7; Maquoketa Valley fell eight spots to No. 9.

Each of the top 10 teams in last week’s 8-Player rankings were victorious in Week 2, and there was basically no movement.

Algona Garrigan, Woodbine and Gladbrook-Reinbeck are the top three, with Iowa Valley joining Fremont-Mills in a tie for fourth.

Fremont-Mills is at Woodbine this week; Iowa Valley plays at No. 7 Montezuma.

The Gazette’s post-Week 2 football poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

CLASS 5A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Waukee Northwest (6) 2-0 60 2

2. Iowa City Liberty 2-0 50 4

3. West Des Moines Valley 1-1 49 1

4. West Des Moines Dowling 1-1 42 2

5. Ankeny 1-1 28 7

6. Cedar Rapids Prairie 2-0 27 9

7. Sioux City East 2-0 22 8

8. Southeast Polk 1-1 15 5

9. Johnston 1-1 14 6

10. Iowa City West 2-0 13 —

Dropped out: Waukee (10).

Others receiving votes: Cedar Falls 9, Dallas Center-Grimes 1.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Cedar Rapids Xavier (5) 2-0 59 1

2. Pella 2-0 51 2

3. North Polk (1) 2-0 44 3

4. Decorah 2-0 41 3

5. Fort Dodge 2-0 33 6

6. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 1-1 30 8

7. Clear Creek Amana 2-0 24 7

8. Adel ADM 2-0 20 10

9. Newton 1-1 16 5

10. Gilbert 2-0 8 —

Dropped out: Lewis Central (9).

Others receiving votes: Lewis Central 2, Glenwood 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Mount Vernon (6) 2-0 60 1

2. Sioux City Heelan 2-0 52 3

3. Clear Lake 2-0 49 5

4. Solon 2-0 39 6

5. Dubuque Wahlert 2-0 35 7

6. Nevada 2-0 25 8

7. Algona 1-1 20 2

8. Independence 2-0 18 10

9. Des Moines Christian 2-0 13 —

10. MOC-Floyd Valley 2-0 8 —

Dropped out: Humboldt (4), Benton Community (9).

Others receiving votes: Humboldt 7, West Delaware 2, Benton Community 1, Central DeWitt 1.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Carroll Kuemper (6) 2-0 60 1

2. Ida Grove OABCIG 2-0 54 2

3. Monroe PCM 1-1 40 3

4. Cherokee 1-1 37 6

T-5. Osage 2-0 32 9

T-5. Van Meter 1-1 32 8

7. Alburnett 2-0 21 —

8. Woodward-Granger 2-0 19 —

T-9. Dike-New Hartford 2-0 10 —

T-9. Mid-Prairie 1-1 10 4

Dropped out: Central Lyon-GLR (5), Roland-Story (7), West Branch (10).

Others receiving votes: Central Lyon-GLR 5, Roland-Story 3, West Branch 3, Okoboji 2, Centerville 1, Grand View Christian 1.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Grundy Center (5) 2-0 59 1

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

3. Iowa City Regina 2-0 49 3

4. South Hardin 2-0 40 4

5. Pleasantville 2-0 31 6

T-6. Tri-Center 1-1 27 5

T-6. Underwood 2-0 27 8

8. Emmetsburg 2-0 18 9

9. Treynor 1-1 16 7

10. Dyersville Beckman 2-0 8 —

Dropped out: Hinton (10).

Others receiving votes: Central Springs 1.

CLASS A W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Saint Ansgar (4) 2-0 56 2

2. West Hancock (1) 2-0 51 3

3. Woodbury Central (1) 2-0 49 4

4. Marcus MMCRU 2-0 40 5

5. Guthrie Center ACGC 2-0 37 5

6. West Sioux 2-0 22 7

7. North Linn 2-0 20 —

8. Wapsie Valley 2-0 17 9

9. Maquoketa Valley 1-1 14 1

10. Madrid 1-1 12 9

Dropped out: South Winneshiek (7).

Others receiving votes: Pekin 5, Logan-Magnolia 4, Nashua-Plainfield 3.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts. Pvs

1. Algona Garrigan (5) 2-0 59 1

2. Woodbine (1) 2-0 51 2

3. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 2-0 45 3

T-4. Fremont-Mills 2-0 36 4

T-4. Iowa Valley 3-0 36 5

6. Audubon 2-0 27 6

7. Montezuma 2-0 24 7

8. Bedford 2-0 21 8

9. Edgewood-Colesburg 2-0 10 9

10. Easton Valley 2-0 9 10

Others receiving votes: Don Bosco 5, Ruthven GTRA 3, North Union 2, Southeast Warren 2.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com