Iowa high school football roundup: Week 1 scores, stats and more

Here’s our Week 1 roundup with Iowa high school football scores, stats and complete area coverage.

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This was stereotypical opening week in that both teams made an inordinate amount of mistakes. That’d be turnovers, penalties, etc.

But this was stereotypical postseason, too. That’d be big plays galore, drama all over the place and a late touchdown and defensive stand deciding the game.

Ashton Honore’s 5-yard scoring run with 1:52 left provided the winning points, and Adrian DeWaard provided the clinching interception with 20 seconds to go as Iowa City West outlasted Iowa City Liberty, 35-28, Friday night at West.

“I think that was the most evenly played game,” said West Coach Garrett Hartwig. “One team maybe got lucky or just had the ball at the end. I guess they had the ball at the end, (so) maybe we got lucky and had the pick, I don’t know.

“Both teams had a kickoff return for touchdown, both teams turned the ball over multiple times, both teams had big scoring strikes. It was just one of the most back-and-forth games I’ve ever seen.”

Honore’s TD came after West quarterback Jack Wallace and receiver Izaiah Loveless connected on a clutch 32-yard pass play that converted a third-and-long and took the football to the Liberty 5. Honore splashed over the middle and into the end zone on the next play.

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Johnson

The Kyle Knock era at Cedar Rapids Prairie opened with a little razzle dazzle.

Big plays, gutsy calls and an upset victory was a great way to get things started.

Quarterback Will Phillips connected with Apollo Payne for two touchdowns, including a 26-yard strike with a little more than five minutes left, and Prairie knocked off Class 5A No. 3 Cedar Falls, 20-17, in a prep football contest Friday night at John Wall Field.

The Hawks held a four-point lead on third-and-5. Phillips carried out a play-action pass and hit a wide-open Payne in the back of the end zone after the defender bit on the fake handoff.

Cedar Falls had one last chance, taking over with 1:32 to go. The Tigers moved into Hawks territory but Denzil Green hauled in an interception on a Hail Mary attempt in the final seconds to seal the win.

» Read more from The Gazette’s K.J. Pilcher

They weren’t perfect, and not completely dominant.

But the Mount Vernon Mustangs were purely convertible.

Class 3A Mount Vernon converted fourth-down situations on its first four touchdown drives and handled 2A No. 7 Monticello, 35-6, in a non-district football game Friday night at First Street Stadium.

“It was a matter of us trusting the coaches, and the coaches trusting us,” said quarterback Joey Rhomberg, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.

“A lot of teams will go for a field goal or punt the ball in those situations, but the coaches trusted us to make plays.”

Last year’s 3A state runners-up, the Mustangs (1-0) were sharp early, scoring on three of their first four drives on their way to a 21-0 halftime advantage.

» Read more from The Gazette’s Jeff Linder

The young Warriors flashed promise, but a night of missed opportunities sunk their hopes for an opening-night win.

Making the move from Class 4A to 5A, Cedar Rapids Washington returned just one offensive lineman from last year and started a pair of sophomores.

The Dubuque Hempstead defense stiffened when it needed to and the Mustangs left Kingston Stadium with a 28-7 win Friday night.

“We did some good things,” Washington Coach Maurice Blue said. “We just didn’t make enough positive plays. All three phases took turns.”

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Culley Kline

Trey Franck has not practiced one play at quarterback.

The Marion senior is the Wolves’ bulldozing fullback and standout middle linebacker. All the quarterback snaps in the preseason belonged to junior Kaleb Diers.

When Diers had to leave briefly in the first half after taking a hard hit and again in the second half of Friday night’s opener with Clear Creek Amana, Wolves Coach Michael Joyner had to come up with a plan.

“We did that on the fly,” Joyner said. “Nobody besides Kaleb had taken a snap during all our work leading up to this game.”

All Franck did was produce a pair of first downs that set up Marion’s first TD, a 19-yard Hunter Horak run. He capped his night by throwing a 34-yard strike to Darius Rouson in the fourth quarter to seal the Wolves’ impressive 15-0 win on a warm night at Clipper Field.

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Mike Condon

If Game 1 was a test for Williamsburg starting quarterback Kellen Cockrell, he passed … with flying colors.

With Cockrell at the helm, the Raiders offense, which led Class 2A in touchdowns last season, picked up right where it left off Friday in an impressive season-opening, 42-14, win at home against 1A No. 9 West Branch.

Cockrell had a near-perfect first half, completing 13 of 16 passes for 264 yards and accounting for all six of 3A No. 2-ranked Williamsburg’s touchdowns, throwing for five and scrambling for one.

“It feels great. I have the best receivers a quarterback can ask for,” Cockrell said. “I mean, they came out tonight, did their job and I just found that the connection. I knew if it’s a one-on-one shot, I trust my guys.”

» Read more from Gazette correspondent Ryan Pleggenkuhle

5A No. 10 Linn-Mar 64, Dubuque Senior 7

It started with the opening kick and snowballed from there.

On the 2023 season’s very first play, Dubuque Senior misplayed the kickoff, Linn-Mar pounced, and the rest was history.

The Lions scored just four plays later and added five more touchdowns during an onslaught of a first half en route to a 64-7 victory over the host Rams at Dalzell Field.

Linn-Mar quarterback Austin Waller, who passed for more than 1,300 yards last season, used his legs to haunt Senior, rushing for scores of 1, 9 and 15 yards before connecting with Keaton Roskop on a 30-yard pass to complete the first-half route.

Waller tossed a second-half touchdown of 33 yards to cap a five-touchdown effort for the junior quarterback.

— Dubuque Telegraph-Herald

4A No. 6 Western Dubuque 61, West Delaware 27

Grant Glausser rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns as the Bobcats opened with a win on the road.

Tanner Anderson completed 12 of 23 passes for 212 yards and five TDs for Western Dubuque.

West Delaware was led by Brent Yonkovic, who rushed for 122 yards and TD, and Macoy Roling, who added 109 yards and a TD.

3A No. 9 Independence 50, North Fayette Valley 22

E.J. Miller completed 19 of 27 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns as the Mustangs rolled in West Union.

Brady Kurt caught 11 of those passes for 123 yards and two TDs, and also scored on an interception return. Brady McDonald caught eight passes for 72 yards and a TD.

Trey Webber rushed 10 times for 83 yards and a TD.

Decklyn Heins led NFV, completing 20 of 27 passes for 247 yards.

Decorah 32, Waukon 6

Dakota Johnson rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings won at home.

Johnson scored on runs of 75, 70 and 46 yards.

— Randy Iverson

Maquoketa 17, Anamosa 6

In a game that only saw two offensive touchdowns, the Cardinals rolled at Anamosa.

Maquoketa’s defense started the scoring, returning a fumble for a score in the first quarter before Braedon Tranel hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Carter Meyer in the second quarter.

Anamosa answered when Nate Fischer hauled in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Vince Diers.

Tranel clinched the win, kicking a 31-yard field goal with 1:54 remaining.

Diers completed 16 of 30 passes for 142 yards while Austin Scranton rushed 18 times for 83 yards for the host Raiders.

— Daryl Schepanski

North Linn 23, Alburnett 7

Jake Van Etten passed for 106 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 40 more and another score as the Lynx rolled.

Breckyn Betenbender added 93 yards and a TD on 18 rushes and Landen Helmrich chipped in with 75 yards on 12 rushes.

Lansing Kee 52, Tripoli 12

Dalton Mudderman did a little bit of everything for Kee in his opener at Tripoli.

Mudderman rushed for 114 yards and a touchdowns, passed for 112 and three TDs and returned an interception for a score for the Kee-Hawks.

Carter Seitz caught three passes for 65 yards and scored two TDs.

Kee outscored Tripoli, 44-0, in the final three quarters.

Iowa high school football statewide scores

Adel ADM 49, Newton 21

Albia 21, Centerville 13

Algona Garrigan 34, Fort Dodge St. Edmond 26

Anita CAM 42, Audubon 12

Ankeny 39, Ankeny Centennial 38, 2OT

Aplington-Parkersburg 23, Union Community 7

Ar-We-Va 46, Exira-EHK 44

Atlantic 47, Clarke 33

Avoca AHSTW 64, Tri-Center 27

BGM 96, Meskwaki 12

Ballard 20, Pella 17

Bedford 63, Moravia 20

Benton Community 49, Vinton-Shellsburg 0

Bettendorf 30, Pleasant Valley 10

Boone 15, Knoxville 14

Boyer Valley 56, Griswold 12

Carroll 20, Greene County 0

Cedar Rapids Jefferson 33, Muscatine 24

Cedar Rapids Prairie 20, Cedar Falls 17

Cedar Rapids Xavier 41, Waverly-Shell Rock 6

Central Lee 35, Van Buren County 8

Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 48, Emmetsburg 8

Central Springs 32, Mason City Newman 8

Chariton 21, Davis County 7

Charles City 26, Oelwein 14

Cherokee 51, Marcus MMCRU 23

Clarinda 46, Shenandoah 7

Clarksville 60, North Iowa 12

Clear Lake 34, Forest City 0

Collins-Maxwell 60, Garwin GMG 28

Colo-Nesco 48, Murray 12

Council Bluffs Lewis Central 21, Harlan 20

Council Bluffs Lincoln 28, Sioux City West 13

Creston 36, Winterset 17

Davenport Assumption 34, Solon 7

Davenpor, Central 21, Clinton 13

Davenport West 13, Davenport North 6

Decorah 32, Waukon 6

Denison-Schleswig 38, Council Bluffs Jefferson 14

Denver 42, New Hampton 14

Des Moines Roosevelt 42, Des Moines Lincoln 32

Dubuque Hempstead 28, Cedar Rapids Washington 7

Dubuque Wahlert 48, Camanche 12

Earlham 25, Central Decatur 7

East Marshall 7, Conrad BCLUW 0

East Mills 54, West Harrison 36

East Union 53, Sidney 30

Easton Valley 61, New London 22

Edgewood-Colesburg 68, Elkader Central 14

Fairfield 38, Mount Pleasant 14

Fort Madison 15, Burlington 12

Gilbert 14, Dallas Center-Grimes 13

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 34, Don Bosco 21

Glenwood 28, Sioux City East 24

Glidden-Ralston 32, Woodbine 28

Grand View Christian 27, Martensdale-St. Marys 26

Grinnell 14, Center Point-Urbana 3

Guthrie Center ACGC 20, Ogden 19

Grundy Center 7, Dike-New Hartford 6

Hampton-Dumont-CAL 42, Iowa Falls-Alden 20

Hinton 10, Le Mars Gehlen 0

Hudson 24, North Tama 2

Humboldt 20, Spencer 3

Ida Grove OABCIG 33, Estherville-Lincoln Central 14

IKM-Manning 19, East Sac County 15

Independence 50, North Fayette Valley 22

Indianola 31, Urbandale 0

Iowa City Regina 44, West Liberty 6

Iowa City West 35, Iowa City Liberty 28

Iowa Valley 60, Lone Tree 14

Janesville 42, Northwood-Kensett 28

Johnston 23, Waukee Northwest 17

Joliet Catholic (Ill.) 48, Iowa City High 13

Kingsley-Pierson 27, Alta-Aurelia 7

Lake Mills 14, Ackley AGWSR 7

Lamoni 74, Twin Cedars 22

Lansing Kee 52, Tripoli 12

Le Mars 41, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 13

Lenox 54, Stanton 14

Linn-Mar 64, Dubuque Senior 7

Lisbon 42, Durant 0

Logan-Magnolia 29, Missouri Valley 8

MFL-Mar-Mac 33, Crestwood 0

Madrid 28, Woodward-Granger 27

Maquoketa 17, Anamosa 6

Maquoketa Valley 33, Cascade 12

Marion 15, Clear Creek Amana 0

Mason City 32, Marshalltown 3

Mediapolis 33, Columbus Community 7

Midland 48, English Valleys 6

Monroe PCM 22, Sigourney-Keota 15

Montezuma 47, Southeast Warren 28

Mormon Trail 50, Melcher-Dallas 14

Mount Ayr 39, Nodaway Valley 12

Mount Vernon 35, Monticello 6

Nevada 31, West Marshall 0

North Butler 51, Belmond-Klemme 0

North Cedar 38, Highland 6

North Linn 23, Alburnett 7

North Mahaska 22, Eddyville EBF 6

North Polk 43, Bondurant Farrar 39

North Scott 34, DeWitt Central 7

North Union 26, Okoboji 20

Northeast 40, Bellevue 16

Norwalk 52, Carlisle 32

Oakland Riverside 40, West Monona 0

Oskaloosa 28, Washington 14

Panorama 28, West Central Valley 17

Pekin 20, Cardinal 2

Pella Christian 49, Des Moines Christian 35

Perry 33, Des Moines Hoover 18

Remsen St. Mary’s 28, Harris-Lake Park 7

Riceville 46, Rockford 0

Ridge View 7, Akron-Westfield 6

Roland-Story 40, South Tama 0

Ruthven GTRA 48, Siouxland Christian 8

Saint Ansgar 25, Osage 24

Sheldon 26, Sibley-Ocheyedan 6

Sioux Central 20, South O’Brien 9

Sioux City Heelan 22, Carroll Kuemper 19

South Central Calhoun 34, Pocahontas Area 14

South Hamilton 20, South Hardin 14

South Sioux City (Neb.) 46, Sioux City, North 37

Southeast Polk 24, West Des Moines Valley 18

Southeast Valley 26, Manson-Northwest Webster 8

Southwest Valley 34, Red Oak 31

Spirit Lake 30, Algona 22

Starmont 14, South Winneshiek 9

Storm Lake 45, Saydel 34

Sumner-Fredericksburg 18, East Buchanan 12

Tipton 54, Louisa-Muscatine 0

Treynor 41, Council Bluffs St. Albert 0

Unity Christian 29, MOC-Floyd Valley 25

Van Meter 21, Underwood 14

Wapsie Valley 12, Jesup 0

Waterloo Columbus 37, Dyersville Beckman 0

Waterloo West 56, Waterloo East 12

Waukee 35, Ames 7

Wayne 42, Colfax-Mingo 8

Webster City 35, Fort Dodge 28

West Bend-Mallard 44, Newell-Fonda 16

West Burlington 46, Wapello 6

West Fork 14, Clayton Ridge 12

West Hancock, Britt 55, Garner GHV 6

West Lyon 14, Sioux Center 2

West Sioux 51, Hartley HMS 7

Western Christian 27, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 6

Western Dubuque 61, West Delaware 27

Westwood 22, Mapleton MVAOCOU 20

Williamsburg 42, West Branch 14

Wilton 13, Mid-Prairie 0

Winfield-Mount Union 44, Central City 36

Woodbury Central 27, Lawton-Bronson 24