The top teams in Iowa high school football have solidified their positions after another round of games in October. However, while there’s not much movement in the Iowa On3 Massey Ratings top 25 list as of Oct. 14, one team cracked the list.

Meanwhile, only seven of the 25 ranked teams remain undefeated as the season approaches its home stretch. These teams might be far from the top 100 in the nation, but the competition is shaping up for an exciting finish.

The On3 Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.

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The Tigers from West Des Moines earned their first shutout victory of the 2024 Iowa high school football season. In addition to blanking the Waterloo West Wahawks, Valley tied their season-high of 49 points. The Tigers were so dominant that Kellen Hove, Drake DeGroote, and Beau Lombardi registered touchdown passes.

After seven games, Valley has the state’s top-ranked offense and fifth on defense. While they look unstoppable as of late, the Tigers will face a formidable challenge in tenth-ranked Ankeny in their next game.

After completing a 49-28 masterclass over Urbandale, the Maroons are on a four-game winning streak. While the J-Hawks made the final margin more respectable, it should be noted that Dowling Catholic was already up 35-7 at halftime.

However, while the Maroons’ defense is ranked fourth within the state, surrendering 63 points in their last two games is quite a concern. Giving that many points might lead to an unfavorable outcome in their next match against fourth-ranked Southeast Polk.

The Dragons have not let up in their last four games. In addition to outscoring their opponents 135-21, they’ve shut out fourth-ranked Southeast Polk (34-0) and scored a season-high 56 points against the Lincoln Lynx. Johnston had a defensive touchdown versus Lincoln, courtesy of Bryan Beachem’s 30-yard interception return.

Johnson has defied the odds in their recent games. They’ve won against Ankeny, Waukee, and Southeast Polk, even if Massey Ratings predicted against them. After surviving that gauntlet, the Dragons should have an easier time against Urbandale and Sioux City East in their next two games.

After a shocking shutout loss to Johnston, the Rams bounced back by surviving 12^th-ranked Waukee’s challenge. That victory brings their record above .500 and should give them momentum as they finish their season.

Despite losing three games, Southeast Polk has the top-ranked defense in Iowa high school football. The Rams need that unit to be excellent when they face second-ranked Dowling Catholic in their next match.

The Bulldogs have improved to 7-0 after a shutout victory over Davenport Central. It’s the first time Bettendorf blanked an opponent this season and the third time they’ve limited an opponent to less than ten points.

Bettendorf has a shot at winning all its regular-season matches. However, Prairie or Iowa City might pull off a shocker that can hand the Bulldogs their first loss this year. They are not a lock to win both games, as Massey Ratings gave them win probabilities of 66 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

The Spartans are living up to their school’s name. They have pleasantly established a six-game winning streak. They could have been undefeated if they hadn’t come up short by a point against Bettendorf.

However, they have the second-best offense in Iowa high school football, averaging 40.28 points per game. That offensive power will be helpful against Iowa City West and Linn-Mar in their next two games.

After dropping back-to-back games against Southeast Polk and Dowling Catholic, the Jaguars returned to their winning ways in a 45-3 demolition of Roosevelt. It’s the lowest output they’ve given to an opponent this season.

Ankeny Centennial can complete a solid finish to their season, granted they maintain the performance level displayed against the Roughriders. It’s easier said than done, though, because they will battle with 18^th-ranked Waukee Northwest for a shot at a 6-2 record.

The Titans maintained their undefeated record after edging the Winterset  28-24. Brady Hetzel led the way on offense by completing 71.4 percent of his passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Leo Tatum and Parker Stessman combined for 12 receptions for 194 yards and two touchdowns.

The 28 points against Winterset is their second-lowest total throughout the 2024 Iowa high school football season. However, they should have no problems putting up the points at home against Norwalk in their next game.

The Lightning have found a way to win their last four games. They’ve won against Cedar Falls, Prairie, Cedar Rapids, and Ankeny by one possession. The Liberty defense showed up when it mattered most against the Hawks, with Sutton Koller leading with ten tackles.

Owen Drapeaux had five tackles and a fumble recovery, while Logan Laubenthal had an interception. While the Lightning will go on the road for the next two games, they should have no problems defeating Waterloo West and Jefferson.

The Hawks remain in the top ten despite their season going topsy-turvy. They suffered their fourth loss in seven games against Liberty, ending their two-game winning streak. Despite losing to the Lightning, Ankeny is still the state’s second-best defensive team.

Unfortunately, the Hawks’ schedule doesn’t get easier. They have a game against top-ranked Valley this week and Cedar Rapids Washington next week.

11. North Polk
12. Waukee
13. West Lyon
14. Linn-Mar
15. Pella
16. Decorah
17. Cedar Falls
18. Waukee Northwest
19. ADM
20. Wahlert Catholic
21. Iowa City High
22. Williamsburg
23. Grundy Center
24. Xavier
25. Humboldt

Well, that was something.

Saturday’s trip to Iowa looked more like a Field of Nightmares for the Huskies, as they were physically overmatched by both of Iowa’s lines on offense and defense, losing 40-16. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Mistaken Identity

Coach Fisch said last week in the locker room before the Michigan game that “this is the game where we establish our identity”. They then went out and did just that, or so we thought. Then they ran into a black and gold buzzsaw.

Make fun of Kirk Ferentz all you want, the Drive for 325 was my favorite storyline of last season. But man…

He’s been there 26 years for a reason.

As I said before the game, Iowa is going to drag you down to their level and beat you with a frustratingly effective run game, all the while controlling the ball and wearing down their opponent. They did just that against the Huskies, with Kaleb Johnson rushing for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries while also catching a touchdown from Cade McNamara, who was 8/14 for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Iowa passing offense was efficient and effective when they needed to be, and Iowa’s great play on offense was due to a very cohesive and physical offensive line, which only gave up 1 sack compared to the Huskies giving up 4. The Hawkeyes were able to capitalize often, only punting twice on the day as they scored 40 points. This is how it feels to be bludgeoned repeatedly for 4 quarters.

The Huskies, however, were a different story.

Despite outgaining the Hawkeyes 393-328, an opportunistic, physical defense got to Will Rogers early and often, forcing Will Rogers to lose a fumble in the second quarter and get intercepted in the third, an interception which was entirely his fault. And despite two drives of 14 plays each to open the game, with each of those going over 7 minutes, they only resulted in 7 points. The Huskies 3rd down performance was also a factor as they went 5/15 on third downs. This underlines the struggles we’ve had all year with leaving points on the scoreboard despite moving the ball fairly well.

Some of that is due to Coach Fisch’s game management issues, illustrated most clearly in this game by his insistence on using Demond Williams in place of Will Rogers in the red zone in the first quarter, even after a false start penalty moved the Huskies from the Iowa 11 to the Iowa 16. You’d think that’d change his calculus a bit, but apparently not, as Demond stayed to finish the drive where a Grady Gross field goal was blocked.

This stands as the worst loss of the season to this point because it proves that even as we triumphed over Michigan last week, Iowa reminded us of what it’ll take to be competitive in this conference going forward. And we have a long way to go. So I say this:

Jedd, what kind of team is this? Is this a passing team? A run heavy team? Because as it stands right now, I don’t think we know. And we need to pick a lane if we want to be competitive, both this season and the next. Because we don’t have an identity right now! Iowa does, and that was the difference on Saturday! As former UW QB Brock Huard said on Saturday on the Fox broadcast, this is the difference between 25 years of continuity with Iowa and 6 months of continuity with the Huskies. But that doesn’t make our identity issues less prevalent, or this loss less demoralizing.

Special Teams Miscues

Going into the game, we had known about the Huskies’ struggles with special teams. But this game brought said struggles into sharp relief. The kick coverage is a glaring issue, as Kaden Wetjen, Iowa’s kickoff and punt returner, averaged 23.3 yards per kickoff return and notched 37 yards on his lone punt return in the second quarter, setting up Iowa with great field position on a drive in which they scored a touchdown. It’s something that you don’t notice until you’ve been given a reason to, and it’s an issue that special teams coordinator Jordan Paopao needs to confront, and clean up quickly. And yes, we need to talk about Grady.

It seems that he’s got the yips, as he hooks every field goal kick slightly, despite nailing them in practice. It also seems as though he struggles with the finer details of his kicks, as this is the second week in a row that he’s had one blocked, but that could also be due to Iowa getting past UW’s blockers. Plenty of stars have struggled with the yips in the past, but this is getting to the point where every drive is 4 down territory, and as a play caller, the lack of a guarantee of points on any given drive would make you anxious. What really makes me feel bad is that Grady is a great guy, and it hurts me to write this. But it is another issue that this team must fix, in a year that is full of them.

Get Right

This year, the roster has turned over a lot. We know this, we knew it coming in. But as the injuries have piled up, the cracks in the depth of this team have started to show. Sure, building a cohesive offensive line from scratch was never going to be easy, but this line is thin. Drew Azzopardi, the sophomore tackle, played the most snaps (82), and recorded a PFF grade of 32.2 out of 100 in overall blocking. Soane Faasolo played 56 snaps and recorded a grade of 29.2 overall. This could be due to Iowa being just physically better defensively, but when you’re getting consistently beat, and you have no other options due to injury, it’s obviously an issue of team health, which is why Coach Fisch stressed that “We need to get healthy this bye week. We need to get all of our offensive and defensive linemen back, and we have to go on the road and play another good Indiana team.”

Taken in sum, this is most definitely a team in a rebuilding year, but this performance is something that’s sad to see as a lifelong Husky fan. Thank goodness for the bye week, because it doesn’t get any easier from here.