Iowa
Top Iowa high school football games in Iowa City area in Week 8, and our predictions
Owen Bock talks Solon’s Week 7 win over Washington
Solon sophomore Owen Bock scored a 65-yard touchdown in a 42-0 win over Washington in Week 7 of the Iowa high school football season.
Week 8 of the Iowa high school football season will be another opportunity for all six Iowa City-area teams to boost their resumes as they inch closer to the end of the regular season.
The rivalry game between Iowa City Liberty and Iowa City High will headline the action on Friday, Oct. 17. Iowa City Regina will play in its last regular season game of the year.
Here are our predictions for each local football matchup in Week 8.
Iowa high school football predictions Week 8
Iowa City Liberty at Iowa City High
Iowa City Liberty (6-1), Iowa City High (1-6): The Little Hawks earned their first win of the season in a 59-14 road win over Des Moines East in Week 7. That momentum may be short-lived when they take on a Liberty team that has won three games in a row, with its most recent victory being a 28-14 road win over Pleasant Valley.
Liberty junior Brody Beaver has made up for lost time on the ground as of late. The running back, who missed time this season with a hamstring strain, rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in Week 7. He has added an element to Liberty’s offense that has opened the pass game for quarterback Reece Rettig. Let’s not forget a Liberty defense that has created opportunities for that offensive success.
It seemed that the Little Hawks laid out their frustration against the Scarlets in Week 7 with elite performances across the board. Sophomore quarterback Chris Kabaiza threw for 323 yards and five touchdowns, while Chayse Newton nabbed 14 passes for 145 yards and two scores. Dominic Roe led the team with 132 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. The City High defense had its best performance this season, holding Des Moines East to 14 points.
Don’t expect the Little Hawks to have that same productivity against the Lightning. Liberty has too much talent to fall behind by double digits and its resume speaks for itself. Iowa City Liberty 50, Iowa City High 16
Louisa-Muscatine at Iowa City Regina
Louisa-Muscatine (0-7), Iowa City Regina (7-0): This game is a mismatch of epic proportions. The 7-0 Regals will face a Louisa-Muscatine team that earned its last win in September of 2020.
Regina quarterback Kyle Tracy put up video game numbers in a 49-8 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont last week. He went 7-for-7 passing for 372 yards and six touchdowns in two quarters played. Don’t be shocked if Tracy surpasses that total in what should be an easy blowout win for the Regals in their regular season finale. Iowa City Regina 55, Louisa-Muscatine 6
Solon at Mount Pleasant
Solon (7-0), Mount Pleasant (6-1): After a dominant 42-0 win over Washington, the Spartans shift their attention to a Mount Pleasant team that has won three games in a row entering Week 8.
The Panthers are coming off a 35-34 win over Keokuk, a team that the Spartans shut out, 77-0, in Week 5. Sure, Mount Pleasant has dropped one game this season but they haven’t had the same strength of schedule as the No. 1 team in Class 3A.
The Spartans have been in a single one-score game this season, with six of their wins coming by double digits. Their dominance will continue on the road against the Panthers. Solon 45, Mount Pleasant 12
Iowa City West at Prairie
Iowa City West (6-1), Prairie (4-3): With blowout victories over Muscatine and Davenport Central, wins have been easy to come by for the Trojans as of late. Prairie is a gritty football team with talent that can strike at a moment’s notice. The Trojans will have to keep their heads on a swivel in Week 8.
The Hawks’ run game is led by Dawson Kahl, a former City High running back that has rushed for 642 yards and seven touchdowns on 84 carries this season. Senior David Fason is an Iowa football commit who leads the team in tackles (46.5), tackles for loss (25.5), sacks (8), receptions (25) and receiving yards (409).
The Trojans have their own Division I talent with Julian Manson, Colin Whitters and Ethan Headings with a number of other elite playmakers who can step up when their number is called. Iowa City West will do enough to win in a tight game. Iowa City West 38, Prairie 35
Clear Creek Amana at Pella
Clear Creek Amana (3-4), Pella (6-1): CCA dropped a 31-19 home game to No. 2 Newton in Week 7 without standout quarterback Conlan Poynton and will face Pella, the No. 3 team in Class 4A this week. Sophomore Texton Bollers got his first full start at quarterback against the Cardinals. He completed 14-of-26 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
Pella is coming off a 35-0 win over Oskaloosa in Week 7. The Dutch’s defense has compiled nine interceptions, the fifth most in 4A. Offensively, they are ranked fourth in passing completions (102) and passing attempts (163).
Pella has won the last three meetings between the two teams by double digits entering their 2025 showdown. This season’s Clippers squad is a gritty bunch, but they’ll have their hands full against a Dutch team that operates at an elite level. Pella 32, Clear Creek Amana 21
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
Iowa
Iowa State football lands 2027 3-star linebacker commit Keaton Wollan
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on offense, defense development
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on how the Cyclones offense and defense is developing.
After securing multiple commitments on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa State football has landed its first defensive commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.
Keaton Wollan, a three-star linebacker out of Amery, Wisconsin, committed to the Cyclones on April 21. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker announced his decision on social media.
He chose Iowa State over other offers from Texas Tech and North Dakota State. He previously visited Ames in March, but he also took recent visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
As a junior at Amery High School, Wollan was a two-way standout and earned all-state honors for the 2025 season. Defensively, he racked up a team-high 125 total tackles, including nine for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one defensive touchdown.
Offensively, he had a team-high 932 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 160 carries. He also caught 15 passes for 179 yards, and he was an impact player in the return game, logging more than 500 kick and punt return yards.
According to 247 Sports Composite rankings, Wollan is the No. 93 linebacker prospect in the country and the No. 11 overall recruit in his class from the state of Wisconsin.
Wollan is the sixth player to commit in the Cyclones’ 2027 recruiting class.
Iowa State football 2027 recruiting commitments
As of April 21
- Gavin Ericson-Staton, OL | Lombard, Illinois/Montini Catholic
- Isaiah Hansen, RB | Newton, Iowa/Newton HS
- Koen Hinzman, OL | Hudson, Michigan/Hudson Area HS
- Will Slagle, OL | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell HS
- Bryson Thompson, WR | San Antonio, Texas/Claudia Taylor Johnson HS
- Keaton Wollan, LB | Amery, Wisconsin/Amery HS
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
Iowa
Iowa DOT plans overnight I‑80 closure at northeast mixmaster
Avoiding common car crashes
Discover the common causes of car crashes and learn how to avoid them.
Prepare for more overnight closures at the northeast mixmaster as the Iowa Department of Transportation closes the ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 and northbound Interstate 35.
Here’s what to know.
When will the Iowa DOT close the westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 ramp?
The westbound I-80 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning from April 21-24.
What’s the detour when the Iowa DOT closes the westbound I‑80 to the northbound I‑35 ramp?
During the closures, drivers wanting to go from westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 will follow a signed detour.
Instead of taking the closed ramp, motorists will stay on westbound I‑80, bypassing the northeast mixmaster connection. They’ll then exit at U.S. Highway 69, turn around, and head back east on I‑80, where they can connect to northbound I‑35 using the open portion of the northeast mixmaster.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
Iowa
Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor commits to Big Ten foe
An Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor committed to one of the Hawkeyes’ conference foes instead. Former Iowa State guard Kenzie Hare took a visit to Iowa during her transfer portal recruitment, but the 5-foot-9 guard committed to Indiana on Sunday night.
Hare had several visits throughout her transfer portal recruiting process, including trips to Michigan and Illinois State, but the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Hare also visited Iowa.
On3’s Talia Goodman reported Hare’s commitment to the Hoosiers.
Hare has one year of eligibility remaining. This past season with the Cyclones, in 32 games played and 31 starts, Hare averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 40.5% field goal shooting and 40% from 3-point range. A hip injury limited Hare to just 10 games during her first year with the Cyclones in the 2024-25 season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior transferred to Iowa State before the 2024-25 campaign after spending two seasons at Marquette from 2022-24. Hare averaged a career-best 14 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 42.5% 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles.
Had Iowa been able to lure the Naperville, Ill., native to Iowa City, Hare would have been another valuable addition to the Hawkeyes’ backcourt depth. But, Iowa has landed other backcourt reinforcements throughout this transfer portal cycle.
The Hawkeyes inked both Dani Carnegie and Amari Whiting.
Carnegie was a first-team All-SEC selection this past season at Georgia, averaging 17.8 points per game on 42.7% field goal shooting, 35.4% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line. Whiting averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 42.5% field goal shooting, 32.1% 3-point accuracy, and 71.6% free-throw shooting.
As Hare joins a promising core of players in Bloomington, the Hawkeyes will once again face the former Cyclone at least once this upcoming season as part of their Big Ten regular-season slate.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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