You’re up, Jaguars.
For better or worse, whether blessing or curse, Ankeny Centennial is the new top-ranked Class 5A team in this week’s Gazette high school football rankings.
Centennial is a narrow No. 1; the Jaguars and Waukee — both 3-0 — split the six first-place votes evenly, with the former earning a 57-56 edge in poll points.
That’s the good news. The other news is this — in each of the first three weeks, the No. 1 team has gone down to defeat.
Ankeny lost to Centennial in Week 1. West Des Moines Valley fell to West Des Moines Dowling in Week 2. And Dowling absorbed a 23-16 defeat to Ankeny last Friday.
Both Ankeny (home against Southeast Polk) and Waukee (at No. 3 Valley) face stiff challenges this week, so if they stay at the top of the list, they’ll have earned it.
Dowling and Bettendorf round out the 5A top five. Linn-Mar is up two spots to No. 6 after handling Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 21-7; Cedar Rapids Prairie is into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 10 after toppling Southeast Polk, 30-20.
The top teams in the other six classes remain the same: Lewis Central in 4A, Solon (3A), West Lyon (2A), Grundy Center (1A), Woodbury Central (Class A) and Remsen St. Mary’s (8-Player).
Lewis Central remains a unanimous pick in 4A after escaping Adel ADM, 30-27. North Scott received all six second-place votes, and is followed by Pella, North Polk and Gilbert.
The 3A hierarchy will sort itself out a bit more this week when Solon hosts co-No. 3 Mount Vernon. Williamsburg is No. 2; Mount Vernon shares the 3-slot with Algona, then it’s Clear Lake at No. 5.
West Lyon solidified the 2A top spot with an impressive 33-7 win over then-1A No. 2 OABCIG. Monroe PCM and Spirit Lake are up a spot to 2 and 3 after Van Meter’s loss to Humboldt; Van Meter is fourth, followed by Central Lyon/George-Little Rock.
OABCIG’s loss enabled Wilton and Emmetsburg to climb to 2 and 3 in 1A, behind Grundy Center. Dike-New Hartford is fourth, followed by a fifth-place tie between Hinton and South Hardin.
The top four in Class A are unchanged: Woodbury Central is followed by Guthrie Center ACGC, West Hancock and Saint Ansgar. Madrid is up two spots to No. 5.
Remsen St. Mary’s remains a comfortable No. 1 in 8-Player. Lenox’s win over Taylor County rival Bedford (formerly No. 2) caused a minor shuffle; Algona Garrigan is up to No. 2, with Audubon and Lenox sharing the No. 3 spot. Don Bosco is fifth.
(First-place votes in parentheses)
CLASS 5A W-L Pts. Pvs
1. Ankeny Centennial (3) 3-0 57 4
2. Waukee (3) 3-0 56 2
3. West Des Moines Valley 2-1 44 3
4. West Des Moines Dowling 2-1 38 1
5. Bettendorf 3-0 33 6
6. Linn-Mar 3-0 27 8
7. Cedar Falls 2-1 21 7
8. Pleasant Valley 2-1 18 —
9. Ankeny 1-2 15 —
10. Cedar Rapids Prairie 2-1 12 —
Dropped out: Southeast Polk (5), Iowa City Liberty (9), Johnston (10).
Others receiving votes: Iowa City West 5, Southeast Polk 3, Sioux City East 1.
CLASS 4A W-L Pts. Pvs
1. Lewis Central (6) 3-0 60 1
2. North Scott 3-0 54 2
3. Pella 3-0 44 6
4. North Polk 3-0 42 3
5. Gilbert 3-0 28 8
T-6. Decorah 3-0 26 7
T-6. Indianola 2-1 26 3
T-8. Adel ADM 2-1 17 9
T-8. Western Dubuque 2-1 17 10
10. Cedar Rapids Xavier 2-1 11 5
Others receiving votes: Newton 4.
CLASS 3A W-L Pts. Pvs
1. Solon (4) 3-0 53 1
2. Williamsburg 2-1 48 2
T-3. Algona 3-0 44 4
T-3. Mount Vernon (2) 3-0 44 3
5. Clear Lake 3-0 35 5
6. Independence 3-0 30 6
7. Dubuque Wahlert 3-0 25 7
8. Humboldt 3-0 17 —
9. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 3-0 12 —
T-10. Grinnell 3-0 10 —
T-10. Harlan 2-1 10 10
Dropped out: Nevada (8), Sioux City Heelan (9).
Others receiving votes: Benton Community 1, West Delaware 1.
CLASS 2A W-L Pts. Pvs
1. West Lyon (4) 3-0 58 1
2. Monroe PCM (1) 3-0 53 3
3. Spirit Lake (1) 2-1 51 4
4. Van Meter 2-1 37 2
5. Central Lyon-GLR 2-1 33 5
6. Carroll Kuemper 2-1 31 6
7. Cherokee 3-0 25 8
8. Northeast 3-0 13 9
9. Anamosa 3-0 12 —
10. Roland-Story 2-1 7 —
Dropped out: Clarinda (7), Jesup (10).
Others receiving votes: Western Christian 4, North Fayette Valley 3, West Burlington-Notre Dame 3.
CLASS 1A W-L Pts. Pvs
1. Grundy Center (5) 3-0 58 1
2. Wilton (1) 3-0 49 3
3. Emmetsburg 3-0 44 4
4. Dike-New Hartford 2-1 42 4
T-5. Hinton 3-0 28 9
T-5. South Hardin 3-0 28 8
7. Iowa City Regina 3-0 26 7
8. Ida Grove OABCIG 2-1 25 2
9. Avoca AHSTW 2-1 20 6
10. Underwood 1-2 10 10
Others receiving votes: Hudson 2.
CLASS A W-L Pts. Pvs
1. Woodbury Central (5) 3-0 59 1
2. Guthrie Center ACGC 3-0 52 2
3. West Hancock (1) 3-0 51 3
4. Saint Ansgar 2-1 34 4
5. Madrid 2-1 32 7
6. Lisbon 3-0 28 8
7. Earlham 2-1 17 9
8. Tri-Center 2-1 16 —
9. North Linn 3-0 14 —
T-10. Nashua-Plainfield 3-0 6 —
T-10. Pekin 3-0 6 —
Dropped out: Mount Ayr (5), Starmont (6), Kingsley-Pierson/River Valley (10).
Others receiving votes: Mount Ayr 4, Wapsie Valley 4, Le Mars Gehlen 2, IKM-Manning 1.
8-PLAYER W-L Pts. Pvs
1. Remsen St. Mary’s (5) 3-0 55 1
2. Algona Garrigan (1) 3-0 46 3
T-3. Audubon 3-0 41 4
T-3. Lenox 3-0 41 6
5. Don Bosco 3-0 39 5
6. Iowa Valley 4-0 28 8
7. Anita CAM 2-1 24 7
8. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 2-1 16 —
9. Bedford 2-1 14 2
10. Lansing Kee 3-0 12 10
Others receiving votes: Belle Plaine 3, Janesville 1, Southeast Warren 1.
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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