SBLive Iowa high school football power 25 football rankings for Week 9
By Kevin White
1. West Des Moines Dowling (7-1)
Maroons flexed their muscle with 443 total yards in their 35-3 win over West Des Moines Valley.
2. Ankeny (7-1)
Hawks’ defense held Waukee Northwest to 44 rushing yards on 26 carries in their 31-7 victory.
3. Southeast Polk (7-1)
With their offensive firepower, defending champs are going to be a tough out in the playoffs again.
4. Pleasant Valley (8-0)
Will Spartans get one of the battle-tested 4-4 teams from the CIML (Waukee NW, Centennial, Waukee, WDM Valley) in the first round?
5. Cedar Rapids Xavier (8-0)
Saints held Newton (6-2) to four first downs in last week’s district victory.
6. Waverly-Shell Rock (8-0)
Go-Hawks rank fourth in 4-A in rushing yards per game (301.1) and first in average per carry (8.4).
7. Council Bluffs Lewis Central (8-0)
Titans allowed just 120 total yards in their shutout victory over Dallas Center-Grimes (41-0).
8. Harlan Community (7-1)
Since their opening-night loss to Lewis Central, Cyclones are outscoring their foes an average of 53-9.
9. Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (8-0)
Zach Lutmer is averaging 19.5 yards per completion and 14.1 yards per carry for the Lions.
10. Williamsburg (8-0)
Raiders will be heavy favorites in their first-round matchup with Camanche (4-4) on Friday.
11. Mount Vernon (8-0)
There are some who think the Mustangs have the best chance to derail Harlan’s repeat hopes in 3-A.
12. Spirit Lake (8-0)
Indians open at home in the 2-A playoffs against Sheldon (4-4).
13. Iowa City Liberty (7-1)
Backup QB Cody Nichols hit Wyatt Williams on a 52-yard TD with 26 seconds left, then found Christian Barney for the 2-point conversion in a 29-28 escape of Burlington last week.
14. Carlisle (7-1)
Nobody in 4-A wants to see the Wildcats in the first round. They’ve beaten Bondurant-Farrar, Indianola and Norwalk all in the past four weeks.
15. North Scott (6-2)
QB Kyler Gerardy’s (1,849 total yards) presence gives the Lancers a chance against anyone in 4-A.
16. Cedar Falls (6-2)
Tigers are a solid seventh in the 5-A RPI entering their regular-season finale against Dubuque Senior (4-4).
17. West Branch (8-0)
The Bears open the playoffs against a South Hardin (3-5) club that’s faced one of the strongest schedules in 1-A.
18. Linn-Mar (5-3)
Lions are 10th in the 5-A RPI entering their regular-season finale against Cedar Rapids Prairie (6-2).
19. Underwood (8-0)
Massive win for the Eagles over previously unbeaten Carroll Kuemper last week catapults the 1-A Eagles into the rankings. They’ll host Interstate 35 (3-5) in the first round.
20. West Hancock (8-0)
Defending Class A champions held six of their eight regular-season opponents to single-digit points.
21. Western Dubuque (5-3)
The Bobcats churned out 378 total yards in their 35-14 loss to unbeaten Waverly-Shell Rock.
22. West Des Moines Valley (4-4)
Tigers are teetering at 16th in the 5-A RPI rankings entering their regular-season finale against Des Moines Roosevelt (3-5).
23. Van Meter (7-1)
Bulldogs host Pleasantville (4-4) in the first round of the 1-A playoffs on Friday.
24. Waukee Northwest (4-4)
Wolves are 12th in the 5-A RPI rankings entering their regular-season finale against Urbandale (5-3), which is 18th.
25. Ankeny Centennial (4-4)
Jaguars are 14th in the 5-A RPI rankings entering their regular-season finale against Des Moines East (1-7).
