Vote now for the Iowa high school team of the week (Oct. 17-23)
By Barry Poe
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Iowa High School Team of the Week for Oct. 17-23 as nominated by coaches, fans and readers. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
Pleasant Valley football
The Spartans capped an unbeaten regular season with a 35-14 win over Iowa City West, their second perfect regular season in three years. Pleasant Valley plays West Des Moines Valley in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday.
Davenport West football
The Falcons beat Muscatine 35-13 for their seventh win of the season and their first playoff berth since 1999. Their reward: A date with top-ranked West Des Moines Dowling, winners of seven straight state titles between 2013 and 2019.
Lewis Central football
The defending Class 4A state champions closed an unbeaten regular season with a 42-15 victory over Winterset. The Titans host Le Mars in a first-round playoff game.
Iowa City Liberty football
From a 3-6 record in 2021, Liberty is 8-1 and won its first-ever district title. The Lightning host Webster City in a first-round 4A playoff game.
Harlan football
The Cyclones won their eighth straight game after a season-opening loss to Lewis Central. Harlan, the defending Class 3A state champion, hosts Webster City in the opening round of playoffs.
Dike-New Hartford volleyball
The Wolverines have been No. 1 in the SBLive rankingsgs for eight straight weeks and won their 18th straight match, sweeping Woodward-Granger in a Class 4A regional.
Hull Western Christian volleyball
The Wolfpack has lost only to teams from South Dakota and Nebraska this season and swept MMCRU in an opening-round Class 2A regional.
Pleasant Valley volleyball
Pleasant Valley won the Class 5A state championship last season and won its 10th straight match with a sweep of Davenport West in a regional opener.
Western Dubuque volleyball
The Bobcats took their first step toward defending their Class 4A state title, sweeping Webster City in a regional semifinal.
Cedar Falls volleyball
Last season’s Class 5A state runners-up, the Tigers have won 13 in a row, including a regional victory over Dubuque Hempstead.
West Des Moines Dowling boys cross country
Defending Class 4A state champion Jackson Heidesch was first (15:32.20) for defending 4A state team champion West Des Moines Dowling, which tallied 31 points while winning a 4A state qualifier in Council Bluffs.
Dubuque Hempstead girls cross country
Julia Gehl recorded a winning time of 17:57.80 for Dubuque Hempstead, which scored 18 points while winning a Class 4A state qualifier at its home course. The defending Class 4A state champs also posted runners whom finished, second, third and fourth.
Pella boys cross country
Paced by Chase Lauman’s first-place time of 15:36.22, Pella scored 21 points while winning a Class 3A state-qualifier meet on its home course.
Columbus football
The Wildcats reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997 with a 62-14 rout of Maquoketa Valley.
West Harrison football
The eight-player Hawkeyes picked up the school’s first-ever playoff win, 29-27 over Bedford. Unbeaten West Harrison hosts another playoff contest this week against Graettinger-Terril-Ruthven-Ayrshire.
