Top stars, best performances from Iowa high school football this week

Some of the top performers from Iowa prep football this week

By Barry Poe 

Here are some stars from the past week's high school football games across Iowa.

If you know of a top performance we should include, please let us know. 

Jaxon Smolik, W.D.M. Dowling

The senior and Penn State recruit completed 21-of-29 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown in the Maroons’ 42-19 win over Johnston. Dowling, No. 1 in the SBLive Power 25, won its fifth straight after a season-opening loss to defending Class 5A state champion Southeast Polk.

J.J. Kohl, Ankeny

The senior and Iowa State recruit totaled 249 passing yards and two touchdowns and 70 rushing yards and another score in the No. 2 Hawks’ 34-24 win over West Des Moines Valley. Jazan Williams ran for 117 yards and a touchdown for 5-1 Ankeny.

Connor Moberly, Southeast Polk

The junior quarterback passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as the defending Class 5A state champs rolled past Linn-Mar 49-27. Southeast Polk (5-1) scored on seven of its first eight offensive drives and mounted a 35-13 halftime lead.

Caden McDermott, Pleasant Valley

The senior quarterback passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Spartans, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A by Associated Press and No. 4 by SBLive, beat crosstown rival Bettendorf 44-14. Pleasant Valley moved to 6-0 with its most lopsided win over Bettendorf since 2012.

Owen Thomas, Council Bluffs Lewis Central

Iowa’s defending Class 4A state champions moved to 6-0 on the season, scoring 49 points in the first half en route to a 63-14 win over Des Moines Hoover. Thomas caught two touchdown passes and ran for another.

Bradley Curren, Harlan

The reigning Class 3A state champions won their fifth straight after a season-opening loss to Lewis Central, belting Atlantic 54-7. Curren had rushing and receiving touchdowns on offense and added an interception return for a score. Teegan Kasperbauer passed for 212 yards and went over 7,000 yards for his career.

Asa Newsom, Waverly-Shell Rock

The senior and five-star recruit had 163 total yards on just eight touches as the seventh-ranked Go-Hawks moved to 6-0 with a 42-7 victory over Marion. McCrae Hagerty had 126 of Waverly-Shell Rock’s 353 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns.

Zach Lutmer, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock

The University of Iowa recruit completed 5-of-6 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 79 yards on eight carries and scored twice. The Lions, rated ninth by SBLive, are now 6-0 and have held five of their six foes to single digits.

Drake Gelhaus, Cedar Falls

The 195-pound junior carried 38 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers handed No. 11 Cedar Rapids Kennedy its first loss of the season, 23-16.

Trenton Smith, Ankeny Centennial

Smith completed 18-of-25 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns. The No. 12 Jaguars (4-2) beat No. 17 Urbandale 28-23 despite three TD passes by Peyton Rottinghaus.

Makelle Taylor, Cedar Rapids Prairie

The senior accounted for 180 of the Hawks’ 362 rushing yards in a 45-14 triumph over Waterloo West. Taylor scored three touchdowns as No. 15 Prairie improved its mark to 5-1.

Hunter Smith, Waukee Northwest

The junior defensive end recorded two sacks, including a forced fumble, and blocked a punt as the Wolves knocked off No. 16 Sioux City East 17-7. Northwest evened its record at 3-3 after starting the season with three straight losses.

Caden Lundt, Spirit Lake

The sophomore had just six completions, but two of them went for touchdowns in a 45-0 shutout of Estherville-Lincoln Central. The Indians, ranked No. 20 by SBLive, have a perfect 6-0 record.

Grant Glausser, Western Dubuque

The junior carried 23 times for 220 yards and four touchdowns as the Bobcats, No. 21 in the SBLive ratings, downed Decorah 38-22. Glausser had TD runs of 47, 10, 35 and 7 yards.

Dylan Marti, North Scott

The senior rushed for 155 yards on only six carries, scoring four touchdowns in the Lancers’ 46-7 win over Burlington. North Scott improved to 4-2 with the victory.

Noah Hatlan, Waukon

The senior quarterback passed for 178 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 88 yards and two scores as Waukon knocked off No. 25 Dubuque Wahlert 28-6.

Andy Henson, West Branch

The senior rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns as West Branch remained unbeaten with a 49-13 win over Durant. West Branch (6-0) is ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by Associated Press.

Mitchell Johnson, Independence

Johnson passed for 133 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 158 yards and another score as the Class 3A eighth-ranked Mustangs picked up a big road win, 21-7 over No. 10 Hampton-Dumont.

Preston Ries, Monticello

The junior was 22-for-27 for 320 yards passing and four touchdowns as the Panthers beat Camanche 48-12. Tate Petersen hauled in a pair of scoring passes for 4-2 Monticello.

Aiden Flora, ADM

The junior quarterback had 290 passing yards and two touchdowns and 108 rushing yards and another score in the unbeaten and Class 3A second-ranked Tigers’ 38-7 win over previously unbeaten Creston.

Dylan Wiggins, West Sioux

The senior quarterback completed 16 of 21 passes for two touchdowns and rushed for 47 yards and two more touchdowns in the Class A fifth-ranked Falcons’ 35-0 win over Ridge View.

Mitchell Smith, West Hancock

The junior quarterback rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns while adding two more TD passes in the undefeated and second-ranked (Class A) Eagles’ 31-18 win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. Smith also recorded nine tackles on defense.

Kooper Ebel, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn

In the Hawks’ loss to West Hancock, the Iowa State recruit carried 17 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 114 yards and another TD.

Cael Ortmann, Remsen St. Mary’s

Ortmann, a senior quarterback, completed 12 of 15 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns and tacked on 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Hawks, ranked No. 1 in 8-player football, rolled to a 61-13 win over fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda. Ryan Willman had 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Dallas Sauser, Ames

The senior completed 24-of-31 for 281 yards and four touchdowns as the Little Cyclones beat Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 42-13. Sauser is the state’s leading passer with 2,133 yards in just six games.