Iowa high school football Top 25 rankings (11/6/2023)

No. 1 SE Polk survives Cedar Falls; 6-5 WDM Valley finding more postseason magic

Here are SBLive’s Iowa high school football rankings for the week of Nov. 5. All semifinal games are at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. 

1. Southeast Polk (11-0) Semifinal opponent Friday: No. 9 West Des Moines Valley (6-5), 4 p.m.

Rams survived Cedar Falls 21-20 by turning away a two-point attempt with less than a minute remaining.

2. Western Dubuque (10-1) Semifinal opponent Thursday: No. 18 Bondurant-Farrar (9-2), 7 p.m.

Grant Glausser rushed 32 times for 250 yards and a touchdown in a 21-7 quarterfinal win over North Scott.

3. Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (11-0) Semifinal opponent Saturday: No. 25 Spirit Lake (10-1), 1 p.m.

Reece Vander Zee ran for four touchdowns and the Lions rallied from a 21-15 halftime deficit to eliminate Carroll Kuemper, 48-27.

4. Ankeny (8-3) Semifinal opponent Friday: No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (7-4), 7 p.m.

Luke Anderson's 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Brandhorst with 4:16 left in the third quarter was the winning score in the Hawks' 14-7 upset win over Dowling.

5. Ankeny Centennial (7-4) Semifinal opponent Friday: No. 4 Ankeny (8-3), 7 p.m.

Nate Christiansen led the defense with 7.5 tackles and an interception as the Jaguars held Bettendorf to 194 total yards in a 41-14 quarterfinal win.

6. Van Meter (11-0) Semifinal opponent Saturday: Monticello (10-1), 10 a.m.

Austin Baumhover passed for 138 yards and a score and ran for 124 and three touchdowns in a 31-21 quarterfinal win over PCM.

7. Creston (11-0) Semifinal opponent Saturday: Sioux City Heelan (10-1), 4 p.m.

Cael Turner completed 19 of 32 for 298 yards and four touchdowns as the Panthers rallied from a 19-0 deficit to overtake Webster City, 50-27.

8. Lewis Central (9-2) Semifinal opponent Thursday: No. 17 North Polk, 4 p.m.

Titans rallied from 21-10 deficit to beat ADM 32-21, getting 199 passing yards from Brady Hetzel and 153 rushing yards and three TDs from Kamdyn Cross.

9. West Des Moines Valley (6-5) Semifinal opponent Friday: No. 1 Southeast Polk (11-0), 4 p.m.

Another remarkable run after an 0-4 start. Soph Jayden McGregory caught a 71-yard TD pass and blocked a field goal in a 20-7 win over Waukee.

10. West Des Moines Dowling (9-2) 

Maroons managed just 187 total yards in their 14-7 quarterfinal loss to Ankeny.

11. Underwood (10-1) Semifinal opponent Friday: MFL-Mar-Mac (10-1), 1 p.m.

Sophomore Garrett Luett completed 19 of 25 for 339 yards and 4 TDs, and Mason Boothby caught seven passes for 176 yards and three TDs in a 43-8 win over OABCIG.

12. Solon (10-1) Semifinal opponent Saturday: No. 13 Williamsburg (10-1), 7 p.m.

Brett White caught five passes for 114 yards, including two key receptions on the go-ahead drive as the Spartans nipped West Delaware, 36-35.

13. Williamsburg (10-1) Semifinal opponent Saturday: No. 12 Solon, 7 p.m.

Derek Weisskopf threw for 147 yards and four TDS, and ran for another 108 yards in a 38-35 win over Mount Vernon.

14. Cedar Falls (7-4) 

Tigers earned the respect of many, but 2-point play with 39 seconds left was a yard short in a 21-20 loss to Southeast Polk.

15. Mount Vernon (9-2) 

Joey Rhomberg threw for 315 yards and three scores and ran for another, but it wasn't enough in a 38-35 quarterfinal loss to Williamsburg.

16. Pleasant Valley (8-2) Season completed.

Spartans' season again ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 31-21 loss to West Des Moines Valley.

17. North Polk (9-2) Semifinal opponent Thursday: No. 8 Lewis Central, 4 p.m.

BJ Tate carried 25 times for 122 yards as the Comets registered an emotional 17-14 quarterfinal win over defending 4A champ Cedar Rapids Xavier.

18. Bondurant-Farrar (9-2) Semifinal opponent Thursday: No. 2 Western Dubuque (10-1), 7 p.m.

Caleb Moore carried 28 times for 242 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-21 quarterfinal win at Glenwood.

19. Waukee (8-3) 

Junior Grant Gammell carried 24 times for 135 yards in the 20-7 quarterfinal loss to West Des Moines Valley.

20. Cedar Rapids Xavier (8-3) 

Coleton Beasler-Weber caught 10 passes for 106 yards in the 17-14 loss to North Polk.

21. North Scott (8-3) 

Lancers played Western Dubuque to the wire in the quarterfinals, trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter before settling for a 21-7 loss.

22. Johnston (5-5)

All of the Dragons' losses were to 5A quarterfinalists, including two to Ankeny.

23. Grundy Center (11-0) Semifinal opponent Friday: Waterloo Columbus (9-2).

Spartans held Dike-New Hartford to 122 total yards in a dominant 41-0 quarterfinal win.

24. ADM (7-4) Season completed.

A 32-21 quarterfinal loss to Lewis Central, but an impressive season for the Tigers after losing Iowa recruit Brevin Doll for the year in Week 3 to an injury.

25. Spirit Lake (10-1) Semifinal opponent Saturday: No. 3 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, 1 p.m.

Caden Lundt completed 25 of 39 for 328 yards and two touchdowns in a stirring 20-19 quarterfinal win over West Lyon.