Iowa high school football stars propel Iowa State and Iowa victories

Jamison Patton’s interception sparks cyclones' win over West Virginia, while Aaron Graves dominates for Hawkeyes against Washington

Former Iowa high school football star Jamison Patton (21) snagged a pivotal interception for Iowa State, setting a key third quarter touchdown drive and propelling the Hawkeyes to 28-16 road victory at West Virginia. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Jamison Patton, a sophomore at Iowa State, made a game-changing interception in the Cyclones' 28-16 win over West Virginia, Saturday. The former Iowa high school standout, who played at both Des Moines Roosevelt and Ankeny, has focused exclusively on defense in college where he continues to impact the game.

During his high school career, Patton was always around the ball - both on offense and defense.

In the road victory at West Virginia, Patton's third quarter interception of Garrett Greene setup a 10-play, 65-yard drive that chewed up over five minutes and gave the Cyclones a 21-10 lead at the time.

The 6-foot-2 Patton played in 11 games as a true freshman last season after finishing as the leading receiver for Ankeny his senior year. He was a quarterback at Des Moines Roosevelt before transferring to Ankeny where he had over 1,700 yards of total offense and 21 touchdowns his junior campaign.

Patton’s teammate and fellow former Iowa prep standout, Beau Goodwin, had two key tackles for loss. Goodwin, a freshman linebacker from Kingsley-Pierson, has now played in four games this year for the Cyclones.

During his senior season, Goodwin had over 2,200 yards on offense with 26 touchdowns while recording 84.5 tackles on defense with 10.5 for loss. He was also a state runner-up in the high jump and a four-sport athlete.

Aaron Graves enjoys a big day as Iowa tops Washington

The Iowa defense got back on track in a big way, throttling Washington, 40-16, to hand head coach Kirk Ferentz his 200th career win at the school.

Aaron Graves, who helped Southeast Valley win a state championship his senior season, was involved in the defense that caused problems all day for the Huskies. Graves, a junior, recorded two sacks and had five tackles on the day while also knocking down a pass.

Former Southeast Valley defensive lineman Aaron Graves had five tackles and two sacks in helping the Iowa defense enjoy a big day in a 40-16 win over Washington. / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Graves now has seven sacks on the season for the Hawkeyes.

Xavier Nwankpa, a Southeast Polk standout, was third on the team in tackles with 10 including seven solo stops. It was Nwankpa’s most active day after recording 11 tackles in the first four games.