Iowa state high school playoffs: Top seeds Humboldt, West Hancock survive close encounters to advance

Iowa City Liberty, North Polk, West Lyon, Grundy Center and Lenox all roll as teams inch closer to spots inside the UNI-Dome

West Hancock players celebrate during a semifinal round win last year in the playoffs. The Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals Friday night with a victory over MMCRU. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

The first full Friday night of playoff prep football action here in Iowa brought with it thrilling finishes and a handful of upsets, as teams continued to march towards the UNI-Dome.

In Class 3A, Humboldt, who earned the No. 1 spot in the Ratings Percentage Index, put together a late drive in the fourth quarter that resulted in a game-winning field goal by Karson Rubel. The Wildcats knocked off district and North Central Conference rival Clear Lake, 13-10, and will now meet Solon in the quarterfinals.

Solon advanced with a 34-27 win over Benton Community while Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Nevada, Dubuque Wahlert, Independence, Algona and Mount Vernon will all join them. Independence made sure a new champion would be crowned, rallying for a 21-14 win over Williamsburg.

West Hancock, the defending champions in A, survived vs. MMCRU, 28-21, and will now get Woodbury Central in a rematch of the finals. Woodbury Central clipped Le Mars Gehlen, 21-19.

The other matchups in A will see ACGC take on Tri-Center, Saint Ansgar meet Maquoketa Valley and Lisbon take on Madrid.

Iowa City Liberty had no trouble in 5A, downing Waukee, 31-14, while North Polk handled Fort Dodge in 4A, 36-6. West Lyon took care of Western Christian in 2A, 42-7, and defending 2A state champion Grundy Center topped West Branch, 42-7.

In eight-player, Lenox roughed up Ar-We-Va, 41-6, while defending champion Bishop Garrigan pushed its win streak to 22 with a 47-12 triumph over Riceville.

First/Second Round Results

Class 5A

Iowa City Liberty 31, Waukee 14

West Des Moines Dowling 41, Cedar Falls 21

Ankeny Centennial 52, Iowa City High 28

Iowa City West 21, Bettendorf 16

Southeast Polk 24, Pleasant Valley 21

West Des Moines Valley 31, Sioux City East 28

Johnston 49, Waterloo West 14

Ankeny 47, Linn-Mar 21

Class 4A

North Polk 46, Fort Dodge 6

Cedar Rapids Xavier 35, Norwalk 14

Decorah 15, Newton 14

North Scott 26, Western Dubuque 7

Pella 34, Clear Creek-Amana 7

Gilbert 21, Waverly-Shell Rock 14

Lewis Central 28, Ballard 10

ADM 43, Spencer 13

Class 3A

Humboldt 13, Clear Lake 10

Solon 34, Benton 27

Sergeant Bluff-Luton 35, MOC-Floyd Valley 17

Nevada 21, Sioux City Heelan 14

Dubuque Wahlert 41, Davenport Assumption 0

Independence 21, Williamsburg 14

Algona 49, Harlan 6

Mount Vernon 42, Carroll 6

Second Round

Class 2A

West Lyon 42, Western Christian 7

Carroll Kuemper 24, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 14

Monroe-PCM 48, Greene County 6

Mid-Prairie 35, Mediapolis 14

Spirit Lake 42, Osage 14

North Fayette Valley 28, Crestwood 6

Van Meter 48, West Marshall 0

Anamosa 48, West Burlington, Notre Dame 20

Class 1A

Grundy Center 42, West Branch 7

Sumner-Fredericksburg 14, Manson Northwest Webster 0

Dike-New Hartford 55, South Hamilton 22

South Hardin 27, Emmetsburg 20

Hinton 21, OABCIG 14

Underwood 21, Treynor 20

Iowa City Regina 35, Woodward-Granger 14

Wilton 40, MFL MarMac 14

Class A

West Hancock 28, MMCRU 21

ACGC 41, Mount Ayr 14

Tri-Center 58, Riverside 13

Woodbury Central 21, Le Mars Gehlen 19

Saint Ansgar 18, Wapsie Valley 0

Maquoketa Valley 38, Nashua-Plainfield 13

Lisbon 56, Bellevue 12

Madrid 33, Pekin 0

Eight-Player

Lenox 41, Ar-We-Va 6

Montezuma 32, Bedford 28

Bishop Garrigan 47, Riceville 12

Edgewood-Colesburg 70, Janesville 48

Don Bosco 48, WACO 7

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 57, Iowa Valley 32

Remsen St. Mary's 42, CAM 6

Audubon 42, Woodbine 18

Quarterfinal Round Pairings

Class 5A

Friday, Nov. 8 Games

Ankeny at Iowa City Liberty

Ankeny Centennial vs. West Des Moines Dowling at Mediacom Stadium

Iowa City West at Southeast Polk

Johnston at West Des Moines Valley

Class 4A

Friday, Nov. 8 Games

Cedar Rapids Xavier at North Polk

North Scott at Decorah

Gilbert at Pella

ADM at Lewis Central

Class 3A

Friday, Nov. 8 Games

Solon at Humboldt

Nevada at Sergeant Bluff-Luton

Independence at Dubuque Wahlert

Mount Vernon at Algona

Class 2A

Friday, Nov. 8 Games

Carroll Kuemper at West Lyon

Mid-Prairie at Monroe-PCM

North Fayette Valley at Spirit Lake

Anamosa at Van Meter

Class 1A

Friday, Nov. 8 Games

Sumner-Fredericksburg at Grundy Center

South Hardin at Dike-New Hartford

Underwood at Hinton

Wilton at Iowa City Regina

Class A

Friday, Nov. 8 Games

Woodbury Central at West Hancock

Tri-Center at ACGC

Maquoketa Valley at Saint Ansgar

Madrid at Lisbon

Eight-Player

Thursday, Nov. 7 Games

Montezuma at Lenox

Edgewood-Colesburg at Bishop Garrigan

Gladbrook-Reinbeck at Don Bosco

Audubon at Remsen St. Mary's