Six Iowa high school football games to watch in Week 10

Sixteen teams remain in all seven classes

Iowa City High quarterback Bobby Bacon will lead his team into the Class 5A playoffs against Ankeny Centennial this Friday night. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

After half of the state kicked off playoff action last week, everyone who qualified will now be in advance-or-go-home scenarios this Friday night.

Four pods of four teams throughout eight-man, Class A, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A have been set with the road to Cedar Falls and the UNI-Dome laid out before them. Make sure to get your picks in for our Pick'em Challenge.

Here are a half dozen games of interest for this week, with all of them being played on Friday, Oct. 25:

Iowa City High at Ankeny Centennial

Bobby Bacon and the Little Hawks will have their hands full with a Centennial defense that has allowed just 20 points over the last three games. Bacon, a Pittburg State commit, has thrown for 1,850 yards and 16 touchdowns and looked at his best in a win over Bettendorf to conclude the regular season. The Jaguars counter with the duo of Chase Kluver and Braeden Jackson, as Kluver has 1,145 yards passing and Jackson 1,110 yards rushing with 18 scores.

Harlan at Algona

Can the Bulldogs survive the playoff grind without Iowa State commit Alex Manske? They were able to secure the runner-up spot in a loaded district with three playoff qualifiers after he went down, turning the offense over to sophomore brother Nathan Manske. The Cyclones, though, are one of the more storied programs in the state, reeling off four straight wins to end the year.

Iowa City West at Bettendorf

After playing nearly every season since 2011, these two have not met since 2022. The Bulldogs won five straight wins in the series, which includes several playoff encounters. Jack Wallace has had an incredible senior campaign, throwing for 2,447 yards and 29 touchdowns while adding 320 and eight on the ground. Sam Beecher and the Bettendorf defense kept them unbeaten until the final regular season game.

Waverly-Shell Rock at Gilbert

You would be hard-pressed to find a more battle-tested team than the Go-Hawks, who went 4-1 down the stretch. Senior Ethan Bibler leads the W-SR offense, rushing for 1,305 yards with 17 trips to the end zone. Gilbert, meanwhile, knocked off Pella to secure the district title behind Iowa State commit Will Hawthrone, who has rushed for over 1,800 yards with 24 touchdowns.

Iowa Valley at Gladbrook-Reinbeck

This one could give the scoreboard operators a busy night. Iowa Valley has scored over 70 three times in its last five while Gladbrook-Reinbeck has surpassed 48 in each of its last five games overall. The two have not met since 2020, when the Rebels picked up a 44-8 victory. That Tiger team, though, did not have sophomore Nolan Kriegel, who has rushed for 1,727 yards and thrown for another 1,071 with 54 total touchdowns.

Iowa City Regina at Woodward-Granger

This is another interesting first round matchup that pits a perennial contender against a relative newcomer on the playoff scene. The Regals, led by Kyle Tracy, Savion Miller and Tate Wallace, have won four of five including victories over Wilton and West Branch. The Hawks rolled through their district with junior Talan Fuson putting together a fine season in which he threw for 1,639 yards with 22 touchdowns while rushing for 859 and 13 scores.