Iowa high school football: Valley schedule released for 2025

Valley returns star Jayden McGregory after reaching state finals last year
Jayden McGregory is one of the top recruits in the state and will lead the Valley Tigers this fall.
Jayden McGregory is one of the top recruits in the state and will lead the Valley Tigers this fall. / Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Valley football program has been one of the best in the state for over the last two-plus decades. Last fall, the Tigers reached the Class 5A championship, falling short in a thriller to Southeast Polk.

Since 2011, Valley has posted nine seasons with at least 10 wins, including a 10-3 mark last year. They have just one losing season since 2008, finishing five times with one or zero defeats. 

This year, the Tigers might be the obvious preseason No. 1 thanks to the return of Jayden McGregory and Drake DeGroote. McGregory, one of the top recruits in the state, caught 19 passes for 173 yards and a TD, adding 65 yards rushing on just four carries.

DeGroote is an extremely accurate quarterback, completing 67 percent of his throws for 1,816 yards and 24 touchdowns, adding 212 yards and four more scores with his legs.

Valley will need to replace leading rushers King Coleman and Darius Mason, leading receiver Zay Robinson and a host of others. They do return Jayden Brown, who caught 42 passes for 626 yards and six TDs, Trent Grevengoed, who had two TDs on four catches, Miciah LeLaCheur, Luke Wolter, Jaron Horn, Alonzo Jimenez and Benjamin Booth.

The annual rivalry game with Dowling to crown the champions of West Des Moines kicks things off in Week 1 on Aug. 29. The Tigers will play three of their next four on the road, finishing the season with two of three away from Valley Stadium.

The Tigers host the Maroons, Urbandale, Ankeny Centennial and Des Moines Lincoln with road games at Waukee Northwest, Waukee, Indianola, Sioux City North and Ankeny.

Complete schedules can be found on the Iowa High School Athletic Association webpage.

2025 VALLEY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 29 Dowling

Sept. 5 at Waukee Northwest

Sept. 12 Urbandale

Sept. 19 at Waukee

Sept. 26 at Indianola

Oct. 3 Ankeny Centennial

Oct. 10 at Sioux City North

Oct. 17 at Ankeny

Oct. 24 Des Moines Lincoln


Published |Modified
Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.