High School

Iowa High School Football Playoffs: Revenge For No. 1 Dowling Catholic

Maroons top rival Valley in 5A state semifinals; Iowa City Liberty downs Waukee Northwest

Dana Becker

Dowling Catholic’s Ian Middleton (5) looks to break a tackle as he is shoved out of bounds by Waukee’s Jamual Richardson Williams (12) on Oct. 10, 2025, at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines.
Dowling Catholic’s Ian Middleton (5) looks to break a tackle as he is shoved out of bounds by Waukee’s Jamual Richardson Williams (12) on Oct. 10, 2025, at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In Week 1 of the Iowa high school football regular season, Valley scored a victory over Dowling Catholic.

On Friday evening in the Class 5A state semifinals, the Maroons returned the favor.

Dowling Catholic scored a 14-10 victory over its long-time rivals, advancing to the 5A state championship game. The regular season loss to the Tigers remains the lone setback this year for the Maroons.

Joey Nahas hit Iowa State University commit Jeffrey Roberts on a 69-yard touchdown strike with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter for the game-winning points. Earlier in the quarter, Nahas found brother Jimmy Nahas on a 28-yard TD.

Nahas finished 8-for-17 for 151 yards and the two touchdowns, as Ian Middleton ran for 125 yards on 29 carries. Roberts had three receptions for 76 yards, Jimmy Nahas finished with two for 44 and University of Northern Iowa commit Sam Drexler caught two passes.

"We knew what we could do," Nahas said. "We just had to stay poised. This means a lot but we didn't come here to win the semifinal game."

Blake Dorenkamp got the Tigers on the board in the first quarter, scoring from 29 yards out. Conley Harne gave Valey a 10-7 lead late in the third quarter when he kicked a 43-yard field goal.

Dorenkamp ran for 103 yards and Louisville commit Jayden McGregory caught six passes for 60 yards. McGregory’s final high school catch, though, came up a couple yards short on fourth-down late in the game.

Drake DeGroote was 9 of 18 passing for 64 yards with an interception.

On defense for Dowling, Carlos Blount had 10 tackles and Anthony Bonanno had eight with fuor for loss. Bonnano had two sacks and Ryan Bobo one. Jeremiah Roberson recorded an interception.

The Tiger defense was led by Hayden Demaray, who had 10 tackles with three for loss. Alonzo Jimenez had five tackles and three for loss.Demaray recorded 2.5 sacks and Jimenez had 1.5.

Iowa City Liberty Handles Waukee Northwest

Just a few short years removed from starting the football program, Iowa City Liberty finds itself headed to the 5A state title game.

The Lightning, who started out competing in 4A before moving up a class, earned a 31-15 victory over Waukee Northwest. They will play perennial contender and multi-time state champion Dowling Catholic next week for the championship.

Reece Rettig found Pryor Reiners for a first quarter touchdown and Iowa City Liberty was off, as Rettig added a rushing score and another TD pass to Logan Laubenthal. Brody Beaver had a rushing touchdown to make it 14-0 early in the second.

For Waukee Northwest, Bodie Morrison recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score midway through the third quarter. They finally got an offensive TD when Mack Heitland hit Jordon Green late in the fourth.

Rettig was brilliant, completing 26 of 31 for 210 yards with a pair of touchdowns, adding 66 yards rushing. Beaver had 93 yards on the ground and Reiners caught six passes for 53.

Heitland finished 19 of 25 for 150, adding 32 yards rushing. Isaiah Oliver caught eight passes for 66 yards and Green six for 49.

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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.

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