Iowa High School Football Week 1 Roundup

The lead-up to Week 1 of the Iowa high school football season is always met with much anticipation. But once it is gone, there is no reason to be sad.

No, instead, we get the opportunity to recap all the top games and performances from the week as we head into what is sure to be another thrilling and exciting Week 2.

Here is a recap of the Week 1 action from the Iowa high school football season:

Valley Claims West Des Moines City Title

Two of the premier programs in Iowa met inside a loud and amped up Valley Stadium, as the Tigers pulled out a 20-19 victory over rival Dowling Catholic.

Locked up at 10-10 at the half, the two went into the fourth tied again at 17-all. A Conley Harne field goal would eventually be the difference after Valley surrendered a safety and picked off a pass to end it.

Louisville commit Jayden McGregory caught a touchdown pass from Drake DeGroote, who ran in the other score. DeGroote had 151 yards passing and 80 yards rushing, as Blake Dorenkamp rushed for 84 and had five receptions for 65.

McGregory caught four passes for 40 yards and Donault Moore had the game-ending interception.

The Tigers out-rushed the Maroons, 158-34, as Ian Middleton had a touchdown and Iowa State commit Jeffrey Roberts hauled in an 80-yard score from Joey Nahas. Roberts finished with four receptions for 137 and Nahas threw for 198.

Reigning 5A King Southeast Polk Starts Strong

Despite the loss of several key pieces from last year, the defending four-time Class 5A state champion Rams are still loaded. Don’t believe me? Just ask Ankeny Centennial.

Drew Thompson ran for 119 yards and a touchdown, Austin Mart had a rushing score and threw for 80 yards with a TD to Teague Cantrall in a convincing 30-14 win over the Jaguars.

The Southeast Polk defense recorded two sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, recovered a fumble and got two interceptions from Brayden Lewis., who also had a 34-yard punt return.

North Polk Stuns Preseason Favorite Lewis Central

The North Polk football team experienced the biggest of thrills last year, winning the Class 4A state title. But the Comets graduated some of the top players in the state. How would they fare this year as defending champs, especially opening with preseason favorite Lewis Central?

Pretty good.

James Armstrong threw for 279 yards and ran for 67, accounting for three total touchdowns in a 27-24 victory over the Titans.

Bryce Burke caught three passes for 102 as both Charlie Spurgeon and Brady Cathcart caught touchdowns. Carson Reinhart ran for 57 yards and another score.

For Lewis Central, Braydan Doss rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown.

Beau Burns, BGM have Little Trouble with Move to 11-Player

Led by Beau Burns, BGM kept scoreboard operators around eight-player football busy. This season, he is doing the same in Class A of the 11-player ranks.

Burns rushed for 427 yards and six touchdowns, completing 7 of 13 for 118 and another score in a 47-14 victory over Columbus. Landon Hassett caught five passes for 57 yards and Nathan Findlay hauled in a score.

In terms of all-time rankings, Burns moved into the Top-15 for single-game rushing yardage, as he also intercepted a pass on defense.

Top Performances from Week 1

Braylon Bingham, Pleasantville: Bingham threw for 257 yards, ran for 114 and had four total touchdowns. He also made 9.5 tackles on defense.
Trey Cota, Kee: Kota totalled seven touchdowns, throwing for four with 200 yards passing while rushing for 60 and three more scores.
Caden Klein, Newton: Klein exploded for 399 yards passing and five TDs. He added a sixth touchdown on the ground.
Jaxson McIntire, Clear Lake: The junior was an efficient 9-for-10 passing for 225 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
Keaton Gates, West Branch: Gates ran his team to victory, carrying the ball 23 times for 274 yards with two touchdowns.
William Weichert, Algona: The speedster carried the ball 24 times, racking up 224 yards and an 87-yard score.
Manny Cameron, MVAOCOU: Cameron ran for 211 yards and found the end zone four times.
Talan Fuson, Woodward-Granger: Fuson had 282 yards of total offense and four scores.
Ayden Antonelli, Anamosa: Just like he was last year, Antonelli caused problems, recording three sacks among his 11 tackles with a pass defended.
Braden Dougherty, Belmond-Klemme: Dougherty hauled in 13 passes for 177 yards with two touchdowns, including a 75-yarder.
Keenan Kilburg, Bellevue: After catching 100 passes last year, Kilburg is on pace again after recording 12 receptions for 147 and three touchdowns.
Levi Reineke, Boyer Valley: Reineke racked up 18.5 tackles with 16 solo stops, as five of them came behind the line of scrimmage.