High School

Iowa High School Football: Week 8 Quick Recap

No. 1 Waukee Northwest goes down to intra-city rival

Dana Becker

Ankeny’s Daniel Larmie (0) takes the ball downfield against Ankeny Centennial on Sept. 19, 2025, at Ankeny Stadium.
Ankeny’s Daniel Larmie (0) takes the ball downfield against Ankeny Centennial on Sept. 19, 2025, at Ankeny Stadium. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The final Class 5A team suffered its first loss of the season Friday night, as Waukee scored a stunning upset of Waukee Northwest, 31-28.

Evan Jacobson, a Texas A&M commit who plans to play football and basketball for the SEC powerhouse, blocked a potential game-tying field goal in the final seconds to secure the win.

The Warriors improved to 3-5 on the year with the win, and 2-1 all-time in the rivalry between the two schools. 

Waukee Northwest was ranked No. 1 in the latest state Top 25 by High School on SI, but they were not the only rated team to fall. Second-ranked West Des Moines Valley fell to long-time CIML rival Ankeny, 34-26.

The Hawks took a big lead in the fourth quarter after securing the advantage midway through the second. Ankeny has now won two straight and four of the last five with the Tigers.

Callan Messerich Makes Iowa High School Football History

Easton Valley superstar Callan Messerich placed his name in the history books Friday night, becoming Iowa’s all-time receiving leader in yards in eight-player football.

Messerich and the River Hawks capped a 7-1 regular season with a 70-18 win over Calamus-Wheatland. 

Coming into the week, Messerich had 193 receptions for 3,613 yards with 53 touchdowns. He moved ahead of Derek Schurke of Ar-We-Va, who amassed 3,645 yards from 2013-16.

Messerich is the fifth player to ever record over 3,000 yards receiving in eight-player football.

Atlantic Scores Second Incredible Victory

Back in late September, Atlantic defeated Creston with a Hail Mary as time expired, 29-27.

On Friday night, the Trojans earned another memorable finish, this time it came against Harlan.

After Harlan scored, Atlantic received the kickoff and saw Ethan McNeal dart 80 yards for the score, capping a 35-30 victory that saw four lead changes in the final moments..

The win marked the first for Atlantic over Harlan in the Bound-era, which dates back to 2006. The Cyclones had won 17 during that time.

More Iowa High School Sports Headlines

feed

Published
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.

Home/Iowa