High School

Waukee Northwest Football Could be The Greatest Show in Iowa

Wolves are piling up the yards, wins this season in 5A

Dana Becker

Waukee Northwest's Ryan Woodruff (22) runs the ball in open space for a first down against Des Moines Roosevelt on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines.
Waukee Northwest's Ryan Woodruff (22) runs the ball in open space for a first down against Des Moines Roosevelt on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With all the talent returning for the Waukee Northwest High School football team this season, expectations were high.

But maybe not even the Wolves themselves could have drawn up the start to the year they have had.

Waukee Northwest is a perfect 4-0 and the No. 1 ranked team in the High School on SI Iowa High School State Top 25 this week, moving up from No. 4 a week ago after a convincing 45-10 victory vs. Cedar Rapids Prairie.

After earning a one-point win over Ankeny and a three-point victory vs. West Des Moines Valley, the Wolves have blown out their last two opponents, scoring 94 points in those two games.

Mack Heitland Having an Incredible Junior Season

At the controls of the high-powered offense is Mack Heitland. The junior is completing an eye-popping 79 percent of his passes, racking up 1,004 yards and 12 touchdowns without an interception.

Heitland has two excellent targets in senior Isaiah Oliver and classmate Jordon Green. Olivier, an Iowa commit, has 22 receptions for 430 yards and four touchdowns while Green has caught 26 passes for 380 with six TDs.

A third receiver, Joe Vinyard, has 127 yards and a TD.

The ground game is a two-headed monster with senior Ryan Woodruff and sophomore Paulo Tobongye. Woodruff has 290 yards and a pair of TDs while Tobongye has rushed for 209 and two touchdowns.

Waukee Northwest has Been Building Towards This

In terms of all the Class 5A teams, Waukee Northwest is first with 2,052 all-purpose yards and third with 1,581 offensive yards. With 19 touchdowns, they are third overall and tied for second with 17 offensive scores.

Since splitting from Waukee, the Wolves have gone 26-18, including a 7-3 campaign in 2023. Last year, they were 4-5 with a roster full of underclassmen.

Waukee Northwest welcomes in Des Moines East for Homecoming followed by a second straight home game with Ottumwa. From there, they head to four-time defending state champion Southeast Polk, take on city rival Waukee and finish the regular season at Norwalk.

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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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