By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Football: Three Unbeatens Remain in Class 4-A Field
Iowa high school 11-man football teams have completed the first round of playoff actions in all classes, with second round play coming up next week.
In Class 4-A, unbeatens West Des Moines Valley, Cedar Falls and Bettendorf advanced to Monday's second round with Wednesday night victories. Valley handled Sioux City North 24-0, Cedar Falls had to hold off defending state champion Cedar Rapids Xavier 21-17 and Bettendorf beat Iowa City High 35-28.
The Valley Tigers won an opening round playoff game for the sixth consecutive season with Wednesday's victory over the Missouri River Conference champion North Stars. Valley's defense held the Stars to 139 yards total offense. Valley hosts Newton (9-1) in the second round Monday night.
Cedar Falls had to rally to win its opening round playoff game against Mississippi Valley Conference rival Xavier. A fourth-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Bernard to Darion Howard was the difference-maker for the Tigers, who now host another conference rival, Cedar Rapids Washington (8-2), Monday night at the UNI-Dome.
Bettendorf advanced by holding off a stubborn City High club that rallied from a 21-0 deficit to tie the game 28-28, before Bettendorf drove 70 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds remaining for the win. The Bulldogs now play in the next round against Mississippi Athletic Conference rival Davenport Assumption on Monday night, a team whose only loss of the year was to Bettendorf earlier in the regular season.
Football: Class 3-A Quarterfinal Field Includes Two Undefeated Powers
Two unbeaten teams remain in the Class 3-A field; Harlan and South Tama. Harlan ousted Le Mars 48-7 Wednesday night, setting up a rematch with Sioux City Heelan, a 45-7 winner against Carroll Wednesday night. Harlan defeated Heelan earlier in the season in Sioux City. Tuesday's rematch will be on Harlan's turf.
South Tama advanced with a 21-19 victory over Clear Lake and now will tackle the Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks on Tuesday night at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. W-SR ousted Benton Community 10-7 in Wednesday's first round action.
Football: Four Unbeatens in Class 2-A Quarters
There will be an unbeaten team involved in every Class 2-A quarterfinal Tuesday night. Defending champ Central Lyon/George-Little Rock advanced with a surprisingly close 11-7 victory over Eagle Grove in the first round. They'll host 8-2 Estherville-Lincoln Central on Tuesday night, a 35-7 victor over Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley.
Undefeated Hampton-Dumont continues on the playoff trail after Wednesday's 14-0 win over Jefferson-JSPC. Up next is a home game against Carroll-Kuemper on Tuesday evening, after Kuemper defeated Roland-Story 21-17 in the first round Wednesday night.
North Fayette is perfect for the season and is now on to the quarterfinals after Wednesday's 29-6 win over Sigourney-Keota. North Fayette meets Collins-Maxwell/Baxter next on Tuesday in the UNI-Dome at Cedar Falls. C-M/B advanced with a 28-7 win over Waterloo Columbus.
Undefeated Solon will host Tipton on Tuesday by virtue of a 41-0 whitewashing of Mediapolis on Wednesday, while Tipton moves on after a 21-20 win over Wilton.
Football: Regina-Northeast Game Highlights 1-A Slate
The Iowa 1-A quarterfinals feature a battle of unbeatens Monday evening, when Iowa City Regina meets Northeast of Goose Lake. Regina advanced with a 45-7 win over Bellevue, while Northeast just got by Pekin of Packwood 7-6.
Meanwhile, seven unbeaten teams remain in the Class A field, meaning three of the four quarterfinal games will have unbeatens paired against each other Monday night. The trio of matchups includes Lawton-Bronson at AHST-Avoca, Madrid at Wayland-WACO, and Wapsie Valley against Lisbon. Unbeaten Algona Garrigan plays at once-defeated West Hancock in the other Class A quarterfinal contest.
Football: Three Undefeated Squads Left in Eight-Man Playoff Field
Eight-man quarterfinals are set for this weekend, and three unbeaten teams are still battling for a state title.
They include defending state titlist Blairsburg-Northeast Hamilton, Glidden-Ralston, and Stanton. Glidden-Ralston travels to Westside Ar-We-Va, Northeast Hamilton is on the road to Armstrong-Ringstead, and Stanton also travels to Walnut, all on Saturday afternoon. The other quarterfinal Saturday afternoon will pit a pair of 9-1 teams, when Des Moines Grandview Park Baptist plays at Lenox.
Cross Country: State Champs Crowned in Fort Dodge
Iowa cross country champions were crowned in Fort Dodge last weekend. Iowa City Regina won the boys' Class 1-A title, Monticello was the Class 2-A boys' team champion, Cedar Rapids claimed the boys' championship in Class 3-A, and the 4-A boys' team champion was Pleasant Valley.
In the girls' division, team championships were won by Council Bluffs St. Albert's in Class 1-A, LaPorte City-Union in Class 2-A, Decorah in Class 3-A, and West Des Moines Dowling in Class 4-A.