If you’re making the rounds in Waukee on Friday night, you’ll have no shortage of high-end football to choose from. The two biggest Week 7 matchups in Iowa high school football are both there, with defending Class 5A state champion Dowling Catholic heading to Waukee and No. 1 Southeast Polk visiting Waukee Northwest.
That Northwest-Southeast Polk matchup carries plenty of recent history. The last time the teams met, Waukee Northwest rolled to a 38-7 win, and the Wolves come in riding four straight victories. Since falling to West Des Moines Valley in early September, they’ve posted three consecutive shutouts, including one against a Cedar Rapids Prairie team that scored 140 points over its last two games, and they also beat Iowa City High.
Southeast Polk has held the top spot in the state’s biggest class since a 31-28 win over Dowling Catholic. The Rams have also picked up double-digit wins over Ottumwa and Iowa City High. A handful of top names will be on the field, including Waukee Northwest’s Mack Heitland, Jordon Green and Paulo Tobongye, along with Stanley Cooper of Southeast Polk.
Across town, Waukee is facing its toughest test of a four-game winning streak. The Warriors host Dowling Catholic, and they’ve been piling up points since a 14-10 loss to Ankeny. Waukee has scored at least 31 points in wins over Cedar Rapids Kennedy, West Des Moines Valley, Dallas Center-Grimes and Marshalltown.
The Warriors have blanked their last two opponents, and senior quarterback TJ Sleiter has been a big reason why. He has 1,263 passing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Dowling Catholic has also been stingy lately, not allowing a point in its last two games after a loss to Southeast Polk. Ethan La Cava, Henry Smid and Beau Williams give the Maroons a dangerous offensive trio.
The series has leaned heavily Dowling’s way, with the Maroons leading 13-1 since 2012. Waukee’s only win in that stretch came in 2022, a 7-0 decision.
Clarion also gets a meaningful district matchup, as the Cowboys host South Hardin in a game between 5-1 teams. Clarion-Goldfield/Dows remains unbeaten in district play after knocking off Grundy Center, while South Hardin is trying to bounce back from a 41-40 overtime loss to the Spartans last week.
Clarion-Goldfield/Dows has not lost since a September setback against Hampton-Dumont/CAL. J.D.
Morrical and Colin Sesker have combined for 673 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. South Hardin had rolled through its first five games before the loss to Grundy Center, and quarterback Braden Weig has been one of the state’s top passers with 1,749 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Casey Williamson is his top receiving threat with 29 catches for 454 yards and seven scores.
Revenge is part of the equation for Clarion, too. The Cowboys were shut out 29-0 by the Tigers last season.
Iowa City Regina will try to keep rolling when it meets Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, and the Rockets have been overwhelming opponents lately. They’ve outscored their last two foes 106-0, with Zane Mullenix doing most of the damage. The senior has gone over 1,000 rushing yards and has 23 rushing touchdowns and 24 total scores.
The Regals have been in control for most of the season themselves, and they haven’t played a close game since beating Alburnett 28-12. Gabriel Hegelheimer leads the way on the ground with 758 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, and he has added 212 receiving yards and three more scores through the air. Iowa City Regina has won all six previous meetings with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont since 2012, including a 49-8 win last year.
Cedar Rapids Prairie will also be worth watching after back-to-back 70-point outings against Dubuque Hempstead and Cedar Rapids Jefferson. Cael Kongshaug, a senior, has thrown for 1,057 yards and 13 touchdowns, while fellow senior Drew Bennis has 34 catches for more than 500 yards and seven touchdowns. Dawson Kahl leads the run game with 531 yards and six scores.
Cedar Falls is coming in hot as well, with five straight wins and two straight shutouts after blanking Bettendorf and Dubuque Hempstead. The Tigers also have wins over Iowa City High and Pleasant Valley on their resume. Baylor Petrie has thrown for 1,248 yards and 12 touchdowns, and junior receiver Carsen Gary has been his favorite target with 35 catches for 646 yards and seven scores.
The Eagles have steadied themselves after a loss to Mason City Newman Catholic, winning three straight against BCLUW, Lake Mills and Sibley-Ocheyedan. They’ve piled up more than 2,300 rushing yards this season, with Nathan Bixel leading the way at 676 yards and 12 touchdowns.
West Fork is unbeaten and owns a 29-21 win over Mason City Newman Catholic. Dual-threat quarterback Zander Hansen has produced 335 passing yards and 404 rushing yards, and he’s accounted for 12 total touchdowns.
West Hancock, though, has had the upper hand in this matchup for a long time. The Eagles have won all 11 meetings between the teams since 2008, with last year’s 33-20 final standing as the closest game in that stretch.
In Other News...
Ben McCollum Just Gave Iowa Fans A Reason To Exhale
Ben McCollum has given Iowa fans a little breathing room after a swirl of outside chatter tied to the North Carolina opening. The Hawkeyes coach addressed the speculation head-on and made it clear he remains committed to Iowa, pointing to his excitement about the program and the chance to keep building something lasting in Iowa City.
McCollums tie to the city gives that commitment extra weight for a fan base that has been eager to see stability and momentum at the same time. Rather than letting the coaching-change rumors linger, he framed the job as one he wants to grow into further, a message that should go a long way toward settling nerves while the bigger work of strengthening the program continues. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Heads West Carrying A Drought Hawkeye Fans Know Too Well
Iowa heads to Seattle this week carrying a familiar kind of burden for Hawkeye fans, one tied less to the opponent than to geography. The program has won in the Pacific time zone only sparingly in the regular season, and this trip marks its first to Seattle since 1963, a long-awaited return to a place where the Hawkeyes have had little recent success. The series history with Washington adds another layer, with Iowa holding a narrow 4-3 edge even though the Huskies own two Rose Bowl wins in the matchup.
Both teams arrive with something to prove after recent losses, so the setting carries real weight beyond the travel schedule. For Iowa, the bigger subplot is the drought itself, a 39-year stretch without a regular-season win in the Pacific time zone that has lingered over too many West Coast trips to ignore. A victory here would do more than settle a nonconference game, it would finally give the Hawkeyes a result in a region that has too often sent them home empty-handed. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Backfield Problem Is Starting To Test The Entire Offense
Iowas running game has not found much traction against Power Four opponents this season, and the effects have gone beyond the backfield. The offense has been stuck chasing rhythm and continuity, with coach Kirk Ferentz pointing to injuries and a revolving cast of running backs as part of the reason the ground game has not settled in.
Even with an experienced offensive line and a healthy stable of backs, the Hawkeyes still are waiting for the kind of consistency that makes the whole unit click. Ferentz expects that picture to improve as the season goes on, but for now the backfield remains one of the offenses biggest tests and a reminder of how quickly one area can spill into the rest of the attack. [Read more 🡒]