Here comes week 7 of IHSAA football and that means we’re only 3 weeks away from playoffs. For these teams, every game counts and we know they’ll be ready to play come those Friday night lights. We break down the biggest matchups and predictions along with it. Updated scores, rankings, and analysis will follow this weekend.
4A
10/05/2018 4A 7 ( 6- 0) Indianola 4A 9 ( 5- 1) Johnston 103.55 -2.17 55%
10/05/2018 4A 2 ( 6- 0) Ankeny Centennial 4A 10 ( 5- 1) Fort Dodge 103.10 -19.56 85%
In 4A we have 2 huge games this Friday all with top 10 teams. Starting with the Indianola Indians, they will travel to Johnston to take on the Dragons. This game seems to be a toss-up at first look, but Indianola has played very well all season even beating Fort Dodge currently ranked 10th. We will see if the Johnston’s Dragons strength is actually higher than Fort Dodge. We also have the Ankeny Centennial Jaguars traveling to take on the Fort Dodge Dodgers this Friday. Now, this doesn’t seem like a close matchup at first, but really this game for Ankeny Centennial is a win to prove their overall strength. Especially if they want that #1 rank or a 4A title at the Dome.
3A
10/05/2018 3A 3 ( 5- 1) Western Dubuque 3A 1 ( 6- 0) CR Xavier 110.28 16.06 80%
The #1 ranked CR Xavier Saints will host the #3 ranked Western Dubuque Bobcats. We talked about CR Xavier’s strength just last week and how they are a full 14 points higher on the power rankings than Western Dubuque. They’ve steamrolled every opponent they’ve faced before, winning by over 30 points every time. Their ability to generate offense is unparalleled, and we’ll have to see if Western Dubuque can stay in the game with them.
2A
10/05/2018 2A 18 ( 5- 1) Waterloo Columbus 2A 3 ( 5- 1) Waukon 71.99 23.02 89%
The Waukon Indians will play at home against the Waterloo Columbus Sailors in hopes of clinching their 6th win. What’s interesting about Waukon is their only loss was to Decorah currently the 10th ranked team in 3A. Although PCM seems like an unbeatable team, Waukon has played strong all year in both scoring and beating out our predictions. Come playoff time it’ll be interesting to see whether Waukon will be a 2A title contender.
1A
10/05/2018 1A 7 ( 5- 1) Wilton 1A 11 ( 6- 0) Mediapolis 72.49 -3.84 58%
2A has a big matchup in Mediapolis where the Bulldogs will host the Wilton Warriors to try and stay undefeated. Mediapolis has remained unchallenged up to this point although their strength of schedule is low, to say the least. In Week 3 they won against an A team, Packwood Pekin. Although Packwood Pekin is ranked 5th in A, Mediapolis still won by 52 points. The Wilton Warriors, on the other hand, has had strong opponents like 4th ranked Van Horne Benton and 6th ranked Durant. We fully expect Wilton to give Mediapolis a run for their money to stay undefeated.