Iowa High School Football Playoffs 2024: Round of 16 results, stats and more

The Gazette recaps Friday, Nov. 2's Iowa high school football playoff games with statewide results and complete area coverage.

This was the first round of the postseason for Class 5A, 4A and 3A teams and the second round for 2A, 1A, A and 8-player teams. The winners advance to the state quarterfinals next week.

The rankings listed are from The Gazette's survey.

Iowa Class 5A football playoffs

Pod A

No. 5 Iowa City Liberty 31, Waukee 14

A playful quarterback and strong defense will help Iowa City Liberty advance in Class 5A.

Junior quarterback Reece Rettig ran for two touchdowns and threw for another while the Liberty defense pitched a second-half shutout as the top-seeded Lightning (9-1) eliminated Waukee.

Waukee (6-4) was without starting quarterback Beckett Bakker due to injury, so the Warriors opened the game with an offensive attack that featured standout tailback Grant Gammell firing straight shots from the middle. After running eight times for 41 yards, Gammell left the game with an injury of his own and did not return.

Liberty led 17-14 at halftime.

Rettig directed two shots on goal in the final frame. The first led to his second short touchdown run of the game, while his 26-yard score to senior receiver Dallas Miller with 6:23 left provided the game-winning score.

» Read Gazette correspondent Douglas Miles' game story

#8 Ankeny 47, #9 Linn-21. March

Pod B

#1 West Des Moines Dowling 41, Cedar Falls 21

No. 2 Ankeny Centennial 52, No. 9 Iowa City High 28

Pod C

Iowa City West 21, No. 6 Bettendorf 16

The Bulldogs were 8-0 against their first eight opponents, but were 0-2 against teams from Iowa City.

A week after City High ousted Bettendorf from the ranks of the undefeated, the Trojans posted a Round of 16 win on the road behind Julian Manson's three touchdowns.

#9 Southeast Polk 24, #7 Pleasant Valley 21

Pod D

#3 West Des Moines Valley 31, Sioux City East 28

No. 4 Johnston 49, Waterloo West 14

Iowa Class 4A high school football playoffs

Pod A

#1 North Polk 36, Fort Dodge 6

#9 Cedar Rapids Xavier 35, #8 Norwalk 14

Cash Parks rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the Saints on the road.

Parks completed 9 of 11 passes for 148 yards.

Carter Hoffman rushed for 170 yards on 30 carries and scored a touchdown, and Dustin Cook caught three passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns

– Scott Unash

Pod B

No. 2 Decorah 15, Newton 14

A fake PAT attempt helped the Vikings to a comeback win in Decorah.

Tanner Cadell scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 58.2 seconds left to bring the Vikings within 14-13, then Caleb Kreig threw a 2-point conversion pass to Tommy Sexton on a fake to victory.

At halftime, Decorah trailed 14-7. The Vikings' defense made a huge goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter when Newton ran three plays from the 1-yard line and was unable to score.

–Randy Iverson

#7 North Scott 26, #9 Western Dubuque 7

Pod C

No. 5 Pella 34, Clear Creek Amana 7

No. 3 Gilbert 21, Waverly-Shell Rock 14

Pod D

No. 4 Lewis Central 28, Ballard 10

No. 6 Adel ADM 43, Spencer 13

Iowa Class 3A football playoffs

Pod A

No. 3 Humboldt 13, Clear Lake 10

#9 Solon 34, #5 Benton Community 27

Solon coach Lucas Stanton took a photo of the scoreboard after the Spartans' 21-20 loss to Benton Community on Oct. 4.

He had a feeling his team would see the Bobcats again.

It proved to be an effective tactic.

Solon's Eddie Johnson finished the game with 90 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. He capped a 13-play, 61-yard drive that lasted 5:14 with a game-winning 3-yard TD.

“Benton is one of the best teams in the state,” Stanton said. “If we come back and respond the way we did, it’s a sign that we’re young but we’re growing up.”

» Read Gazette correspondent Ryan Pleggenkuhle's game story

Pod B

No. 1 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 35, MOC-Floyd Valley 17

No. 10 Nevada 21, Sioux City Heelan 14

Pod C

No. 1 Dubuque Wahlert 41, Davenport Acceptance 0

No. 8 Independence 21, No. 7 Williamsburg 14

Bryce Christian caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from EJ Miller with 21 seconds left to cap a magnificent fourth-quarter comeback that lifted Independence to a 21-14 victory over Williamsburg in a Class 3A state football first-round game on Friday night in Lyle Leinbaugh-Feld brought playoffs.

Eighth-ranked Indee (8-2) trailed 14-0 until the fourth quarter but scored three touchdowns to ensure there will be a new 3A state champion. Seventh-ranked Williamsburg (7-3) was ranked No. 1 by The Gazette just two weeks ago, but lost its regular-season finale to Benton Community last week and then this one.

“This is great, but we’re not done yet,” Miller said. “We’re not done yet, of course we want to keep going… Celebrate this and then see you next week.”

Independence finished the game with 201 yards rushing, including 169 in the second half.

» Read the game story from The Gazette's Jeff Johnson

Pod D

No. 6 Algona 49, Harlan 6

No. 4 Mount Vernon 42, Carroll 6

Mount Vernon quarterback Kellen Haverback passed for a touchdown, ran for three more, and his brilliant “Coffin Corner” punt at the 1-yard line led to a fumble and ultimately his final rushing score.

“He did an incredible job,” Mount Vernon coach Brad Meester said. “Obviously his improvement over the year has been exceptional and he’s really at a point now where he’s leading this offense.”

Haverback had plenty of help, including a dominant defensive performance and a workmanlike performance from running back Cooper Hird in the fourth-ranked Mustangs' 42-6 win over Carroll.

Hird was a workhorse for the Mustangs. He hit the ball against the Tigers, rushing for 126 yards on 26 carries. He scored twice and added a 9-yard scoring run with 2:29 left in the game.

» Read The Gazette's KJ Pilcher's game story

Iowa Class 2A football playoffs

Pod A

No. 1 West Lyon 42, Western Christian 7

No. 5 Carroll Kuemper 24, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 14

Pod B

No. 2 Monroe PCM 48, Greene County 6

No. 10 Mid-Prairie 35, Mediapolis 14

Pod C

No. 3 Spirit Lake 42, Osage 14

No. 6 North Fayette Valley 28, Crestwood 6

Pod D

No. 4 Van Meter 47, West Marshall 0

No. 9 Anamosa 48, West Burlington/Notre Dame 20

The Blue Raiders reached the Class 2A quarterfinals for the second time in program history and first since 2015, with a stunning loss at Downing Field.

Austin Scranton rushed for 246 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns, and Vince Diers completed 11 of 16 passes for 156 yards and three more scores.

—Daryl Schepanski

Iowa Class 1A football playoffs

Pod A

#1 Grundy Center 42, West Branch 7

Judd Jirovsky scored five touchdowns (three rush, two pass) to lead the Spartans.

Both pass TDs went to Class 1A passing leader Tiernen Vokes.

The Bears' only score came in the fourth quarter on a 73-yard pick-6 from Ethan Miller.

–Jason Miller

Sumner-Fredericksburg 14, Manson-Northwest Webster 0

Pod B

No. 2 Dike-New Hartford 55, South Hamilton 22

No. 3 South Hardin 27, No. 9 Emmetsburg 20

Pod C

No. 6 Hinton 21, Ida Grove OABCIG 14

Underwood 21, No. 5 Treynor 20

Pod D

No. 8 Iowa City Regina 35, Woodward-Granger 14

The Regals improved to 9-1 with the road win and will host Wilton in the Class 1A quarterfinals next Friday.

No. 7 Wilton 40, MFL MarMac 14

Iowa Class A high school football playoffs

Pod A

#1 West Hancock 28, Marcus MMCRU 21

Woodbury Central 21, No. 6 Le Mars Gehlen 19

Pod B

No. 2 Guthrie Center ACGC 41, Mount Ayr 14

No. 5 Tri-Center 58, No. 8 Oakland Riverside 13

Pod C

No. 3 Saint Ansgar 18, Wapsie Valley 0

No. 7 Maquoketa Valley 38, Nashua-Plainfield 13

Pod D

No. 4 Lisbon 56, Bellevue 12

At Lisbon, Tiernan Boots ran for 242 yards on 18 carries and scored four touchdowns as the Lions reached the Class A quarterfinals.

Lisbon (10-0) also had interception returns for scores from Daylin Schaefer (21 yards) and Gage Holub (85 yards).

For Bellevue (7-3), Cal Bonifas threw for 242 yards. Keenan Kilburg had 17 catches for 148 yards and a score.

» Read Gazette correspondent Mike Condon's game story

No. 10 Madrid 33, No. 9 Beijing 0

8-Player Iowa High School Football Playoffs

Pod A

No. 4 Lenox 41, Ar-We-Va 6

Montezuma 32, No. 7 Bedford 28

Pod B

No. 2 Algona Garrigan 47, Riceville 12

#8 Edgewood-Colesburg 70, #10 Janesville 48

Pryce Rochford rushed for six touchdowns, passed for three more and provided 526 yards of offense as the Vikings rolled at home.

Rochford rushed for 345 yards and completed all eight of his passes for 181 more. He also scored four 2-point conversions.

Janesville QB Dane Appleby rushed for 171 yards and passed for 240 and five touchdowns.

–Bill Logan

Pod C

No. 3 Don Bosco 48, WACO 7

No. 6 Gladbrook-Reinbeck 57, Iowa Valley 32

Drew Eilers rushed for 138 yards and five touchdowns, passed a TD and returned an interception for another score to give the Rebels the lead.

Nolan Kriegel rushed for 255 yards for the Tigers and scored five touchdowns (four rushing and one receiving).

—Ben Lamparek

Pod D

No. 1 Remsen St. Mary's 42, Anita CAM 6

#5 Audubon 42, #9 Woodbine 18