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RECAP: Catch up on all the scores and best highlights from Week 4 of Iowa high school football

will kennedy, des moines register
·15 min read

Week 4 of the Iowa high school football season was just as much fun as the first three.

We had reporters out throughout the state on Friday to bring you the best action from top games everywhere in Iowa. But we couldn’t staff every single game, unfortunately.

Luckily, we have this live blog to bring you action from the games were aren’t able to be at in person.

More: Ames earns first win of season with dominant game on the road against Des Moines Roosevelt

Here’s a look at all the incredible highlights and big moments from throughout Friday night’s games.

10:20 Solon earns big rivalry win over Mt. Vernon

10:10 Check out our story from Ankeny’s win over Johnston

Our lead preps reporter Alyssa Hertel was in attendance and spoke with players and coaches after the game went final. Check out what we learned from the big game.

More: Ankeny 16, Johnston 10: Hawks football comes out on top in defensive showdown

10:05 Down goes No. 2 Xavier

Pella pulls a massive upset in Class 4A

10:00 Pella really pushing for an upset

The Dutch take a 10-point lead over Class 4A No.2 Xavier. Just under six minutes to play in that contest.

9:55 Final scores starting to roll in

We can’t list every final score from the whole state in this live blog. But we do have a separate file with all the latest scores from the games that have officially wrapped up.

Click here to check it out.

More: Iowa high school football scores, results from Week 4, Sept. 14-15 of the 2023 season

9:50 Waukee rolls over Valley

The No. 9 Warriors earn a big 37-15 win over Valley, though the game was far closer than the score indicated. A big TD run late followed by a pick-6 gave Waukee all the cushion it needed.

Still, the Tigers were outplayed on the night and move to 0-4 on the season. Waukee improves to 3-1 and has a date with Johnston (2-2) next week.

9:45 Cedar Falls taking it to Iowa City Liberty

The Tigers are up 21-7 as they head into the final 12 minutes of action.

9:40 Iowa City High earns rivalry win over Iowa City West

9:35 Southeast Polk holds on to top Ankeny Centennial

The Jags gave Southeast Polk their toughest test of the season, but they were able to hold on to win 24-21 to move to 4-0. Centennial drops to 2-2.

9:30 Ankeny takes down Johnston

The Hawks earn their second win of the season, a 16-10 victory over No. 7 Johnston. Dragons fall to 2-2 on the year.

9:28 Well, that’s an impressive run from Ames

9:23 Centennial pulls within three of Southeast Polk

With time ticking down, the Jags found the end zone on a big pass play to cut Southeast Polk’s lead to just three points.

Rams up 24-21 with just under three minutes remaining.

9:21 Iowa City West just one score away from tying it up

The Trojans, despite being outplayed in nearly every statistical category, have a chance to tie the game late in the fourth. Iowa City High is up 16-8 with just under nine minutes to play, but the Trojans have the ball.

9:20 Dowling takes down Waukee Northwest

The No. 2 Maroons remain perfect on the season with a 31-17 win over No. 6 Waukee Northwest.

9:17 Valley isn’t done yet

The Tigers are right back in the game after Damon Head’s touchdown run from about 5 yards out. Valley went for two and converted.

Waukee up 24-15 with just under seven minutes left in the game.

9:15 ADM up big over Norwalk

ADM is putting on a show in their first game since Brevin Doll went down with a season-ending injury.

9:10 Southeast Polk extends its lead

The Rams are now up 10 points, 24-14, over Ankeny Centennial. This is the first game in 2023 where the top-ranked team has even looked remotely uncomfortable.

Still just under eight minutes to play in this one, so it’s not over yet

9:05 Waukee might’ve just wrapped the game up

Warriors score again after Nile Eddy broke a couple of tackles and found paydirt. Waukee up 24-7 in the fourth quarter over Valley.

Tigers might be falling to 0-4 here. Just under 10 minutes to play in the game.

9:00 Another upset brewing in Class 4A!

8:55 Iowa City High’s defense is thriving against Iowa City West

8:51 Southeast Polk re-takes the lead

After falling behind for the first time all night, the top-ranked Rams claimed the lead right back from Ankeny Centennial.

SEP up 17-14 late in the third quarter.

8:50 Muscatine’s Ty Cozad breaks school’s rushing record

The rusher now has over 2,760 total yards on the ground in his career.

8:45 Johnston strikes right back

The Dragons aren’t done yet. After Ankeny kicks a field goal, Johnston gets on the board with an 87-yard score from D’Angelo Barkue

Hawks still up 9-7 late in the third.

8:41 Ankeny Centennial takes lead over Southeast Polk

The top-ranked team in the state is losing for the first time tonight, and potentially all season long.

Jags up 14-10 halfway through the third quarter.

8:40 Big upset brewing in Class 4A

8:35 Iowa City Liberty up on Cedar Falls

8:30 Might be some delays out in the northwestern part of the state

8:27 Ra'Shawd Davis scores a lot of touchdowns

He's got his second touchdown on the night for Dowling, his 12th of the season. This one came from just two yards out. Dowling is up 28-10 over Waukee Northwest early in the third quarter.

8:30 Solon's got an upset on its mind

8:22 Ballard up on Dallas Center-Grimes

8:17 Iowa City High dominating the stat sheet, but scoreboard is tight

8:15 It's a battle out in eastern Iowa

8:10 Jake VanEtten is good at football

8:03 Ankeny up on Johnston in a tight game at the half

8:02 It's the Jamison Poe show at Drake

The Ames rusher has two scores on the night and the Little Cyclones have a 13-0 lead over Des Moines Roosevelt at the end of the first quarter.

8:00 Waukee's Grant Gammell is shifty

Gammell takes a screen pass and makes about 500 people on the Valley defense miss to take it 65 yards into the red zone. That set up a 32-yard field goal from Drew Hurlburt.

Waukee up 17-7 with under a minute left in the half.

7:55 Valley gets on the board

The Tigers are just down 7 points after a 72-yard drive. Waukee still up 14-7 late in the opening half.

7:50 City High strikes again

7:46 Waukee takes a two-score lead over Valley

Grant Gammell powers it in from a few yards out and the Warriors are up 14-0 over Valley. The Tigers will start this season 0-4 if the score doesn't change.

Still plenty of time, though. Just about halfway through the second quarter.

7:45 Ankeny Centennial isn't scared of Southeast Polk

The Jags are down just three points against the top-ranked team in the state. Was a big 31-yard score to get on the board. It's 7-10, Rams up, early in the second quarter.

7:40 Ankeny takes the lead over Johnston

7:37 Dowling on cruise control now

After a fumble recovery on the kickoff, the Maroons had a short field against Waukee Northwest and capitalized. Ra'Shawd Davis stretches the ball over the pylon for his 11th total score of the season.

Maroons up 21-7 early in the second.

7:35 Southeast Polk up after 1

The top-ranked Rams up 10-0 over Ankeny Centennial after the first frame.

7:33 Dowling re-takes the lead over Waukee Northwest

Dowling takes a 14-7 lead over the Wolves after Dante Cataldo did his best Tim Tebow impression and finds his tight end, Will Leifker, on a fake QB draw that turned into a fade route to the right pylon.

We're early in the second quarter out at Valley Stadium.

7:35 City High takes an early lead over West

7:31 Van Meter taking care of business

7:30 Ankeny and Johnston tied up

Neither team could find the board in the opening quarter. Dragons and Hawks are tied at 0, but Ankeny is driving.

7:24 Waukee Northwest ties it up with Dowling

The No. 6 Wolves wasted no time evening the score with Dowling. Quarterback Sam Johnson found Maverick Inman down the left sideline from about 35 yards out. It's Inman's second score of the season.

That game's all knotted up at 7 late in the first quarter.

7:20 A pick-six is always fun

Thomas Jefferson is up 14-0 on Lincoln after Alex Alvardo takes the errant pass to the house early in the opening frame.

7:18 Southeast Polk on the board

The top-ranked Rams are looking to remain undefeated against No. 4 Ankeny Centennial. They're off to a good start with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Honestly, if you're the Jags you take that with how potent that Southeast Polk offense has been in 2023.

7:15 Dowling strikes first over Waukee Northwest

Quarterback Dante Cataldo scampers 16 yards into the endzone for the first score of the night. No. 2 Maroons lead the No. 6 Waukee Northwest Wolves 7-0 late in the opening quarter

7:10 City High was held scoreless on its opening drive

7:08 A record was broken for Columbus

Kaden Amigon becomes the most prolific rusher in Wildcats history

7:01 And just like that, we've got points

As far as we can tell, this is the first score of the night in all of Iowa.

7:00 Weather could impact Dowling vs. Waukee Northwest

There are some drizzles out in West Des Moines at the moment just before kickoff out between the Maroons and Waukee Northwest. Let's hope it doesn't impact the game too much.

6:40 Top-5 tilt on deck

The top-ranked Southeast Polk Rams (3-0) welcome in No. 4 Ankeny Centennial (2-1) for what should be a thrilling matchup just east of the metro.

6:20 New paint job for Iowa City High

The Little Hawks are taking on their rival, West High. Not only is it a trophy game, but City High painted its midfield logo and end zones red white and blue in honor of Heroes Night, honoring first responders.

What to know before Week 4 of the Iowa high school football season

Recruiting/high school sports reporter Alyssa Hertel (@AlyssaHertel) will be in the metro checking out No. 7 Johnston (2-1) as the Dragons look to string together back-to-back wins when they hit the road to take on Ankeny (1-2). High school sports reporter Eli McKown (@EliMckown23) is in Des Moines to watch Roosevelt (2-1) welcome in Ames (0-3).

Joe Randleman (@JoeRandleman) is just north of the metro in Huxley to watch the Ballard Bombers (1-2) take on Dallas Center-Grimes (1-2). We also have Kenna Roering over in Iowa City to bring you analysis from the Iowa City High (1-2)/ Iowa City West (2-1) rivalry tilt.

On top of the reporters out and about tonight, we'll also have staff photographers capturing the best images from the action all across the state.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa high school football recap: Highlights and big scores from Week 4