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Iowa high school football Week 2 featured upsets, rivalry wins. Here are the highlights, final scores

will kennedy, des moines register
·19 min read

Week 2 of high school football action is over for the most part, with some big-time development happening across the state.

Southeast Polk, the number one team in the state, continued its dominance over No. 6 WDM Valley, No. 2 Ankeny nearly stumbled against crosstown rival, No. 5 Urbandale got upset by Johnston and Van Meter lost its first regular season game since August 28, 2015. To make the festivities even more exciting, Mt. Vernon got its first win over Solon in 20 years.

Here's our live thread from all the action so you can check out the highlights from a busy night around Iowa.

Recapping Week 2 action

10:33 p.m. Mt. Vernon snaps losing streak

It had been 20 years since the last time Mt. Vernon topped Solon, but that changed tonight. The Mustangs earned a 17-14 win over the Spartans.

10:30 p.m. Linn-Mar comeback falls short

5A No. 9 Linn-Mar couldn't close the gap and fall 25-14 to 4a No. 8 Iowa City Liberty. The Lighting move to 2-0 on the season after back-to-back upset wins.

10:25 p.m. Solon storming back

Solon turned a bad snap into a touchdown pass from Blake Timmons to Oaken Foster brings the Spartans back to within three points with just under two minutes to play.

Mt. Vernon recovered the ensuing onside kick, though. The Mustangs have the ball near midfield and are looking to run out the clock.

10:15 p.m. Mt Vernon could do it

The Mustangs extended its lead on a two-yard Clark Younggreen score. Mt. Vernon is now up 17-7 on Solon with under four minutes to play.

Mustangs have lost 19 straight contests to Solon.

10:13 p.m. City High's offense comes alive

Last week the Little Hawks had a hard time getting their offense going for large portions of their loss to Liberty. That wasn't an issue tonight in a 77-0 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

10:08 p.m. Independence wins on Hail Mary

With just 4.3 seconds left in the game and it all knotted up at 7, Independence's quarterback heaved the ball over 50-yards into the end zone to score the deciding touchdown in a 13-7 win over Clear Creek Amana.

10 p.m. Last-second field goal secures Grundy Center win

In a game tied at 14 and the clock ticking down, A No. 3 Grundy Center kicker Colin Gordon drilled a 20-yard field goal to give them the win over 1A No. 3 Dike-New Hartford.

9:57 p.m. Linn-Mar staging a comeback

After 4A No. 8 Liberty got off to a 25-0 lead in this one, Lin-Mar has battled back and scored two unanswered touchdowns. The Lions are on defense now, with the Lightning near midfield early in the fourth quarter.

9:45 p.m. Mt. Vernon takes the lead

The Mustangs hold a 10-7 lead, its first lead of the night, heading into the fourth quarter against Solon. Joey Rhomberg hit Brady Erickson in stride in the end zone. But the Spartans are driving and are into Mt. Vernon territory early in the fourth.

9:34 p.m. Can Mt. Vernon snap the streak?

Solon, a state semifinalist in 2021, has won 19 straight games over Mt. Vernon. It's tight this season though, with Solon leading just 7-3 late into the third quarter.

9:32 p.m. Sama does it again

Southeast Polk running back Abu Sama scored again in the fourth quarter, this time from 13 yards out. That brings him up to six rushing scores on the season and helped power the No. 1 Rams to a 24-7 win over No. 6 WDM Valley.

9:30 p.m. Class 2A No. 1 Williamsburg's last-minute comeback seals win

After a Williamsburg punt pinned Van Meter back at their own 5-yard-line with under two minutes to go, the Bulldogs fumbled a snap on the ensuing drive and the Raiders recovered at the 3-yard-line. On the very next play, Carson Huedepohl walked into the end zone to give Williamsburg an 18-13 lead.

Williamsburg held on for the final 1:42 to move to 2-0 on the year.

9:22 p.m. Ankeny holds firm to escape with a win

Needing to pick up four yards to keep the game alive, Centennial needed just four yards to pick up a first down. Hawks linebacker Trent Jacobs burst through the line and brought the ball carrier down behind the line. That gave the ball back to JJ Kohl and company with under a minute to play and a few kneel downs wrapped it up.

No. 2 Ankeny escapes the rivalry matchup with a 17-10 win and the Jags fall to 0-2.

9:18 p.m. Centennial has a shot

The Jags are driving on No. 2 Ankeny and are down just seven points with just over a minute to play. The Jags face a third and 15 from their own 30.

9:10 p.m. Waukee rolling over Roosevelt

The Roughriders almost made it a game, but the Warriors outscored Roosevelt 21-7 in the second half and currently lead 31-13 late in the final frame. Nile Eddy got the most recent score for Waukee.

9:05 p.m.1A No. 1 Van Meter takes a late lead

It's a defensive battle through and through, but Van Meter finally found the end zone again. Bulldogs go 47 yards on a 10-play drive, capped off by a 12-yard touchdown run by Ben Gilliand. The PAT from Katie Lindsay gives Van Meter a 13-12 lead over 2A No.1 Williamsburg with just over seven minutes to play.

9:00 Centennial stuffs No. 2 Ankeny

The Hawks looked poised to take a two-score lead deep in the Jaguars' red zone, but Centennial stuffed a rushing attempt on fourth down and inches.

After trading punts, the Jags have the ball at their own 30. With 10 minutes left in the game, Ankeny leads 17-10

8:55 p.m. Dowling pulling away

After leading 24-3 over Waukee Northwest at the half, the Maroons are racking up even more points. Ra’Shawd Davis scored on a two-yard touchdown to open up the second half. Dowling nabbed a pick on the next possession from Joe Huges led to a three-yard score from Dante Cataldo.

Northwest has since added a safety and another touchdown, but with just 11 minutes left in the game, it's a long way to climb. Dowling up 38-12.

8:47 p.m. Top-10 battle coming down to the wire

Heading into the fourth quarter Class 1A No. 3 Dike-New Hartford leads Class A No. 3 Grundy Center 14-7. Gus Varney broke a 7-7 tie late in the third quarter with a 5-yard scoring run.

8:45 p.m. Liberty shocking everybody

This was supposed to be a close game between two top-10 teams in their respective classes. So far, it hasn't been that. Liberty just extended its lead to 25 points over Linn-Mar after a 28-yard run from quarterback Graham Beckman.

Bolts up 25-0 late in the first half.

8:40 p.m. 5A No. 2 Ankeny finding its groove

The Hawks had Centennial's defense confused when they ran a reverse to Iowa State commit Jamison Patton. Everybody bit on the fake, leaving Patton a clear field in front of him to go 15 yards for the score to go up 17-10 early in the third.

8:35 p.m. Waukee extends lead

The Warriors went bold and it paid off. Instead of going for a field goal, Waukee QB Beckett Bakker snuck into the end zone on fourth down right after he was stuffed on the previous play.

Waukee up 17-6 on Roosevelt midway through the third.

8:30 p.m. Abu Sama has arrived

Remember last week when Southeast Polk running back Abu Sama, an Iowa State commit, scored four touchdowns on 16 carries? Well, Valley clearly did too since they shut him down during much of the first half. That changed early in the third though with two big runs on a scoring drive, one of them a 22-yard touchdown.

No. 1 Rams up 17-7 over No. 6 WDM Valley with just under 10 minutes to play in the third.

8:25 p.m. City High rolling over Jefferson

City High, who dropped out of the rankings after last week's loss to Liberty, is back on track now. The Little Hawks are up 34-0 over Cedar Rapids Jefferson early in the second quarter. Ronnie Major got the most recent score, this one on the ground from five yards out.

8:15 p.m. 4A No. 8 Liberty up on 5A No. 9 Linn-Mar

One week after forcing a major upset over Iowa City High, the Lightning are looking to keep the momentum up. Liberty scored just one minute into the game on a Grahm Beckman 83-yard bomb hauled in by Ethan Neels. They've added a two-point conversion and a field goal since then too and have held Linn-Mar scoreless.

Lightning up 11-0 late in the first.

They added a field

8:05 p.m. 2A No. 1 Williamsburg leading at half

Williamsburg took the lead on an Owen Douglas run halfway through the second. Then their vaunted defense took control.

They looked to be going in for another score just before the half, but Van Meter's defense held tough at the goal line to keep the score 12-6 heading into the third quarter.

After some scoring early, it looks like this game's shaping up to be the defensive struggle we all expected.

8:00 p.m. No. 2 Ankeny heating up

After falling behind 10-3 to Centennial, the Hawks were trailing late in the half. But then Iowa State commit JJ Kohl got hot. He hit fellow Cylones commit Jamison Patton on a deep ball to get into the red zone. On the very next play, Kohl rolled out and hit Maddox Ward for a 17-yard score to tie it up at 10 at the half.

The Hawks were behind last week at the break but stormed back for a big win, so don't get too worried about an upset just yet.

7: 55 p.m. Roosevelt special teams step up

The Roughriders looked like they were about to go down 13-0 to Waukee, but the special teams unit wouldn't have it. Jaekwon Bradley got a hand on the attempted field goal and Brayden Page took it all the way back to the endzone to make it 10-6.

A city school has only defeated one of the suburban schools twice since 2008. Roosevelt is looking to make that three times tonight.

Nearly halftime at Drake and it's a close one.

7:53 p.m. Jaxon Smolik lays the boom

The Dowling quarterback is more known for the accurate ball he throws, but tonight he wanted to show that he can run somebody over too.

The Penn State commit and his team lead 10-3 over

7: 50 p.m. No. 6 WDM Valley trails No. 1 Southeast Polk

The Rams earned a massive win over No. 4 Dowling last weekend, but it doesn't seem like things will be as easy in Week 2. After Carson Robbins scored on a pass from Connor Moberly to give SEP a 7-0 lead, Valley struck back to tie when Ayden Price took a bubble screen and went 18 yards to the house at the end of the first quarter.

But the Rams answered back with a field goal halfway through the second to retake a 10-7 lead over the Tigers.

7:40 p.m. Johnston upsets No. 5 Urbandale

With just over three minutes left in the game, the Dragons hit a field goal to take a 24-7 lead over No. 5 Urbandale. Our Cody Goodwin projected a 24-6 J-Hawk win. Guess the Dragons saw that and wanted to let him know they're not going to lay down for a ranked opponent.

7:30 p.m. Class 2A No. 1Williamsburg hits back

After both Williamsburg and Van Meter made their money on defense a week ago, it seems offense might be in the cards tonight for the squads. Carson Heudepohl tossed the ball to Madox Doehrmann who leaped and snagged the ball out of the air for the score.

All tied up at 7-7 at the end of the first.

7:25 p.m. No. 7 West Marshall ties No. 4 Nevada

You knew the No. 7 ranked team in Class 2A wouldn't just roll over after a quick strike from Nevada. Quarterback Peyton Hart got in from three yards out for the Trojans to bring the score to 7-7 with just over 6 minutes to play in the first quarter.

7:20 Underwood dominating

Underwood is leaving no doubt tonight. They're up 21-0 over Clarinda just four minutes into the game. Gage Savin started the score with a 25-yard run. Then Sam Schoening grabbed a pick and took it back to the house. Clarinda fumbled on their next possession and Savin found paydirt again.

Eagles aren't messing around.

7:15 p.m. Ames keeps making big plays

The Little Cyclones took a quick 7-0 lead over Fort Dodge thanks to a 63-yard run from Jamison Poe. He had two scores last week in a big win over Marshalltown.

7:12 p.m. No. 5 Urbandale falling behind

The Dragons are putting it on the J-Hawks now. Johnston found the end zone on a rushing play this time to take a 21-7 lead late in the third quarter.

Still no info on who is making these plays for Johnston, though

7:10 p.m. No. 4 Nevada strikes first

Kyle Kingsbury caught a tipped pass from Noah Mills and speeds away for a 35-yard score. Nevada leads 7-0 over No. 7 West Marshall.

7: 08 p.m. Quick start for Van Meter

1A No. 1 Van Meter didn't waste any time in its matchup against 2A No. 1 Williamsburg. On just the second play of the night, Bulldogs DB John Braun picked off a Williamsburg pass. On the ensuing drive, Ben Gilliand hit paydirt to give Van Meter a 6-0 lead.

7:00 p.m. Johnston takes the lead over No. 5 Urbandale

Well, file this under things we didn't see coming. Just minutes after tying the J-Hawks, Johnston scored again to take a 14-7 lead over Urbandale. There's just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter out at Dragon Stadium.

6:55 p.m. Johnston putting J-Hawks on notice

The Dragons have tied the No. 5 Urbandale J-Hawks 7-7 halfway through the third quarter. No word on who scored for Johnston there, just know it was a passing touchdown.

Could be a big upset brewing. Though Urbandale woke up in the second half last week too after a weak offensive performance in the first half.

6:20 p.m. No. 5 Urbandale breaks the deadlock

The J-hawks were heavily favored over Johnston heading into this one, but Johnston's defense has held strong. But Urbandale finally found the endzone just before halftime. Jackson Baethke blocked a Johnston punt and Jordan Sturdivant picked the ball up in the endzone for the first points of the evening.

J-hawks up 7-0 at the break.

6:15 p.m. Greene County up on Perry

Wideout Jesse Miller, our No. 31 ranked player in the Register's rankings of the Iowa class of 2023, hauled in a 30-yard pass for the first touchdown of the night across the state by my count. That score puts the Rams up 10-0.

5:30 p.m. Rain rain go away

A few schools have pushed up their kickoff time to 5:30 instead of the traditional 7 p.m. to try and get the game in before some projected nasty weather hits. No. 5 Urbandale just kicked off against Johnston. Ballard pushed their kick time against ADM just 30 minutes though, moving it from 7:30 to 7.

What we're covering in Week 2

If you can't make it out to a game tonight, then check out some of the options to stream games online or over the radio. If you can't find a stream for your favorite school, then stick right here. This blog is your go-to spot for the latest scores and information happening in real time. But just like last week, we'll have our reporters on the scene at the best games around the state to give you the best coverage you could possibly hope for.

Veteran high school reporter Cody Goodwin (@CodyGoodwin) will be just southwest of the city in Van Meter to watch the top-ranked Bulldogs of Class 1A take on Class 2A No.1 Williamsburg. The Raiders made a statement last week, allowing under 30 yards of offense and shutting out previously ranked Iowa City Regina 31-0. Recruiting /high school sports reporter Alyssa Hertel (@AlyssaHertel) will be in the city checking out 1-0 Roosevelt as they take on Waukee at Drake University. The Warriors held a 7-0 lead at halftime against preseason No. 1 Ankeny last week, but couldn't hold on, losing 26-7.

Joe Randleman (@JoeRandleman) is at a top-10 matchup between Class 3A No. 4 Nevada and 2A No. 7 West Marshall. Both squads dominated last week, winning by over 30 points each. Raven Moore (@Raven_xreport) will be out in Mount Vernon to see the Mustangs take on Class 3A No. 3 Solon, a state semifinalist in 2021.

Finally, Matt Levins will be in near the Iowa/Illinois border to see Keokuk take on Burlington. The Grayhounds were a playoff team a season ago but fell in their season opener last week. They toppled Keokuk easily in 2021 though, coming away with a 42-14 win.

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.

And I'll be mining information from them and social media to bring you everything you need to know that's happening in Iowa high school football tonight.

What you need to know for Week 2

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa high school football final scores, highlights from Week 2 games