The Register's Week 7 high school football rankings as the 2022 season enters the homestretch

Cody Goodwin, Des Moines Register
·5 min read

Welcome to Week 7 — or what we like to call, the homestretch of the 2022 high school football season.

Only three weeks remain for the Class 5A, 4A and 3A regular seasons, and only two for Class 2A, 1A, A and 8-Player. October has officially arrived, and with it comes the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason.

As such, virtually every game carries more importance, especially in Iowa’s largest football class, where all 16 playoff qualifiers are decided through the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s RPI system.

With that in mind, our new rankings have set up some must-watch games for Week 7.

Iowa City High has returned to the Top-10 in Class 5A after a 55-0 win over Davenport North. This week, the Little Hawks get top-ranked Pleasant Valley, who moved to 6-0 after crushing Bettendorf, 44-14.

Davenport West, ranked No. 8 this week, continued its magical season by improving to 6-0 after a 28-10 win over Dubuque Senior. The Falcons play Cedar Rapids Kennedy, who dropped to No. 7 after their first loss of the year to Cedar Falls.

Cedar Rapids Prairie has now won five in a row and has climbed to No. 5 in our latest 5A poll. They’ve got a big one this week, playing on the road against No. 4 Southeast Polk. It marks the first of a couple of Eastern Iowa vs. Central Iowa matchups over the next few weeks.

Other games deserve your attention this week. District races are heating up and some could even be decided this week. Other teams are trying to stay in the playoff hunt over the next few weeks.

The final three weeks should have all kinds of fireworks. Sit back and enjoy the show.

Catch up on Week 6 coverage

Class 5A

  1. Pleasant Valley (6-0), beat Bettendorf 44-14

  2. Dowling Catholic (5-1), beat Johnston 42-19

  3. Ankeny (5-1), beat West Des Moines Valley 34-24

  4. Southeast Polk (5-1), beat Linn-Mar 49-27

  5. Cedar Rapids Prairie (5-1), beat Waterloo West 45-14

  6. Ankeny Centennial (4-2), beat Urbandale 28-23

  7. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (5-1), lost to Cedar Falls 23-16

  8. Davenport West (6-0), beat Dubuque Senior 28-10

  9. Cedar Falls (4-2), beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy 23-16

  10. Iowa City High (4-2), beat Davenport North 55-0

Dropped Out: Urbandale, Sioux City East

Class 4A

  1. Lewis Central (6-0), beat Des Moines Hoover 63-14

  2. Cedar Rapids Xavier (6-0), beat Pella 47-0

  3. Waverly-Shell Rock (6-0), beat Marion 42-7

  4. Carlisle (5-1), beat Boone 42-0

  5. Iowa City Liberty (5-1), beat Mount Pleasant 68-6

  6. Spencer (5-1), beat Fort Dodge 49-14

  7. Fort Madison (6-0), beat Clinton 14-13

  8. Indianola (5-1), beat Norwalk 45-33

  9. Bondurant-Farrar (5-1), beat Perry 70-0

  10. North Scott (4-2), beat Burlington 46-7

Dropped Out: none

Class 3A

  • 1. Harlan (5-1), beat Atlantic 54-7

  • 2. Humboldt (6-0), beat North Polk 24-14

  • 3. ADM (6-0), beat Creston 38-7

  • 4. Mount Vernon (6-0), beat Davenport Assumption 42-17

  • 5. Independence (6-1), beat Hampton-Dumont-CAL 21-7

  • 6. Nevada (5-1), beat Ballard 17-12

  • 7. Solon (4-2), beat Washington 44-0

  • 8. North Polk (4-2), lost to Humboldt 24-14

  • 9. Hampton-Dumont-CAL (4-2), lost to Independence 21-7

  • 10. Creston (5-1), lost to ADM 38-7

Dropped Out: none

Class 2A

  1. Williamsburg (6-0), beat Mid-Prairie 56-7

  2. Central Lyon (6-0), beat Unity Christian 39-7

  3. West Marshall (6-0), beat PCM 13-12

  4. Spirit Lake (6-0), beat Estherville Lincoln Central 45-0

  5. OABCIG (5-1), beat Pocahontas Area 62-0

  6. West Lyon (4-2), beat Okoboji 49-7

  7. Greene County (5-1), beat Red Oak 34-23

  8. Osage (4-2), beat New Hampton 21-8

  9. New Hampton (5-1), lost to Osage 21-8

  10. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (5-1), beat Southeast Valley 24-8

Dropped Out: Dubuque Wahlert, Mid-Prairie

Class 1A

  1. Van Meter (5-1), beat Nodaway Valley 42-0

  2. West Sioux (5-1), beat Ridge View 35-0

  3. West Branch (6-0), beat Durant 49-13

  4. Dike-New Hartford (5-1), beat Aplington-Parkersburg 27-20

  5. Underwood (6-0), beat Treynor 54-0

  6. Kuemper Catholic (6-0), beat East Sac County 63-0

  7. Aplington-Parkersburg (5-1), lost to Dike-New Hartford 27-20

  8. South Hamilton (5-1), beat South Central Calhoun 62-8

  9. Pella Christian (5-1), beat Pleasantville 54-7

  10. Mediapolis (5-1), beat Wilton 42-21

Dropped Out: Durant

Class A

  1. West Hancock (6-0), beat Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 31-18

  2. Grundy Center (6-0), beat Nashua-Plainfield 35-8

  3. Woodbury Central (6-0), beat Westwood 40-14

  4. Lynnville-Sully (6-0), beat Colfax-Mingo 58-0

  5. AHSTW (6-0), beat Sidney 69-8

  6. North Linn (5-1), beat Starmont 59-0

  7. East Buchanan (5-1), beat Bellevue 44-13

  8. Alburnett (5-1), beat North Cedar 44-0

  9. Mount Ayr (5-1), beat St. Albert 43-3

  10. Newman Catholic (5-1), beat Lake Mills 55-28

Dropped Out: Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn

8-Player

  1. Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0), beat Newell-Fonda 61-13

  2. Don Bosco (6-0), beat GMG 85-8

  3. WACO (7-0), beat Lone Tree 42-17

  4. Easton Valley (4-1), Idle

  5. Gladbrook-Reinbeck (6-0), beat Northwood-Kensett 78-0

  6. Baxter (6-0), beat Collins-Maxwell 63-16

  7. Lenox (6-0), beat Griswold 81-14

  8. West Harrison (6-0), beat Woodbine 49-0

  9. Southeast Warren (6-1), beat Moravia 52-20

  10. Newell-Fonda (5-1), lost to Remsen St. Mary’s 61-13

Dropped Out: GTRA

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Here are the Register's Week 7 high school football rankings