Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The wait is over football fans.

Football season has finally arrived.

Technically the high school football season kicked off last week with a handful of games but Friday brings the first full slate of games across the state.

Nine regular season weeks stand between the opening Friday night of the playoffs on October 27.

If you are a fan of a specific team grab gear and get ready for nine weeks of football.

If you are looking to catch a game here is a week-by-week guide of the best games to catch involving area teams.

Week 1 (August 25) – Cedar Rapids Xavier at Regina

Why to watch: Fans don’t have to wait for one of the most widely anticipated games of the season. For the third time in four seasons the annual matchup between two of the top programs in the state comes in the season opener.

Xavier has won two straight in the series after a 35-26 win in the season opener for both teams last season in Cedar Rapids.

Regina is coming off an 11-2 season that ended with a runner-up finish in Class 1A while Xavier went 11-1 falling to eventual champion Pella in the 3A semifinals.

Best of the rest: Solon at Mount Vernon – Solon has won 15 in a row over its Highway 1 rival after hanging on for a 26-21 win over the Mustangs last season in Solon.

Week 2 (September 1) – Regina at Solon

Why to watch: Two of the most successful programs in the state continue what has become one of the best rivalries in the state.

Regina has won back-to-back games over Solon since the Spartans ended the Regals 56-game winning streak with a 29-28 overtime win in the 2014 season-opener.

The 34-0 win by Regina last year in Iowa City was the most lopsided final in the series since a 38-0 Regina win in 2013.

Best of the rest: West Branch at West Burlington – This one has likely been circled on the West Branch schedule since a 27-18 loss to West Burlington at the Little Rose Bowl last season.

Week 3 (September 8) – City High at Ames

Why to watch: It hasn’t taken long for the annual prep matchup on the eve of the Cy-Hawk showdown to get interesting.

Ames holds a 2-1 edge since the Little Hawk and Little Cyclone began playing the night before the Iowa vs. Iowa State game.

The Little Cyclones won 30-27 in Iowa City last season on their way to a 5-4 record. City High went 8-3 with a trip to the state quarterfinals a year ago and owns a 26-10 win in the last meeting in Ames in 2015.

Best of the rest: West High at Cedar Falls – West High hung on to win a 17-10 slugfest last season but no trip to face the Tigers in the UNI-Dome is ever an easy one.

Week 4 (September 15) – West High at City High

Why to watch: It doesn’t get much better in high school football than the annual Battle for the Boot.

City High became the first road team to win in the annual cross-town showdown since 2010 with a 20-7 win at West High last season and has now won two in a row in the series.

This year’s meeting heads back to Bates Field where West High hasn’t won since 1999. Both teams are coming off strong seasons that included playoff wins and will be looking for bragging rights as well as momentum heading into district play.

Best of the rest: Washington at Solon – The District 5 title will likely be determined when these two perennial powers meet for the sixth time in five seasons.

Week 5 (September 22) – CR Prairie at West High

Why to watch: The two playoff qualifiers from District 8 last season meet in a district opener that will again have major playoff implications.

West High and Prairie split a pair of games in Cedar Rapids last season with Prairie winning the district opener 39-20 and West High getting revenge with a 38-21 in the quarterfinals of the 4A playoffs.

The two teams continue to develop a rivalry, meeting six times over the past five seasons with half of those meetings coming in the postseason.

Best of the rest: Bellevue at West Branch – Another matchup that could determine a district champion, West Branch gets a shot at redemption against the Comets following a 26-13 last season.

Week 6 (Sept 29) – Clear Creek Amana at West Delaware

Why to watch: Last season’s 30-14 win over West Delaware went down as one of the biggest in Clear Creek Amana history giving the Clippers their first ever 6-0 start.

Clear Creek Amana might not be unbeaten when it travels to Manchester in Week 6 but a win against the Hawks would go a long way in helping the Clippers return to the Class 3A playoffs.

The trip to West Delaware starts a critical three-game stretch that will likely determine if the Clippers are District 4 contenders.

Best of the rest: Regina at Wilton – The Regals steamrolled their way to a district title last fall including a 41-17 win over the Beavers who will be one of the top District 4contenders again this season. 

Week 7 (October 6) – Marion at Clear Creek Amana

Why to watch: Clear Creek Amana had its perfect season end with a stunning 15-14 overtime loss at Marion last season and the Clippers have had their sights set on the rematch since.

Sandwiched between games with District 4 heavyweights West Delaware and Davenport Assumption the matchup with Marion is a prototypical trap game.

Last season the Clippers fell into that trap this season they will likely have their full attention on the Indians.  

Best of the rest: Cedar Rapids Kennedy at West High – For the second straight season this will likely turn into a District 8 title game elimination game with the loser on the outside looking in at the 4A playoffs.

Week 8 (October 13) – City High at Bettendorf

Why to watch: The District 7 title wasn’t decided until week eight last season when Bettendorf stormed into Bates Field and left with a 44-7 win.

City High hopes it can put itself in position to be playing for a district crown when it travels to Bettendorf on October 13.

The Bulldogs have owned the series of late winning four games over City High by an average of 32 points over the past three seasons.

Best of the rest: Davenport Assumption at Clear Creek Amana – A win over the Knights would be huge for Clear Creek Amana’s playoff hopes. 

Week 9 (October 20) – West Branch at Clayton Ridge

Why to watch: Clayton Ridge secured a playoff berth with a 33-27 win over West Branch in an overtime thriller at the Little Rose Bowl last season.

West Branch will look to return the favor in the regular season finale this season.

Each team lost its offensive star from last year’s entertaining shooting in departed seniors Luke Lenoch and Jace Moore.

There still should be plenty of scoring between two teams that combined to average nearly 66 points per game last season.

Best of the rest: Fairfield at Solon – The Spartans won a 54-14 decision in Fairfield last season in the regular season finale.