The Radio Iowa High School Football Poll has been released for Week 1 and it favors the reigning state champions at the top of the list.
In Class 3A, Pella starts the year ranked #1. The Dutch have won 41 straight games and are 51-1 in the last four seasons. They have won the last three Class 3A state titles. They will open their season up on Friday night against Oskaloosa at the Lacey Recreation Complex. You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, and watch a live video stream on radiokmzn.com and the KMZN mobile app. The pregame show starts at 7 PM for the 7:30 PM kickoff.
West Delaware, Sioux City Heelan, Norwalk, and Cedar Rapids Xavier round out the Class 3A top 5. Solon is ranked #9 and should be the preseason favorites in Oskaloosa’s district.
In Class 2A, PCM is looking to build off a great season and they start the year ranked #5. Williamsburg is #1, followed by Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, Carroll Kuemper, and Union ahead of the Mustangs.
Sigourney/Keota has been a very successful team under Jared Jensen the last few years and they start the year ranked #8 in the Class 1A poll. Pleasantville will start their second season in Class 1A and they are ranked tenth the start the season. Perennial powerhouse Iowa City Regina is ranked #1, followed by West Lyon, Western Christian, Denver, and Van Meter to round out the top five.
Class A football has been very exciting in our listening area recently, and Lynnville-Sully has been near the top of the state in the playoff hunt the last couple of seasons. The Hawks will start as the #3 team in the state. Defending champs Gladbrook-Reinbeck, who eliminated both Lynnville-Sully and Montezuma on their way through the playoffs, start the year ranked #1. Council Bluffs St. Albert is ranked second, followed by Lynnville-Sully, West Sioux, and Lisbon in the top five.
There are no area teams ranked in the top ten in either Class 4A or 8-Player football.
In Class 4A, Dowling Catholic is #1, followed by Ankeny Centennial, Iowa City West, West Des Moines Valley, and Cedar Rapids Washington. In 8-Player football, the top five features #1 Harris-Lake Park, #2 Don Bosco, #3 Audubon, #4 Fremont-Mills, and #5 Newell-Fonda.