Updated Team Rankings
It was a fairly quiet week around the state in terms of ranked teams losing, but there were a key major losses, and a bit of shakeup in the rankings. We run down some of the major changes heading into week three of the high school season below.
Class 4A
-The quietest week of any class came in 4A, where each of the top seven teams won their games this week, going a combined 13-0.
-Two ranked teams lost, with No. 9 Sioux City West dropping a close game to No. 7 Sioux City East, and No. 8 Waterloo West losing to crosstown rival Waterloo East.
-Sioux City West remained in the rankings in their No. 9 spot, despite the loss, while Waterloo West dropped out. Waterloo East moves in to the No. 10 slot this week, while Des Moines North bumps up a few spots to No. 8.
Class 3A
-Class 3A has been the most difficult for me to rank year after year, and this year is proving to be the same. Oskaloosa remains steady at No. 1, but nobody else is in the same spot as they were last week.
-Sergeant Bluff-Luton, who opened the year ranked No. 2, is back in that spot after a 2-0 week. The Warriors have one loss on the season so far, coming to 4A No. 9 Sioux City West.
-Norwalk is the only team ranked in any class with two losses, but the latest loss came to 4A No. 8 Des Moines North over the weekend. The Warriors are still one of the best teams in the class, and moved up to No. 3 despite the loss after taking care of business in their other two games of the week.
-Three new teams enter the rankings, with Clear Lake, Marion and Gilbert slotting in at Nos. 7, 8 and 9, respectively. Each have been very impressive early on.
Class 2A
-The biggest move of the week comes in 2A, where previous No. 1 Western Christian falls out of the rankings entirely following their loss to Harrisburg (SD). The loss isn’t the issue here, however. It’s the potential loss of star big man Jacob Vis, who suffered an injury in the game on Saturday. Outside of North Linn point guard Jake Hilmer, Vis may be the most important player to any 2A team in the state, so if he’s out for an extended period of time, the Wolfpack could be in trouble.
-As a result of the Western Christian loss, North Linn moves up to No. 1. The Lynx continue to put up eye-popping offensive numbers. Each team that was ranked 2nd through 8th last week moved up one spot.
-Two new teams enter the rankings in Boyden-Hull and West Branch, who come in at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.
Class 1A
-Things held pretty steady in 1A, where two-time defending champion Grand View Christian still paces the class. The Thunder were impressive in a win over Don Bosco on Saturday afternoon, beating a solid Dons team by 16.
-George-Little Rock lost to Boyden-Hull, dropping the Mustangs from No. 3 to No. 6, with New London, Montezuma and Ankeny Christian Academy each moving up a spot as a result.
-One new teams enters, with Ar-We-Va slotting in at No. 10 following their win over then-No. 7 Exira-EHK.