State title football games set

CEDAR FALLS — The UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls hosted 14 state semifinal football games over a four-day stretch from Wednesday to Saturday, and that means all seven state championship games are officially set for this week.

Wednesday kicked things off with two games in Class 8-Player. Top-ranked Winfield-Mount Union, the only Union area team left in the field, fell 34-20 to Bishop Garrigan in the opening game. Bedford’s game winning field goal knocked out Gladbrook-Reinbeck 31-30 in the second semifinal.

  Buy Photo

In class A, West Hancock rolled Madrid 39-14 on Thursday morning. In a much closer second game, Woodbury Central outlasted East Buchanan 28-20.

The story was similar in Class 4A, as Lewis Central blasted North Polk 31-5 in the first semifinal, but Western Dubuque had to battle to the bitter end to take down Bondurant-Farrar 28-21.

Friday saw two Class 1A teams eclipse the 40-point mark. Grundy Center continued to roll through the playoffs with a 42-7 win over Columbus Catholic, and MFL MarMac took out Underwood 41-28.

Friday night’s Class 5A games both went right down to the wire. Southeast Polk won a 30-27 overtime thriller over West Des Moines Valley, and Ankeny beat rival Ankeny Centennial 10-7.

On Saturday, Van Meter showed why it was the No. 1 team in Class 2A, beating Monticello 35-21. In the second game, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock punched its ticket to the title game with a 28-14 defeat of Spirit Lake.

Class 3A finished things off on Saturday night. Bishop Heelan won a defensive struggle against Creston, 16-13. Then, in a battle of teams that played in local Class 3A districts, Williamsburg rolled through Solon 35-14.

Listed below are the matchups for this week’s state football championships. The rankings used are the final rankings by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Thursday, NOV. 16

EIGHT-PLAYER

9:30 — Bishop Garrigan, Algona (11-1) vs. #2 Bedford (12-0)

CLASS A

1:00 —#3 West Hancock (11-1) vs. #2 Woodbury Central (12-0)

CLASS 1A

4:00 —#4 MFL MarMac (11-1) vs. #1 Grundy Center (12-0)

CLASS 4A

7:00 —#2 Lewis Central (10-2) vs. #1 Western Dubuque (11-1)

FRIDAY, NOV. 17

CLASS 2A

10:00 —#2 Van Meter (12-0) vs. #1 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (12-0)

CLASS 3A

1:00 —#8 Bishop Heelan, Sioux City (11-1) vs. #3 Williamsburg (11-1)

CLASS 5A

7:00 —#7 Ankeny (9-3) vs. #1 Southeast Polk (12-0)