Way-Too-Early Iowa High School Football Top 25 Rankings

The Iowa high school football season kicks off in less than six weeks, and excitement is building across the Hawkeye state for what promises to be a thrilling and competitive year on the gridiron. From eight-man to Class 5A, hundreds of teams will open the 2025 campaign with the goal of finishing as a state champion. From traditional powerhouses to rising contenders, these are the top 25 Iowa high school football teams, according to Massey.

The Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.

1. Southeast Polk Rams

Southeast Polk entered the 2024 season having lost only games in four years, so it was quite a surprise when the Rams started the playoffs with a 5-4 record. But it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. And Southeast Polk finished strong, beating Valley to win its fourth-straight state championship.

Replacing starting quarterback Holden Hansen won’t be easy but the return of running back Drew Thompson should help.

2. Dowling Catholic Maroons

Dowling Catholic‘s state title drought reached five seasons last year after the team fell in the Class 5A semifinals to Valley. It’s been an uncharacteristically dry spell for a Maroons program that has won 10 state championships over the last 25 years. They have been dominant in the regular season, winning 27-straight district games, but that hasn’t translated into the postseason.

Carter Barrett and Evan Mitchell are two of the most intriguing rising sophomore linemen in the state. Barrett already holds offers from in-state powers Iowa and Iowa State along with Alabama, Missouri and Wisconsin.

3. Ankeny Hawks

Ankeny went 32-5 and won a state championship from 2020-23, but the Hawks have dipped a bit since. The team has posted back-to-back five-loss seasons and exited last year’s Class 5A playoffs in the quarterfinals.

The team will need to replace key captains from last season like quarterback Luke Anderson and athlete Caden Henkes. Juniors Landon Hutchins and Mason Machan will compete to be Ankeny’s primary passer.

4. Ankeny Centennial Jaguars

Ten points is all that separated Ankeny Centennial from a very different 2024 season. The Jaguars would have won Class 5A District 1 if they hadn’t dropped a 41-35 overtime decision to Dowling Catholic. And the team’s season ended with a four-point loss to the Maroons in the state quarterfinals.

South Dakota State commit Braylin Dieken-Keahey returns to anchor Ankeny Centennial’s offensive line while linebacker Carlos Blount will lead the team’s defense.

5. Valley Tigers

Valley’s dream 2024 season ended in nightmare fashion. The Tigers lost to Southeast Polk in the state title game, blowing a 35-24 lead with less than four minutes remaining. The team will enter the 2025 season aiming for the program’s first Iowa high school football championship since 2011.

Four-star safety Jayden McGregory, a Louisville commit, is one of the top prospects in Iowa.

6. Johnston
7. West Lyon
8. Pleasant Valley
9. Waukee Northwest
10. North Polk

11. Waukee
12. Liberty
13. Cedar Falls
14. Lewis Central
15. Prairie

16. Spirit Lake
17. Iowa City High
18. Xavier
19. Linn-Mar
20. Central Lyon/George-Little Rock

21. ADM
22. Iowa City West
23. Humboldt
24. Bettendorf
25. Wahlert Catholic