***2023 Iowa High School Football Playoffs***

[Clone83]

I wonder if the eastern schools regressed or if the metro schools just greatly surpassed them in talent/money. Iowa City has really grown over the last 30yrs, probably on par with DSM metro percentage-wise. Not sure what explains that switch and drop-off

Doesn't Iowa City have a third HS now, Liberty HS in North Liberty?

I don't believe there is any mystery here. Des Moines is the largest city in the state and is the fastest growing metro* in the Midwest. Do an internet search on:

"des moines midwest fastest growing metro register"

Leave "register" out if you want fewer articles from the des moines register.

This is the very reason 5A was added, fast-growing DM suburbs.

* edit. “major” metro. fastest growing among the biggest Midwest metros.

 

[ISUTex]

Doesn't Iowa City have a third HS now, Liberty HS in North Liberty?

I don't believe there is any mystery here. Des Moines is the largest city in the state and is the fastest growing metro in the Midwest. Do an internet search on:

"des moines midwest fastest growing metro register"

Leave "register" out if you want fewer articles from the des moines register.

This is the very reason 5A was added, fast-growing DM suburbs.

Yes, IC Liberty. Plus Regina.

 

[wintersmd]

Did you mean 8 man?

Sorry, yes 8 man. FREAKING fat fingers

 

[ISUTex]

Madrid is another one. I mentioned Newton, at one time, being dominant in “large class”. Newton is not even close to what it once was. They even dropped a class or two.

Madrid used to kick the **** out of everyone back then too. Doesn’t seem they have lost their step.

This is the first year Madrid has been this good in a while. They have a really good running JR QB. Decent passer too.

 

[Clone83]

Yes, IC Liberty. Plus Regina.

But of course Regina has always been there. They added a 3rd public HS, which took some students that might have gone to the other two.

 

[wintersmd]

Madrid is another one. I mentioned Newton, at one time, being dominant in “large class”. Newton is not even close to what it once was. They even dropped a class or two.

Madrid used to kick the **** out of everyone back then too. Doesn’t seem they have lost their step.

Madrid dropped off after Hinkle died. They had some rough years, but Brock came in as new coach a few years ago and has turned them back around. Kind of cool that he is coaching on the field named after his dad.

 

[enisthemenace]

Wish I could figure out the multiple quote on mobile. Anyway, thanks for the info on Madrid @ISUTex and @wintersmd.

I really miss the newspaper on Saturdays.

 

[isucy86]

I wonder if the eastern schools regressed or if the metro schools just greatly surpassed them in talent/money. Iowa City has really grown over the last 30yrs, probably on par with DSM metro percentage-wise. Not sure what explains that switch and drop-off

Feel like the investment by communities and parents in DSM area exceeds eastern Iowa. The kids in DSM area have access to great youth training facilities. Just about every suburb has gotten a large youth training facility in the last 5 years. Also the emphasis on youth feeder programs gives middle school kids access to organized football that doesn't exist in other communities.

Also, steel sharpens steel. Valley and Dowling set the bar in the early 2000's and Ankeny did a solid job of keeping up. But over the last decade, every metro school realizes they have to match Valley and Dowling's investment and commitment to keep up.

 

[Gonzo]

Feel like the investment by communities and parents in DSM area exceeds eastern Iowa. The kids in DSM area have access to great youth training facilities. Just about every suburb has gotten a large youth training facility in the last 5 years. Also the emphasis on youth feeder programs gives middle school kids access to organized football that doesn't exist in other communities.

Also, steel sharpens steel. Valley and Dowling set the bar in the early 2000's and Ankeny did a solid job of keeping up. But over the last decade, every metro school realizes they have to match Valley and Dowling's investment and commitment to keep up.

Nah, eastern Iowa schools have facilities/resources that are either just as good or nearly as good. They also have youth programs that get their young students into the system, learning the system, etc., at a young age. Central Iowa doesn't have some big advantage when it comes to community investment in the programs. I think the big difference is just the fact that DSM area is nearly twice as big and has more overall talent, has better coaching, and the biggest thing is iron sharpening iron. CR Kennedy and Cedar Falls have been pretty dominant out east for the past several years, and they each have maybe 1 or 2 real games against legit opponents every year before the playoffs, everything else is weaksauce. Meanwhile out here, every other week is a meatgrinder.... SEP, Dowling, Ankeny, Valley, Johnston, Centennial, etc. I think that's a huge reason when those eastern IC powers get in against a DSM area team they get curb stomped, they're just not used to the talent, speed, better coaching, etc.

 

[CoachHines3]

This is the first year Madrid has been this good in a while. They have a really good running JR QB. Decent passer too.

I officiated a Madrid game this year and they are coached pretty well.

 

[ISUTex]

I officiated a Madrid game this year and they are coached pretty well.

Yes they are.

 

[BCClone]

I officiated a Madrid game this year and they are coached pretty well.

Wait, you coach AND officiate?

 

[JM4CY]

Wait, you coach AND officiate?

I would guess he does just to scope out the attractive moms.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

Nah, eastern Iowa schools have facilities/resources that are either just as good or nearly as good. They also have youth programs that get their young students into the system, learning the system, etc., at a young age. Central Iowa doesn't have some big advantage when it comes to community investment in the programs. I think the big difference is just the fact that DSM area is nearly twice as big and has more overall talent, has better coaching, and the biggest thing is iron sharpening iron. CR Kennedy and Cedar Falls have been pretty dominant out east for the past several years, and they each have maybe 1 or 2 real games against legit opponents every year before the playoffs, everything else is weaksauce. Meanwhile out here, every other week is a meatgrinder.... SEP, Dowling, Ankeny, Valley, Johnston, Centennial, etc. I think that's a huge reason when those eastern IC powers get in against a DSM area team they get curb stomped, they're just not used to the talent, speed, better coaching, etc.

The East side of the state stopped producing the talent that they did in the 80's through 2010 or so. There are no Tim Dwight's, Roger Craig's or the RB from Bett. that went to EIU. Their suburban schools are smaller, its schools like Solon, IC Regina and a few others. So, the public schools in Iowa City and Ceder Rapids have not kept up while the DM suburban schools have exploded in population, over that same time period. Look at the growth of SEP, Wakee, Ankeny over the past 20 years. Where they used to be a smaller 4A school, now many have 2 larger 5A schools while SEP is the 2nd largest school on the BEDS list behind Valley.

 

[CoachHines3]

Wait, you coach AND officiate?

I would guess he does just to scope out the attractive moms.

coach ref and bang ur mom

 

[aeroclone]

The East side of the state stopped producing the talent that they did in the 80's through 2010 or so. There are no Tim Dwight's, Roger Craig's or the RB from Bett. that went to EIU. Their suburban schools are smaller, its schools like Solon, IC Regina and a few others. So, the public schools in Iowa City and Ceder Rapids have not kept up while the DM suburban schools have exploded in population, over that same time period. Look at the growth of SEP, Wakee, Ankeny over the past 20 years. Where they used to be a smaller 4A school, now many have 2 larger 5A schools while SEP is the 2nd largest school on the BEDS list behind Valley.

In the 80s and 90s, Waukee was bouncing between a 1A and 2A high school. Now you have 2 5A schools up pretty high on the BEDS list and growing fast. SEP has grown a ton. Ankeny has split. Johnston has grown. Valley has always been that big suburban school, but now they have a lot more company. With that much depth of DSM schools in 5A, odds are you are always going to have a couple that are head and shoulders above the eastern schools.

 

[Clone83]

The East side of the state stopped producing the talent that they did in the 80's through 2010 or so. There are no Tim Dwight's, Roger Craig's or the RB from Bett. that went to EIU. Their suburban schools are smaller, its schools like Solon, IC Regina and a few others. So, the public schools in Iowa City and Ceder Rapids have not kept up while the DM suburban schools have exploded in population, over that same time period. Look at the growth of SEP, Wakee, Ankeny over the past 20 years. Where they used to be a smaller 4A school, now many have 2 larger 5A schools while SEP is the 2nd largest school on the BEDS list behind Valley.

I edited my post above, which you agreed with, to say that Des Moines is the fastest growing *major* Midwest metro.

I edited to add the word “major” — meaning among the largest Midwest metros.

In one article they said it grew by 1.2 percent from 2021 to 2022, while Sioux Falls grew by 2.6 percent. Whatever the cutoff is, Sioux Falls isn’t considered a major metro (among the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the country).

Similarly, in the same timeframe, that article said Iowa City was the second fastest growing metro in Iowa at 0.8 percent, behind only Des Moines, again, from 2021 to 2022.

Des Moines again tops the charts for growth among large Midwestern metros, census shows

No Midwestern metro among the nation's 100 largest grew faster than Des Moines last year, new census estimates show

www.desmoinesregister.com

 

[theshadow]

In the 80s and 90s, Waukee was bouncing between a 1A and 2A high school. Now you have 2 5A schools up pretty high on the BEDS list and growing fast. SEP has grown a ton. Ankeny has split. Johnston has grown. Valley has always been that big suburban school, but now they have a lot more company. With that much depth of DSM schools in 5A, odds are you are always going to have a couple that are head and shoulders above the eastern schools.

I've said it before, but just one generation ago (1997), these teams were all in the same Class 2A district for football (listed with their 2023 classification):
5A Waukee
4A Dallas Center-Grimes
2A Interstate 35
2A Prairie Valley, Gowrie (now Southeast Valley)
1A Nodaway Valley
1A Ogden
1A West Central Valley
8P Audubon

 

[Clone83]

I've said it before, but just one generation ago (1997), these teams were all in the same Class 2A district for football (listed with their 2023 classification):
5A Waukee
4A Dallas Center-Grimes
2A Interstate 35
2A Prairie Valley, Gowrie (now Southeast Valley)
1A Nodaway Valley
1A Ogden
1A West Central Valley
8P Audubon

Audubon used to be a big cattle feeding area. They used to hire to train to haul their cattle to market in Chicago. If I recall correctly, in the 1970s, I heard Paul Harvey say on the radio that Audubon County, as a county, had the highest percentage of millionaires in the country.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

I edited my post above, which you agreed with, to say that Des Moines is the fastest growing *major* Midwest metro.

I edited to add the word “major” — meaning among the largest Midwest metros.

In one article they said it grew by 1.2 percent from 2021 to 2022, while Sioux Falls grew by 2.6 percent. Whatever the cutoff is, Sioux Falls isn’t considered a major metro (among the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the country).

Similarly, in the same timeframe, that article said Iowa City was the second fastest growing metro in Iowa at 0.8 percent, behind only Des Moines, again, from 2021 to 2022.

Des Moines again tops the charts for growth among large Midwestern metros, census shows

No Midwestern metro among the nation's 100 largest grew faster than Des Moines last year, new census estimates show

www.desmoinesregister.com

I get what you are saying, but looking at Iowa City's growth, it says that is in Tiffin which would put those kids in the new high school they just opened a couple of years ago. IC West lost athletes to new high school also.
Maybe it's just me, but I can remember when the large school classification was owned by the Eastern Iowa schools, along with Dowling, which choked in the end and Valley.

Last year SEP had two of the better football players in the country, the DB that went to EIU and the tackle that went to Alabama, we also got a couple of their players. When was the last time eastern Iowa had a highly ranked player come out of high school from that part of the state. It's been a while.