Iowa High School Football Week Three Preview

With two weeks of the 2015 high school football season complete, most teams are preparing for their district openers Friday night (Sept. 11).

Sixteen teams from the Cedar Valley and Northeast Iowa remain unbeaten heading into this week's games, while 11 others are seeking their first victory of the season.

As the race to determine playoff seeds begins, the outcome of the Waverly-Shell Rock-West Delaware game in Manchester will go along way in determining the winner of Class-3A, District 3. Both teams enter Friday night's showdown ranked in the Associated Press poll - the host Hawks (2-0) are rated second, while the Go-Hawks (2-0) are No. 8.

Another district opener that gives the winner an important leg-up in the battle for a No. 1 playoff seed takes place in West Union, where defending Class-2A champion North Fayette Valley (1-1) hosts 10th-ranked Center Point-Urbana (2-0). The Hawks led the 2A ratings last week, but fell from the top-10 following an upset loss to Independence.

Friday's other marquee match-up in the area is a non-district battle involving rated teams. Dike-New Hartford -- the No. 2 ranked team in Class-2A -- hosts Denver -- the 6th-rated team in Class-A -- at the Gunderson Sports Complex in Dike. Both teams are 2-0 to start the season.

Several more teams are seeking their third win of the season Friday night. They include Cedar Falls, Central Community, Clayton Ridge, Hudson, Independence, Janesville, MFL-Mar-Mac, North Butler, Sumner-Fredericksburg and Waukon. Don Bosco (1-0) is also unbeaten, but the Dons are idle this week.

Among the squads seeking their first victory of 2015 are Dunkerton, La Porte City Union, Nashua-Plainfield, North Tama, Oelwein, Waterloo Columbus Catholic and Waterloo East.

The schedule of games involving Cedar Valley and Northeast Iowa teams is posted below.