Are These Iowa’s Biggest High School Rivalries?

What are the biggest high school rivalries in the state of Iowa? If you are from here, what are the first two rival schools that come to mind? Is it your high school's rival or did you think of 2 different schools? According to US News, Iowa had 302 school districts which supported 350 high schools in 2022.

With that many schools, you'd have to imagine there are some pretty fun in-state rivalries between a few schools. In a 2018 article, the Des Moines Register put together some of the best football rivalries in the state of Iowa but not all high school rivalries have to be about football.

I think most Iowans would be familiar with Iowa City High vs Iowa City West, Waterloo East vs Waterloo West, or the state's longest-running rivalry, Des Moines East vs Des Moines North. But not all High school rivalries necessarily revolve around the gridiron.

I'm curious what Iowans might think about these rivalries put together from the Iowa Chill Facebook page.

Top 10 Iowa High School Rivalries

10 - Norwalk vs Pella

9 - Decorah vs Waverly Shell Rock

8 - West Lyon vs Central Lyon

7 - Harlan vs Lewis Central

6 - Solon vs Mount Vernon

5 - Dubuque Senior vs Dubuque Hempstead

4 - Waukee vs Waukee Northwest

3 - Iowa City West vs Iowa City High

2 - WDM Valley vs Dowling Catholic

1 - Ankeny Centennial vs Ankeny

I'm curious which rivalry has been left out of Iowa Chill's Facebook post, as well as the Des Moines register. Do you agree with the number 1 selection of Ankeny Centennial vs Ankeny as the best high school rivalry in the entire state? A lot of times smaller schools may get unnoticed in stories like these and I'd like to know which schools got missed.

I grew up in Minnesota and one of the best rivalries, in the entire country, is between two small towns that almost border Canada. Warroad, MN, has a population of less than 2,000 people, and Roseau has a population of just under 3,000. Those cities are about 20 miles apart and when the high school hockey teams take the ice...everyone that lives in those two areas makes it to the stands to watch. They've battled it out 185 times and just about everyone from Minnesota is aware of this matchup, which has nothing to do with football.

There's something different about high school rivalries. The student-athletes aren't getting paid, they play because they love the game. They want to win to bring pride to their school and community. It's tough to beat a historic high school rivalry and the fandom that comes with it.

Leave us a comment and tell us which high school rivalry is truly the greatest in the state of Iowa.