Top performances from Week 1 of the IHSAA season

It’s finally time for Iowa high school football.

Week 1 has come and gone and there were plenty of exciting games across the state.

Algona defeated Spirit Lake in a battle of some of the top recruits in the state. North Polk came from behind to defeat Bondurant-Farrar in overtime. Ankeny Centennial staged a comeback of its own, defeating Ankeny in the season-opening rivalry game.

Across the state, we saw big performances from individual players – some expected, some unexpected.

Here are our top Iowa high school football Week 1 players.

Our top 10 are listed alphabetically by last name, excluding coach and team selections.

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Beckett Bakker, QB, Waukee

The Warriors’ junior quarterback started his season strong, completing 77.3 percent of his passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns against Ames. Most of those yards came from running back Maverick Inman, who hasn’t missed a beat since transferring from Waukee Northwest.

Will Hawthorne, RB/LB, Gilbert

There are few two-way players as elite on both sides of the ball as Hawthorne. Started his senior campaign with 327 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He added eight tackles on defense and led his team to a victory over Dallas Center-Grimes.

Braeden Jackson, RB, Ankeny Centennial

I’ve been waiting for Jackon’s breakout moment and I think we just got it. The Jaguars running back ran for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns … in the second half alone against Ankeny. Now that they aren’t splitting carries with a Division I running back, expect that trend to continue.

More: Iowa high school football: 3 takeaways from Valley football’s win over Southeast Polk

Alex Manske, QB, Algona

Algona held on for a 42-40 win over Spirit Lake, but Manske started strong and never slowed down. He had a hand in three touchdowns in the first half alone, running for two and throwing a touchdown pass to Tate Slagle.

Zay Robinson, WR, Valley

Robinson put on a show in his first game back since missing all of last season with an injury. He recorded 163 yards, unofficially, and a touchdown against Southeast Polk. In addition to his offensive success, he grabbed a game-saving interception in the final minute of the game.

More: Iowa high school football: 3 takeaways from Valley football’s win over Southeast Polk

Titan Schmitt, RB, Clear Lake

Not surprisingly, Schmitt is in midseason form. He racked up 217 yards, two touchdowns on the ground and another through the air in a win over Forest City.

Kasen Thomas, RB/LB, Bishop Heelan

Thomas is a high-level recruit at linebacker. But he reminded high school football fans that he excels on both sides of the ball, rushing for nearly 250 yards and — wait for it — five touchdowns. And it did so in a win over Kuemper Catholic, which is considered one of the top teams in the class.

Trainer Van Dyke, DL, PCM

One game into the game and Van Dyke already has 12 total tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks on his stat sheet from a big win over Sigourney-Keota. He’ll be one to keep an eye on this season if he keeps up those stats.

More: 24 bold predictions for the 2024 Iowa high school football season

Des Moines East head coach Josh DeWaard

The Scarlets hadn’t won a game since Sept. 9, 2022. That changed Friday when Des Moines East — under new head coach DeWaard — defeated Des Moines North, 20-16.

North Polk

We usually shy away from including entire teams on the top performers list. But it’s tough to pick just one player from a Comets group that rallied from a 35-7 halftime deficit to beat Bondurant-Farrar, 42-41. the game? An attempt from the spot went just over the bar to win the game in extra time.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.