Week five of the high school football season features four games in District Five with distinct storylines.
Tonight, one of the key match-ups in the area will take place here in Belle Plaine, with fourth-rated and undefeated West Branch comes to town. The Bears have won each of their first four games by wide margins, holding their non-district opponents to six points each while giving up 28 points in each of their first two district contests.
The Bears opened the season with a 35-6 win over Tipton, then beat Wilton, 31-6. They handled Eddyville-Blakesburg, 56-28 in the district opener, then last week, handed Wapello its first loss of the season, 55-28.
The Plainsmen come into this game with a 3-1 record, 1-1 in district play. They beat HLV in the season opener, 14-6 and then took care of Highland Riverside, 40-14. The district opener was a 20-14 setback against Pekin, but last week, the Plainsmen bounced back for a 27-7 win over Durant. As a side note in that game, Plainsman fans may not have been aware of the fact that the day before the game, the Durant principal was placed on immediate paid leave and ushered from the school grounds by the district superintendent. The Quad-City Times reports that the 11-year veteran principal, whose children attend Durant schools and whose husband teaches in the district, had not been given any reason for her forced leave.
Back to the gridiron, in another key District Five match-up this week, Wapello travels to Pekin. The Indians got off to a fast start this season, beating Louisa-Muscatine, 42-12 in the first game of the year and then taking care of Columbus, 40-12 in week two. In the district opener, they beat Van Buren, 48-8 before falling to West Branch last week, 55-28 to go to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in district play.
Pekin, always a powerhouse, is a unique story this season. The Panthers dropped their first game of the season, 17-16 to Sigourney, then struggled for a 27-26 win over Waco. But after holding on for a 20-14 win at Belle Plaine in the district opener, they scored what must have been the most lopsided victory of the season in the state last week, 90-0 over Van Buren. The Panthers are 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the district and might be looking past this game in anticipation of next week’s showdown against West Branch.
Probably the only sure thing about tonight’s slate is that after it’s over, there will only be one team in the district without a victory. Van Buren travels to Iowa Valley. Both teams are 0-4 on the season. Van Buren dropped an 18-8 decision to Cardinal of Eldon in the first game of the season, then fell to Winfield-Mount Union, 19-12. A 47-8 setback at the hands of Wapello was followed by that eye-catching 90-0 loss to Pekin.
Iowa Valley lost to two SICL Conference foes in non-district play. Montezuma took a 26-21 season opening decision and HLV handled the Tigers, 20-0. In their first district contest, the Tigers dropped a 28-0 decision to Durant. Last week, Eddyville-Blakesburg beat them 50-14.
Next week, besides that Pekin at West Branch showdown, Belle Plaine travels to Iowa Valley, Durant is at Wapello and Eddyville-Blakesburg is at Van Buren.
