ADVERTISEMENT

Pella the best team in Iowa?

M

maxstabs13

All District
Aug 20, 2005
6,514
43
48
Outside of the 42-24 Week 1 win over 7-1 Washington... Pella has won every game by 21 or more points.

They have handed 3 teams there only losses on the season...
Washington 42-24
Dallas Center Grimes 37-7
Norwalk 21-0

Also, romping a solid Carlisle team 42-6.

They've eased off the gas pedal on several games...

Different positions who got touches in the games:
Washington 2 QB's, 5 RB's, 6 WR's
DCG 2 QB's, 5 RB's, 6 WR's
Oskaloosa 2 QB's, 5 RB's, 5 WR's
Norwalk 1 QB, 5 RB's, 3 WR's
Knoxville 2 QB, 5 RB, 3 WR
Carlisle 2 QB, 7 RB, 4 WR
Newton 2 QB(Both 8-8 passing), 8 RB, 6 WR
Saydel 3 QB, 9 RB, 6 WR

These are just who had stats in the games. Who knows how many more guys they played who didn't catch a pass or run the ball.
 
No, the upper level 4A teams would beat them due to line play, but Pella would hold their own. Pella has several guys that go both ways and they would get worn down in a physical 48 minute game due to less depth. But, I would put Pella's skill players up against anyone.
 
maxstabs13 said:
Outside of the 42-24 Week 1 win over 7-1 Washington... Pella has won every game by 21 or more points.

They have handed 3 teams there only losses on the season...
Washington 42-24
Dallas Center Grimes 37-7
Norwalk 21-0

Also, romping a solid Carlisle team 42-6.

They've eased off the gas pedal on several games...

Different positions who got touches in the games:
Washington 2 QB's, 5 RB's, 6 WR's
DCG 2 QB's, 5 RB's, 6 WR's
Oskaloosa 2 QB's, 5 RB's, 5 WR's
Norwalk 1 QB, 5 RB's, 3 WR's
Knoxville 2 QB, 5 RB, 3 WR
Carlisle 2 QB, 7 RB, 4 WR
Newton 2 QB(Both 8-8 passing), 8 RB, 6 WR
Saydel 3 QB, 9 RB, 6 WR

These are just who had stats in the games. Who knows how many more guys they played who didn't catch a pass or run the ball.
Click to expand...

Max:
I value this board since the conversations are typically quite civilized and knowledgeable.
That being said, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!?!"
Pella vs Dowling or Valley: continuous clock in second half.
No doubt that Pella could trounce a lot of 4A teams, but they're not even close to the upper echelon in that division.
 
Xavier was a top tier 4A team 2 years ago. People thought that they were going to dominate 3A when they moved down. Pella shut them out. Im not saying that Pella would be able to beat some of the "top tier" 4A teams but IMO I think that they could hang with them and make it a good game.
 
Agree with fmclone.fan. In football, the huge 4A lines (often with depth to spare) will wear down an excellent 3A team in the second half. Basketball is different. BB takes only five guys, and there are a couple of recent examples in which the 3A champ has beat the 4A champ in the same year.
 
IMO Pella could playup and complete with the top tier 4A schools on a 1 game basis. This would be no different than ICR taking on former 4A Xavier and 3A Solon.

I agree mostly with Fmclone and EastIowaHawk except that their scenario would come more into play if Pella were playing a 4A schedule instead of a couple 4A games. Last year Pella appeared to give up a lot of size to Heelan yet still dominated them 24-0 in the second half (but I'm not sure they could do that week in/week out).

Good thread by Max. IMO the ones with a credibility issue are the ones that think Pella would not be able to compete with the 4A schools. Last year Pella may have been the best team in the state (I'd have loved to see a grand championship game between them and Dowling).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mtdew_fever
IMO Pella is the best team in Iowa this year. They were probably #2 or #3 last year behind Dowling. ICR was the best team in the state in 2010, and an argument could also be made for their 2013 team that beat a 3A semifinalist 38-0. Yes, these schools are smaller than the Dowlings and Valleys of 4A, but in recent years these two schools have produced large numbers of quality athletes that could compete with top 4A programs on a weekly basis.
 
El_Doce said:
Xavier was a top tier 4A team 2 years ago. People thought that they were going to dominate 3A when they moved down. Pella shut them out. Im not saying that Pella would be able to beat some of the "top tier" 4A teams but IMO I think that they could hang with them and make it a good game.
Click to expand...

CR Kennedy beat Xavier 34-0 as sophs 2 years ago with 2nd string RB in, Dralle had a broken collarbone.....
 
Pell could hold their own aginst any 4A team, but that doesn't mean they would win.

4A is odd because the bottom 2/3 of the class just isn't good. Pella would easily be a top playoff team in 4a.
 
Agree on 2010, that team had unusual size, speed and in what is rare for a small school the depth that would have allowed them to compete in a 4A schedule. Does Pella have the size and depth to play the schedule?
 
Xavier making the move to 3A was a good move for them competitively, the depth of 4A schools is hard for smaller schools to compete with and it was becoming apparent.
 
1. I'm not worried about my credibility on here. I rarely make appearances anymore.

2. Playing both ways is pretty common at several 4A schools. CR Xavier won state when Jay Teply played for them and several guys played both ways back then. CR Wash routinely makes the Final 8 and plays a lot of guys both ways. Cedar Falls has guys both ways during its best years. IC West had guys both ways during its best years. Linn Mar, IC High, CRK probably, etc... I believe Ankeny and SEP had guys both ways a few years ago. Davenport Assumption competed in 4A every year undersized and playing both ways with several underclassmen... So you can take that idea to someone who will listen. Oh and that SC Heelan school didn't struggle a bit when they played 4A. If school size matters than no small schools should win in basketball, but I see 1A and 2A teams beat 3A and 4A all the time.

3. The main teams that I notice don't go both ways are Bettendorf, Dowling, and Valley otherwise you will find most teams, if not all, have multiple guys playing both ways.

4. I didn't bring this up last year, because I don't think Pella had the offensive fire power and shut down defense necessary. This year seems and looks different. Yes, they put up ridiculous scores last season, but when they played top teams they had to play a few full games to put them away. This year they don't have to do that. They have comfortable leads and pull away. Last year they had a three game stretch, which was a little head scratching... Norwalk, Knoxville, and Carlisle they won but the way they won wasn't impressive. This year outside of Norwalk they have smoked teams by halftime. The Norwalk 21-0 wasn't really close though. Pella defense completely shut them down.

5. Just because I ask if they are the best team in Iowa doesn't mean I believe it. I would definitely argue that it is a possibility though. I would say they are definitely one of the Top 5 best, which means they are better than the likes of Jefferson, Waukee, Johnston, PV, Urbandale, Fort Dodge, Ankeny... This Pella team is much like some of the past Heelan, Xavier, Harlan, Assumption, Regina, and Solon teams which could have all competed for a 4A title no matter how you look at it.
 
Having watched both 3A and 4A teams play both last year and this year I would agree that the top # 5 -3A teams could compete in 4A however it would be the exception that any would/could win a 4A title either last year or this year. I have boys that have played teams in both classes 3A & 4A against the very top teams within each class and they comment the overall speed is significantly faster at 4A and the overall player strength is quite a bit stronger. These statements come directly from the players right or wrong.
I need to say they have not played against Pella or even observed them, their statement is a general overall statement but does use top 3A and 4A teams as a benchmark.
 
I personally played 4A and 2A football. I played 4A Waterloo West through sophomore year and 2A Sumner Fredricksburg junior and senior year. I believe it is 100% dependent on the school you play for. I played for a team that happened to be the largest graduating class in school history as we had 98 kids in our senior class and the next largest class was in the mid 60's. My class at Waterloo West was also the largest in the school and most athletically gifted, until the 8th grade class came to be freshman the year after I left.

I can say with confidence Waterloo East has had some of the best athletes in the state, but they haven't been taught proper technique in football, they are extremely undersized most years, and they haven't been taught to play as a team. At West, we were the first class since the early 90's to have a winning record as freshman and sophomores. We lost 1 game to Holmes Cedar Falls(I believe) as freshman. We were 6-3 as sophomores I believe. The talent was there but we lost numerous kids to grades, missed practices, and arrests. When I went to Sumner Fred our grade was loaded with a lot of skill position athletes and the grade below us had a stout offensive line and running backs. That being said from my personal team experience the WR's at 2A were better than our 4A WR's. The RB's were very similar, but 4A backs were quicker and 2A backs were stronger. 4A QB's were better by a significant amount though. Our 2A offensive line was not taller, but stronger than our 4A line on offense. The 4A front 7 on defense was stronger and quicker, but that is also because 3-4 played college ball. The 2A secondary was better for us.

Like I said it is all dependent on the school. Frankly, when teams like Ankeny, WDMV, Waukee, etc... Have 1700+ kids in 3 grades compared to 400-500 kids in 3 grades it isn't really fair to begin with but teams have still managed to compete and be better.

Athleticism means little unless you have the technique and coaching to be good.
 
dmbeyer said:
Xavier making the move to 3A was a good move for them competitively, the depth of 4A schools is hard for smaller schools to compete with and it was becoming apparent.
Click to expand...

Hey I totally agree with this statement. Xavier barely made it to the state championship in 4A their last two seasons playing. And with only about 40 kids out for football each class, it remains a mystery how they have been able to field a team.

HA!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mtdew_fever
Isn't this a 4A forum? All these questions and cases are purely hypothetical as Pella has no interaction with any 4A team. Comparative scores are rarely of any value. Individual stars are nice but elite big schools are solid at every position.
 
Ford26 said:
Hey I totally agree with this statement. Xavier barely made it to the state championship in 4A their last two seasons playing. And with only about 40 kids out for football each class, it remains a mystery how they have been able to field a team.

HA!
Click to expand...
Their big classes and big kids ended there two years ago...good time to move down. Dressing underclassmen is very common for playoffs.
 
there no doubt that pella has a good team, and have beaten everyone soundly this year. when you jump to 4a, you asking to play against schools 3 or 4 times bigger in enrollment. in the past heelan has some real good teams in the last few years they played 4a, and they just could no longer win a title in 4a....i do believe that may be one of the reasons the crusaders choose to dive into 3a, where the competition would be on a somewhat level bases, though some would argue that since some believe heelan recruits. pella could probably beat most of the 4a teams in my opinion, but struggle against the top 4a teams due to larger numbers
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmbeyer
Pella is a great team that will probably repeat but I would say the top 3 4A schools would beat them 9 out of 10 times. It seems to me in 3A, a few solid players can take a team pretty far with a descent supporting cast. In 4A it is more of a complete team effort.
I think maybe Xavier is starting to see the same thing happen to them as what Heelan saw 10-15 years ago.. Every few years you have a senior or junior class that doesn't have a lot of guys out so you have to reach down into the sophomore and sometimes freshman class, so competing with large 4A schools every year doesn't make sense. Towards the end of Heelans 4A era you saw 3 or 4 juniors starting every year and the rest were seniors.. sophomores suiting up on varsity was almost unheard of. This year Heelan had 3 or 4 sophomores starting and it was about even between of seniors and juniors starting. It gets to a point where your asking to much of the kids to play 4A. Yes, they field some great teams that can compete with 4A schools but its more about consistent numbers of upper classmen out year after year and they haven't seen that in awhile.
I have a good laugh when people say schools recruit, which is always directed at private schools. Public schools just have a fancy way of wording it... Open Enrollment.
 
PrideOrDie30 said:
Pella is a great team that will probably repeat but I would say the top 3 4A schools would beat them 9 out of 10 times. It seems to me in 3A, a few solid players can take a team pretty far with a descent supporting cast. In 4A it is more of a complete team effort.
I think maybe Xavier is starting to see the same thing happen to them as what Heelan saw 10-15 years ago.. Every few years you have a senior or junior class that doesn't have a lot of guys out so you have to reach down into the sophomore and sometimes freshman class, so competing with large 4A schools every year doesn't make sense. Towards the end of Heelans 4A era you saw 3 or 4 juniors starting every year and the rest were seniors.. sophomores suiting up on varsity was almost unheard of. This year Heelan had 3 or 4 sophomores starting and it was about even between of seniors and juniors starting. It gets to a point where your asking to much of the kids to play 4A. Yes, they field some great teams that can compete with 4A schools but its more about consistent numbers of upper classmen out year after year and they haven't seen that in awhile.
I have a good laugh when people say schools recruit, which is always directed at private schools. Public schools just have a fancy way of wording it... Open Enrollment.
Click to expand...


How dare you compare a school getting paid to accept a student from another school district to recruiting. One is carefully ignored while the other becomes a lightening rod when a private school has a good run.
 
cidhawkeye said:
How dare you compare a school getting paid to accept a student from another school district to recruiting. One is carefully ignored while the other becomes a lightening rod when a private school has a good run.
Click to expand...
Anybody at Pella that isn't Dutch was probably recruited.
 
PrideOrDie30 said:
Anybody at Pella that isn't Dutch was probably recruited.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It would be hard to turn down Pella bologna-on-a-stick any time you wanted it.

Regarding separating all of 4A from the "top 3" in the above speculation highlights, I think, most people's concern about that class. The argument against a good 3A school and most of 4A probably applies exactly the same way...a huge disparity between 1-45 and 46-48? Maybe the top three should have their own round robin.
 
Pella-Dowling last year in a one game showdown would have been a very competitive game. Pella had Garret Jansen who is at Iowa on scholarship and Austin Schulte who is committed to Iowa. I think it would be naive to think Dowling would have just rolled that team.
 
Hawksfolife said:
Pella-Dowling last year in a one game showdown would have been a very competitive game. Pella had Garret Jansen who is at Iowa on scholarship and Austin Schulte who is committed to Iowa. I think it would be naive to think Dowling would have just rolled that team.
Click to expand...
If you count staying within 3 touchdowns "very competitive" then maybe.
 
There is no way that 3A teams could consistently compete against 4A. It's a numbers game... 4A is there for a reason...they have the numbers...3A doesn't have the numbers.

Saying that 3A could compete with 4A is like saying 2A can compete with 3A and 1A and blah blah.
 
oonfoofoo said:
There is no way that 3A teams could consistently compete against 4A. It's a numbers game... 4A is there for a reason...they have the numbers...3A doesn't have the numbers.



Saying that 3A could compete with 4A is like saying 2A can compete with 3A and 1A and blah blah.
Click to expand...

I agree in general but there are the occasional teams that could play and compete against other classes.
 
matomicmasher said:
If you count staying within 3 touchdowns "very competitive" then maybe.
Click to expand...

Pella beat Xavier 27-0 last year, while Dowling beat Xavier by, what, 26-2? So by the transitive property, carry the 4, divide by pi ... Pella wins by 3!

Probably not, but it probably would have been closer than 3 TDs. It also depends on what point in the season they played, yadda yadda. Just a thought exercise anyway.
 
SimpsonStorm said:
The only 3A champ in the last 10 years that competes in 4A is the Heelan team Wegher was on in 08.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with you but can I ask why you think that team? Around Heelan there has been discussion on if the '08 team or the '13 team with Solsma and their passing game was better.
 
cidhawkeye said:
I agree in general but there are the occasional teams that could play and compete against other classes.
Click to expand...


That is why I said consistently. Yes you will have the one every so often that could compete but it won't happen often. Really good 3A teams would be average to slightly above average in 4A with the occasional team that comes along. That's the reason that higher level schools in every state are more consistent at remaining up there. 3A and below rely on good classes that come through every once in awhile.
 
I am going to get vilified but there have been a couple of 2A teams that could have competed in 4A, the Solon team with Morris and the 2010 Regina team would have been very competitive in 4A.
 
The original post asked if Pella was the best team in the state this year. I think that most fair minded people would admit that if Pella 2015 played Dowling 2015, Pella would be crushed. Not even sure Pella is the best team in 3A.
 
cidhawkeye said:
I am going to get vilified but there have been a couple of 2A teams that could have competed in 4A, the Solon team with Morris and the 2010 Regina team would have been very competitive in 4A.
Click to expand...
Holy crap balls batman. Are you kidding.
 
oonfoofoo said:
Holy crap balls batman. Are you kidding.
Click to expand...

Not at all, I said competitive, Morris was a special high school player and had a strong supporting group of players, the Regina team was a rare group that had the size, athletes and depth to stack up fairly well. There were coaches at each of the high schools in town who were in agreement on that. Didn't say win at all, could have been in contention for the dome. A unique group that went through.
 
Good point Maxstabs13...Xavier won the 4-A title in 2006, led Ankeny nearly the entire game before falling late in 2012 and they were a Class 3-A school forced to play in 4-A due to their conference affiliation.

Guess it is possible!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Orange_N_White

Yo reasoned… cripple fight tomorrow

Replies
6
Views
132
Wrestling Forum
Pops Masterson
P
LukeFeddersen

Iowa Preps High School Sports Talk

Replies
0
Views
35
Off the Record
LukeFeddersen
LukeFeddersen
P

UNI Dome Games Challenge

Replies
9
Views
1K
General Football Forum
PNation
P
LukeFeddersen

Iowa Preps High School Sports Talk

Replies
0
Views
244
Off the Record
LukeFeddersen
LukeFeddersen
R

pre-seaon rankings

Replies
1
Views
1K
General Football Forum
MepoDawg#
MepoDawg#
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back