Late August means more than the return of Iowa football after a long off-season. All around the country on Friday nights, future college stars are taking one final shot at leading their high school teams to a state title.

Last year, one of the stars of this series was Reece Vander Zee, who led his Central Lyon George-Little Rock team to the state championship game, before falling in a heartbreaker to Van Meter. Central Lyon was poised for a storybook ending, down 3 points with the ball on the Van Meter 3-yard-line on 4th-and-goal. Instead, an errant snap sailed past Vander Zee and ended the game.

It took Vander Zee a single game in Iowa City to start making his impact at the next level. Who might join him next year as Iowa's next breakout freshman?

Early in the fourth quarter, and it was gut-check time for Sycamore. The Spartans had jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but now trailed 28-14.

Gautcher stayed calm, rallied the offense at quarterback, and led a drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:30 remaining. After an interception, Sycamore then tied the game after a five play drive ended in another rushing touchdown.

Sycamore got another stop and took over at its own 36 with 37 seconds left. Sycamore soon dialed up a screen, and Aidan Wyzard turned a Gautcher screen pass into a 64-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left.

DeKalb then hit a 40-yard pass down to Sycamore's 15 with three seconds left, but Gautcher intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play to seal the victory.

All together Gautcher was 15/17 passing for 250 yards and a touchdown. He ran five times for 27 yards and another score. Defensively, Gautcher had the crucial interception to seal the victory.

Gautcher's all-around performance and late heroics earn him player of the week honors. Video of his late INT is here:

Edwardsville started its season with a hard-fought 14-7 victory over Glenwood. The Tigers allowed a touchdown on Glenwood's opening drive, then held firm the rest of the game, including forcing a turnover on downs with 1:05 to play to seal the victory.

Epenesa had a pressure on the crucial 4th down stop to seal the win. He also had a sack late in the second quarter. Extended highlights from the game, including Epenesa's sack, are here. A couple photos of Epenesa from the game are here.

Johnson has had a huge start to his senior season. In last week's opener, he caught five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, as River Falls beat Wisconsin Rapids 44-21.

Johnson was just as good in his second game Friday, catching eight passes for 95 yards. River Falls wasn't as fortunate in that game, losing to D.C. Everest 51-26.

Woods and his Iowa City West Trojans lost a shootout for the The Principal's Bell with crosstown rival Iowa City Liberty 56-45. Woods was heavily involved in all three phases for the Trojans.

Offensively, Woods had 3 receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, he recorded 6.5 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Woods also returned a kick 87 yards for a touchdown. Highlights from the game, including Woods' kick return touchdown, are here.

New commit Terrence Smith had only one reception for 11 yards in his season debut, but he made it count, scoring a touchdown on the play. His West Aurora Blackhawks dismantled Proviso East 53-0.

Carroll has struggled in the early going, losing to Hamilton Southeast 45-21 and Center Grove 28-14. The Center Grove game was called at halftime due to persistent storms. Despite the losses, Sullivan has been solid in both games.

Against Hamilton, he went 12/15 for 148 yards and one touchdown with zero interceptions. He also rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Against Center Grove, he went 12/16 for 142 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. He rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries.

Oswego beat Neuqua Valley 30-7 and Cooney played a huge role in it. The senior had seven tackles, three tackles for loss, and six quarterback hurries in the game.

“Their offensive linemen couldn’t pick up the blitzes as well as we thought, so we just kept bringing the blitz and it kept working, kept getting pressure on the quarterback,” Cooney said postgame. "It’s a great feeling to get a play like that.”

Highlights from the game are here.

Meyer and Clear Lake won an easy 41-14 victory over nearby Forest City. Offensively, Meyer had three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, he added two tackles.

MacPherson and Loyola Academy had a rough trip to East St. Louis, falling to the Flyers 34-7. MacPherson was held in check the whole game, rushing for just seven yards on six carries and catching two passes for five total yards.

Down in Texas, Starzyk and The Woodlands got off to a strong start, defeating Cinco Ranch 49-22. Starzyk went a perfect 7-7 on his extra point attempts.

VanWetzinga's senior season got off to a sour start, as Pleasant Valley fell to rival Bettendorf 25-24 in overtime. The game was tied at 17 at the end of regulation. PV went first in overtime, scoring a touchdown and converting the extra point. Bettendorf responded with a touchdown and went for two to steal the win. Highlights from the game are here.

Nielsen, Iowa's only commit thus far in the Class of 2026, got off to a strong start, as his Waterloo West defeated rival Waterloo East 29-6. It was West's 12th straight victory over East. Highlights from the game are here.

Herron and Warren Central got off to a strong start, defeating Warsaw 34-0. Warren Central rushed for 209 yards and 4 touchdowns behind Herron and the o-line.

Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School (what a mouthful) started its season with a 21-14 win over Hillsboro. Allgeyer contributed to the win on both sides of the ball. Allgeyer was recently recognized as the No. 12 recruit in the St. Louis area by the St. Lous Post-Dispatch.

Marist started the year with a relatively comfortable 29-16 victory over Morgan Park. Fitzgibbon and the Marist defense was particularly stout against the run, holding Morgan Park to just 28 yards rushing on 21 attempts.

St. Thomas More's first game of the season is Friday, September 6.