By Bud Legg, IHSAA

With a count down of the final four regular season weeks remaining and a heavy emphasis on making the 2011 playoff field, a total of 49 prep grid teams are still undefeated. The number of unbeaten teams is identical to last fall at this point in the season.

A reduction in that number will be forthcoming this weekend when 48 of the 49 are scheduled. Three games involve match-ups of undefeated teams – Postville at North Tama, Traer (Class A); Alburnett at North Cedar, Stanwood (Class 1A) and ADM, Adel at Carlisle (Class 3A). Fifteen other games find unbeaten teams playing foes that have lost only once.

North Tama, Traer (5-0) is the only undefeated team that has yet to be scored upon.  The defending Class A champions have over-whelmed their first five foes, 248-0. The Red Hawks journey toward perfection has a huge challenge this week in Postville, also 5-0.

No fewer than five traditional rivalries are on tap this weekend involving the undefeated teams. Ankeny (6-0) meets Dowling Catholic, WDM (4-2) in Drake Stadium; PCM, Monroe (5-0) travels to Pella Christian (4-1); Dike-New Hartford (5-0) is at Aplington-Parkersburg (4-1); South Winneshiek, Calmar (5-0) travels to North Fayette, West Union (4-1); and Emmetsburg (5-0) hosts West Lyon, Inwood (4-1).

North Tama has won 36 straight regular season games, including 24 straight district contests. Moreover the Red Hawks have a current 19-game win streak and have chalked up 22 shut outs in the last 33 contests and 36 in the last 56, dating back to the start of the 2007 campaign.

Clear Lake (Class 3A) has the longest regular season win chain with 37 games, while St. Albert, Council Bluffs’ (Class 1A) current string of 37 straight district wins is the best in district/conference play. Iowa City, City High (Class 4A) has sailed to 33 straight wins in Mississippi Valley Conference and regular season action.

Armstrong-Ringsted, in eight-player, has the longest winning streak in all classes with a all-time  eight-player win chain of 29, while Regina, Iowa City (2A) joins North Tama with a current consecutive string of 19.

Following are this week’s games involving undefeated teams.

Class 4A
Ames (4-2) at Valley, WDM (5-0)
Ankeny (6-0) at Dowling Catholic, WDM (4-2) at Drake Stadium
Assumption, Davenport (5-0) at Pleasant Valley (3-2)
Cedar Rapids, Washington (3-2) at Iowa City, City High (5-0)
Dubuque Senior (1-4) at Linn-Mar, Marion (5-0)
Wahlert, Dubuque (4-1) at Cedar Falls (5-0)

Class 3A
A-D-M, Adel (5-0) at Carlisle (5-0)
Carroll (5-0) at Lewis Central (1-3)
Clear Lake (5-0) at Ballard (2-3)
Humboldt (1-4) at Webster City (4-0)
Storm Lake (2-3) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (5-0)
Waverly-Shell Rock (5-0) at Crestwood, Cresco (2-3)

Class 2A
Iowa Falls-Alden (1-4) at Osage (5-0)
Mediapolis (5-0) at Albia (4-1)
PCM, Monroe (5-0) at Pella Christian (4-1)
Regina, Iowa City (5-0) at Camanche (4-1)
Roland-Story (3-2) at St. Edmond, Fort Dodge (5-0)
South Winneshiek, Calmar (5-0) at North Fayette, West Union (4-1)
Spirit Lake (6-0) is idle
West Marshall (5-0) at Collins-Baxter-Maxwell (4-1)

Class 1A
Alburnett (5-0) at North Cedar, Stanwood (5-0)
Dike-New Hartford (5-0) at Aplington-Parkersburg (4-1)
Logan-Magnolia (5-0) at Tri-Center, Neola (4-1)
Maquoketa Valley, Delhi (3-2) at Wapsie Valley, Fairbank (5-0)
North Linn, Troy Mills (1-4) at Starmont (5-0)
Panorama, Panora (5-0) at Wayne, Corydon (0-5)
Prairie Valley, Gowrie (3-2) at Lawton-Bronson (5-0)
South Hamilton, Jewell (2-3) at Woodward-Granger (5-0)
St. Albert, Council Bluffs (5-0) at Griswold (3-2)
West Lyon, Inwood (4-1) at Emmetsburg (5-0)

Class A
Bedford (6-0) at Exira-EHK (3-1)
Clay Central-Everly (0-5) at Gehlen Catholic, LeMars (5-0)
Lisbon (5-0) at English Valleys, North English (1-4)
Lone Tree (5-0) at B-G-M, Brooklyn (4-1)
Postville (5-0) at North Tama, Traer (5-0)

Eight-Player
Clarksville (5-1) at Janesville (5-0)
Graettinger-Terril (2-3) at West Bend-Mallard (5-0)
Harris-Lake Park (5-1) at Armstrong-Ringsted (6-0)
Kingsley-Pierson (5-0) at Laurens-Marathon (3-3)
Melcher-Dallas (5-0) at Harmony, Farmington (0-5)
Midland, Wyoming (6-0) at Kee, Lansing (4-1)
Moravia (5-0) at Grandview Park Baptist, DM (1-4)
Riceville (4-1) at Northeast Hamilton, Blairsburg (5-0)
St. Mary’s, Remsen (1-4) at Newell-Fonda (5-0)
Stanton (4-1) at Fremont-Mills, Tabor (5-0)
Villisca (0-5) at East Mills (5-0)

Team Leaders
Offense
Class 4A – Marshalltown, 46.8 ppg
Class 3A – Webster City, 50.8 ppg
Class 2A – PCM, Monroe, 50.0 ppg
Class 1A – Panorama, Panora, 47.2 ppg
Class A – Lone Tree, 52.4 ppg
8-Player – Fremont-Mills, Tabor, 70.2 ppg

Defense
Class 4A – Ankeny, 6.6 ppg
Class 3A – Waverly-Shell Rock, 4.2 ppg
Class 2A – Regina, Iowa City, 3.2 ppg
Class 1A – Woodward-Granger, 2.6 ppg
Class A – North Tama, Traer, 0.0 ppg
8-Player – Newell-Fonda, 8.0 ppg