Area small schools set for playoff matchups

Playoff football has arrived for Union area teams in Class 2A, 1A, A and 8-player. Five teams made it through district play with enough results to earn an opportunity to make a run at a state title.

No. 5 Mid-Prairie rides a six-game win streak into its first round matchup against North Fayette Valley. The TigerHawks made it to the postseason as the No. 4 team in their district after winning their final two regular season games.

North Fayette Valley is led by a deep rushing attack with four players eclipsing 200 yards in the regular season. Ryan Griffith and Cain Rodgers each have over 400. Rogers is the quarterback for the TigerHawks and has completed 35 of 74 passes for 453 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

The Golden Hawks will look to keep riding their record breakers Brooks Weber and Hudson Ehrenfelt. Weber’s 21 touchdown passes set a new single-season school record, while Ehrenfelt’s 65 career touchdowns is the most in Mid-Prairie history.

Sigourney Keota won four of its final five games in the regular season to secure second place in Class 1A-6. Cobras running back Ike Molyneux has been a force to be reckoned with, having racked up 938 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

The Cobras will face 1A-7 side Interstate 35. Jace Maxwell and Ace Currie make up a two-headed monster in the backfield with 1,105 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns between them. The Roadrunners defense also has 16 sacks on the year.

Pekin and Columbus both made the playoffs from Class A-5. The Panthers (8-0) will host A-6 side Earlham, while Columbus will be on the road against A-4 outfit North Linn.

The Lynx blew out the Wildcats 54-7 in a Week 4 matchup this season. Columbus will hope to cause more havoc for North Linn quarterback Will Sommerfelt, who went an efficient 5 of 9 for 137 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Lynx also averaged 9.2 yards per carry on the ground.

The Panthers and Cardinals have a common opponent this season in North Mahaska. Pekin needed overtime to avoid a 22-7 collapse. One week later the Cardinals beat the Warhawks 27-7 on the road. Pekin will hope a strong game from leading rusher Nolan Glick (1,223 yards) will help keep its undefeated season going.

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WACO finished third in 8-5 thanks to having the best average point differential over English Valleys and Winfield-Mt-Union. That earned the Warriors a road matchup against the No. 6 ranked 8-player side Edgewood-Colesberg.

The Vikings are undefeated this year led by sophomore Jax Steger, who has completed 61 of 110 passes for 1,329 yards and 23 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He also has 860 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Here’s the full list of Friday’s area small school playoff games.

Class 2A

No. 5 Mid-Prairie (7-1) vs. North Fayette Valley (3-5) - 7 p.m. at Mid-Prairie High School

Class 1A

Sigourney Keota (4-4) vs. Interstate 35 (5-3) - 7 p.m. at Sigourney High School

Class A

Pekin (8-0) vs. Earlham (4-4) - 7 p.m. at Pekin Community Schools

Columbus (3-5) at North Linn (7-1) - 7 p.m. at North Linn Football Field

Class 8-player

WACO (3-5) at No. 6 Edgewood-Colesberg (8-0) - 7 p.m. at Community Dreams Complex