Iowa high school football 2021: Picking the area 4A, 3A, 2A districts

Diving into the area high school football districts for the 2021 season, The Gazette’s projections for some Union area teams have been fine-tuned, some altered and information added to come up with the listed projected finishes.

Class 4A

Thirty-six teams are assigned to 4A, with 16 advancing to the playoffs. The top two teams in each of six districts advance, plus four at-large qualifiers.

The 4A regular season will consist of nine games, with four rounds of playoffs.

A closer look at the Union area district:

District 3

OVERVIEW

North Scott (9-1) took a thrilling ride to the Class 3A state championship last year, winning successive playoff games by scores of 13-10, 24-21 and 17-10 before handling Harlan 30-6 for the title. It started with a halftime deficit against Mt. Pleasant before a 58-26 win. Iowa City Liberty (2-3) got just four regular-season games in but added a new coach in former Washington head James Harris. Harris will make the Lightning better, particularly on the defensive side with the top four tacklers returning. Fort Madison returns quarterback and leading rusher Landes Williams, leading receiver Tate Johnson and three of its top five tacklers from a 7-2 season. Mt. Pleasant (4-4) lost 95 percent of its receiving yards, 90 percent of its rushing yards, 85 percent of its passing. Maybe the defense will help offset the losses with Lincoln Henriksen and Dylon Hagans, two of the top five tacklers. Between COVID-19 and poor play, Burlington was 1-5 last season but returns 15 of 18 players that gained yardage in 2020. Clinton (0-7) scored a touchdown in the first game, the fifth game and four in the postseason game, six total.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *North Scott

2. *Iowa City Liberty

3. Fort Madison

4. Burlington

5. Mt. Pleasant

6. Clinton

District 2

OVERVIEW

The most balanced of the six 4A districts with Waverly-Shell Rock (4-4) as a slight favorite but there’s little separation among Mason City (3-4), Decorah (6-2), Western Dubuque (5-4), Marion (3-5) and Waterloo East (1-7).

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Waverly-Shell Rock

2. *Mason City

3. *Decorah

4. Western Dubuque

5. Marion

6. Waterloo East

District 4

OVERVIEW

Cedar Rapids Washington’s enrollment drop has the Warriors (3-5) a major player in 4A with perennial powers Pella (6-3) and Cedar Rapids Xavier (10-1).

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Cedar Rapids Washington

2. *Pella

3. *Cedar Rapids Xavier

4. Clear Creek Amana

5. Newton

6. Oskaloosa

Class 3A

Thirty-six teams are assigned to 3A, with 16 advancing to the playoffs. The top two teams in each of six districts advance, plus four at-large qualifiers.

The 3A regular season will consist of nine games, with four rounds of playoffs.

A closer look at the Union area district:

District 5

OVERVIEW

Favorites Solon and Washington met as non-district foes last year, with the Demons picking up a 33-18 victory that helped propel them to an 8-1 record. Washington has some substantial holes to fill, but does return top tackler Lucas Kroll. Ethan Zieglowsky led the state with three interceptions returned for touchdowns. Solon (7-3) rebounded from an 0-2 start and reached the 2A quarterfinals as the largest school in the class, but now back in 3A. Blake Timmons accounted for 1,717 total yards and 22 touchdowns. Grinnell (8-3), a 3A quarterfinalist, could push the favorites with junior QB Dallas Sauser, who threw for 10 touchdowns. Head coach Brian Sauser left the Tigers for the same job at Ames High School. Fairfield (1-7) might be a dark horse possibility if Max Weaton and a talented junior class reach their potential. Keokuk lost a lot with the graduation of four-year starting quarterback, Corey Skinner. West Burlington-Notre Dame has a new coach and already adjusted its schedule due to lack of numbers, a serious handicap at a 3A level program.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Solon

2. *Washington

3. *Grinnell

4. Fairfield

5. Keokuk

6. West Burlington-Notre Dame

Other district projections:

District 3

OVERVIEW

Week 8, Oct. 15, at Independence is maybe the game of the year. West Delaware (10-2) was a 3A quarterfinalist last year; Independence (6-2) got to the round of 16 in 2A. Both are spearheaded by prolific running backs — the Hawks Wyatt Voelker accumulated 1,294 yards, 18 touchdowns and 91 tackles. The Mustangs return Marcus Beatty and his 1,515 yards with 15 TDs, their quarterback and 10 of their top 12 tacklers.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *West Delaware

2. *Independence

3. Charles City

4. Center Point-Urbana

5. Hampton-Dumont/CAL

6. South Tama

District 4

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Davenport Assumption

2. *Mount Vernon

3. *Benton Community

4. DeWitt Central

5. Maquoketa

6. Vinton-Shellsburg

Class 2A

Forty-eight teams are assigned to 2A, with 32 advancing to the playoffs. The top four teams in each of eight districts advance.

The 2A regular season will be eight games, with five rounds of playoffs. Teams not making the playoffs will be permitted to play a ninth regular-season contest.

A closer look at the Union area district:

District 6

OVERVIEW

Williamsburg (8-1) has run the table in its district for each of the last three seasons (by 37.7 points per game last year), and more of the same is expected in 2021 despite fairly significant graduation losses. Carson Huedepohl accumulated 423 rushing yards, seven touchdowns and 40 tackles as a sophomore. Davis County (3-4), Centerville (5-4) and Mid-Prairie (4-4) should wrangle for the other three playoff spots. Mid-Prairie’s 24-8 loss was the closest district game for the Raiders, but the Golden Hawks lose 98 percent of their offensive yards to graduation. Tyler Helmuth’s 204 rushing yards and Cain Brown’s 168 receiving are the largest returning totals. Davis County Mustang QB Carson Maeder (74-for-136 for 1,100 yards, 12 TDs, five interceptions) returns as does leading rusher Gavin McCall (539 yards) and leading receiver Caeden Glosser (29 catches for 631 yards, eight TDs). Central Lee (0-8) didn’t score in two games — Mid-Prairie, Williamsburg. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (3-4) was one-dimensional, passing was 11-of-30 for the year. The leading returning rusher was a freshman last season.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Williamsburg

2. *Davis County

3. *Centerville

4. *Mid-Prairie

5. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont EBF

6. Central Lee

District 4

OVERVIEW

Waukon (10-1) rattled off 10 consecutive victories to win the 2A state championship. Dubuque Wahlert was 6-3 in 3A. There appears to be a gap between the top two teams and the other four.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Waukon

2. *Dubuque Wahlert

3. *North Fayette Valley

4. *Union Community

5. Oelwein

6. Jesup

District 5

OVERVIEW

Camanche (9-2) won twice against West Liberty (6-3) but the teams appear even in different ways — the Indians in the air and the Comets on the ground. Tipton (5-4) defeated Mid-Prairie in the postseason and pushed Camanche in the third round. The Tigers have a strong nucleus back.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Camanche

2. *West Liberty

3. *Tipton

4. *Monticello

5. Northeast

6. Anamosa