2021 Iowa high school football playoff pairings – 1st Round & 2nd Round

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It’s high school football playoff time in Iowa.

The postseason begins this weekend with first round matchups announced by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

The IHSAA four-team pods in each classification. The winners in each pod will face each other in Round 2. The winners of each pod will advance to the state semifinals.

After the pod winners are determined, the IHSAA will redraw pairings in each classification for the state Final Four.

Below are the first round matchups:

Class 5A

POD 1

  • Johnston (4-5) at Southeast Polk (8-1)
  • Linn-Mar (7-2) at Dowling Catholic (6-3)

POD 2

  • Dubuque Senior (5-4) at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (9-0)
  • Urbandale (7-2) at Iowa City High (8-1)

POD 3

  • Ankeny Centennial (4-5) at West Des Moines Valley (7-2)
  • Cedar Falls (6-3) at Pleasant Valley (7-2)

POD 4

  • Bettendorf (5-4) at Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-2)
  • Waukee Northwest (5-4) at Ankeny (7-2)

Class 4A

POD 1

  • Decorah (6-3) at North Scott (9-0)
  • Clear Creek-Amana (6-3) at Winterset (7-2)

POD 2

  • Burlington (7-2) at Cedar Rapids Xavier (8-1)
  • Norwalk (6-3) at Webster City (7-2)

POD 3

  • Cedar Rapids Washington (5-4) at Waverly-Shell Rock (8-1)
  • Fort Dodge (7-2) at Bondurant-Farrar (8-1)

POD 4

  • Carlisle (5-4) at Indianola (8-1)
  • Spencer (7-2) at Lewis Central (7-2)

Class 3A

POD 1

  • Sioux Center (5-4) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (9-0)
  • Algona (5-4) at Sergeant Bluff-Luton (7-2)

POD 2

  • Hampton-Dumont/CAL (5-4) at Humboldt (9-0)
  • Independence (8-1) at Benton (8-1)

POD 3

  • Ballard (5-4) at Harlan (9-0)
  • ADM, Adel (7-2) at Nevada (8-1)

POD 4

  • Grinnell (6-3) at West Delaware (8-1)
  • Davenport Assumption (6-3) at Solon (9-0)

Class 2A

POD 1

  • Spirit Lake (7-2) at West Lyon (7-2)
  • Clear Lake (6-3) at Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (6-3)

POD 2

  • Iowa Falls-Alden (6-3) at Southeast Valley (8-1)
  • OABCIG (8-1) at Greene County (8-1)

POD 3

  • PCM (5-4) at Williamsburg (6-3)
  • Mid-Prairie (6-3) at West Marshall (8-1)

POD 4

  • Camanche (6-3) at Waukon (8-1)
  • North Fayette Valley (8-1) at Monticello (7-2)

Class 1A

POD 1

  • Western Christian (4-5) at Underwood (9-0)
  • Ridge View (6-3) at West Sioux (8-1)

POD 2

  • ACGC (8-1) at South Central Calhoun (8-1)
  • Woodward-Granger (6-3) at Van Meter (9-0)

POD 3

  • Pella Christian (8-1) at Dike-New Hartford (9-0)
  • Columbus Catholic (7-2) at Sigourney-Keota (9-0)

POD 4

  • West Branch (7-2) at Beckman Catholic (9-0)
  • MFL-Mar-Mac (7-2) at Iowa City Regina (9-0)

Class A

POD 1

  • South O’Brien (7-2) at West Hancock (9-0)
  • North Butler (8-1) at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (7-2)

POD 2

  • Southwest Valley (7-2) at Woodbury Central (8-1)
  • Logan-Magnolia (8-1) at Mount Ayr (7-2)

POD 3

  • Earlham (6-3) at Grundy Center (8-1)
  • North Tama (7-2) at Lynnville-Sully (8-1)

POD 4

  • Wapsie Valley (7-2) at North Linn (9-0)
  • East Buchanan (8-1) at Lisbon (8-1)

8-Player

POD 1

  • Kingsley-Pierson (5-4) at Remsen St. Mary’s (9-0)
  • GTRA (8-1) at Don Bosco (7-2)

POD 2

  • English Valleys (7-1) at Easton Valley (9-0)
  • Kee, Lansing (8-1) at Turkey Valley (9-0)

POD 3

  • WACO (9-0) at Martensdale-St. Marys (7-2)
  • Audubon (8-1) at Montezuma (10-0)

POD 4

  • Fremont-Mills, Tabor (6-3) at CAM (9-0)
  • Newell-Fonda (8-1) at Lenox (9-0)

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.