Today’s football district is Class 1A District 5 including Pella Christian and Pleasantville.

This district is much like District 4 in that there is going to be a free-for-all for the last playoff spot.

Mount Ayr is at the top, a team that is perennially in the mix in Class A. They went 10-3 last season and lost in the state semifinals. It will be interesting to see how they handle the jump up to Class 1A this year.

After that, Pella Christian and Pleasantville have the two best records returning. Pleasantville went 9-2 last year, losing in the second round, and PC went 7-4, also losing in the second round.

PC will absolutely be in the mix to grab the top spot in this district with returning QB David Kacmarynski and athlete Levi Jungling. The Eagles would be the safest bet to be at the top in this district.

Pleasantville lost a lot of their key playmakers, but still could make some noise in 2016. They’ll have to contend with some adjustments, as they, too, are moving up to Class 1A with Mount Ayr from Class A. Mount Ayr actually was responsible for the only loss that Pleasantville suffered in the regular season last year.

Outside of those teams, Interstate 35 went 5-5 with a first round loss, Des Moines Christian went 4-6 with a first round loss, and no one else made the playoffs.

Woodward-Granger went 4-5, Central Decatur went 3-6, and Woodward Academy went 1-8. All of those teams will have to make big strides if they are going to compete in this district for a playoff spot.

This district, much like District 4, will be unpredictable, but overall, there will be several opportunities for teams to steal wins and position themselves for a playoff berth.

We’ll look at another interesting district tomorrow, as we hop down to Class A and look at District 5, represented by BGM.