The football season is winding down with just two weeks of the regular season remaining. Even though there’s just two games left for most teams, there’s dozens of playoff implications that can come into play for several teams still hanging around for a postseason berth.
In Class 4A District 4, the Newton Cardinals improbably started their season 6-0. But a loss to Southeast Polk last week has put them in a dire position, needing to win both of their remaining games to squeak into the playoffs. With powerhouse West Des Moines Valley on deck, it would be a monumental feat for the Cardinals to be playing postseason football.
The same cannot be said for the Oskaloosa Indians, who will be looking to cinch up a playoff spot out of Class 3A District 5 in Washington this week. Osky has a very easy road map: beat Washington and you’re in, lose to Washington and you need to hope to get a wild card. A Week 9 matchup with West Burlington/Notre Dame should not deter the Indians should they get past the Demons.
Also in Class 3A, Pella is well on their way to another district title after holding off Norwalk last week. The Dutch are the only unbeaten team left in District 6 and have favorable matchups at North Polk and at home to Nevada to wrap up their season.
In Class 2A District 6, PCM is rolling through their schedule. After a tough non-district loss to undefeated Pella Christian in the season opener, the Mustangs have won six straight and are big favorites against Davis County and Clarke as they wind down a season where they’ll be named District 6 Champions.
Class 1A District 4 is pretty self-explanatory for Sigourney/Keota. There’s one open playoff spot after Iowa City Regina and the Cobras need to beat Wilton and Wapello the last two weeks of the season to clinch it. A win over Wapello this week would effectively eliminate them from the race and leave it between S/K and Wilton, and they will meet in Wilton to decide the automatic berth in Week 9.
District 5 in Class 1A is monopolized by a couple of area teams. Pella Christian is still undefeated after they knocked off Pleasantville on the road last week. PC should waltz to the district title. Pleasantville has to beat Woodward-Granger this week to clinch their spot in the playoffs.
Class A District 6 has been a fun one to follow all year and Lynnville-Sully is on their way to winning the district title. The Hawks started 8-0 last year before losing in Week 9 to Montezuma. Now, after gutsy wins over Pekin and New London, L-S gets a bye before seeing the Braves again looking for retribution on their way to the playoffs and a first round home game. Pekin faces off with New London this week to determine the #2 seed out of this district, while the loser hopes to get one of the wild cards.
Finally, 8-Player District 5 is chaotic. All we know is that HLV is sitting pretty at 5-0 in the district after a big win over Colo-Nesco. HLV faces Melcher-Dallas this week. If M-D were to drop this home game, they will likely fall out of the playoff race. Moravia is also hanging around. Their matchup this week with Colo-Nesco will factor heavily into that #2 seed. A Melcher-Dallas win this week would create even more chaos, however, as all four teams could end the week with hopes of the playoffs going into Week 9. There are no wild cards in 8-Player football so these matchups are huge for these schools.
We’ll be following the action closely the last two weeks of the season, so be sure to join us for Scores and More Presented By Bubbl’r after the games go final Friday night on 104.9 FM KBOE, 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, kboeradio.com and radiokmzn.com.