Iowa High School Football: Predicting The Class 1A District Races

The Class 1A field of Iowa high school football teams featured some incredible programs a year ago, including two defending state champions.

One of those, West Lyon, was able to repeat after switching classes while the other, Grundy Center, saw its streak come to an end.

This year, those two, along with several others, will be chasing down gold inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Here is a preview for each of the eight districts in Class 1A of Iowa high school football.

Iowa High School Football Class 1A District Predictions

West Lyon, Easton DeJong, Iowa, high school, football — West Lyon’s Micah Van Beek (76) hugs West Lyon’s Easton DeJong (13) after DeJong scored a touchdown Nov. 20, 2025 during the Class 1A state football championship against the Iowa City Regina Regals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

District 1

Teams: Alta-Aurelia, Hinton, Lawton-Bronson, MVAOCOU, Ridge View, West Lyon.

Favorite: The defending champions call District 1 home, as West Lyon outscored teams by 39 points last year. The Wildcats will be contenders once again behind quarterback Easton DeJong and several others. DeJong threw for 1,300 yards and 16 TDs, adding 558 yards and nine scores with his legs.

Dark horse: Caden Schmidt had a phenomenal junior season for MVAOCOU, throwing for nearly 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns Bo Clausen and Bram Bielenberg will try to replace Manny Cameron at running back.

Predicted playoff teams: Lawton-Bronson, MVAOCOU, Ridge View, West Lyon.

District 2

Teams: East Sac County, Emmetsburg, Manson Northwest Webster, Pocahontas Area, South Central Calhoun, South Hamilton.

Favorite: Following two losses to open the season, Manson Northwest Webster went on a six-game win streak, claiming another district title in the process. The Cougars return standout running back Coy Moline, who had almost 1,300 yards and 15 TDs as a junior. Tegan Thoma produced over 300 yards from scrimmage.

Dark horse: South Central Calhoun head coach Bryan Case will have plenty of experience this fall, led by quarterback Cade Higgins. He had almost 1,000 yards in the air, as the trio of Cooper Nattress, Luke Patterson and Coltley Timmerman had almost 1,000 on the ground.

Predicted playoff teams: East Sac County, Emmetsburg, Manson Northwest Webster, South Central Calhoun.

District 3

Teams: Central Springs, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Eagle Grove, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura, Grundy Center, South Hardin.

Favorite: While they lost numerous starters, including Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center is still the team to beat in District 3. The Spartans have two youngsters ready to break out in Cooper Keller and Hayden Geerdes, as they ran for 13 touchdowns. Ethan Meester is another player to keep an eye on.

Dark horse: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows won six games and reached the postseason in 2025, running for almost 2,800 yards. Much of that production graduated, but Colin Sesker and a handful of others are back. The defense will feature Huxley Lingenfelter and Traesyn Cope, who had 25 tackles for loss.

Predicted playoff teams: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Garner-Hayfield, Grundy Center, South Hardin.

District 4

Teams: Aplington-Parkersburg, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, Hudson, Jesup, Sumner-Fredericksburg, Union Community.

Favorite: With Tate Roberts, Hudson should be at the top of the district. Roberts had 1,804 yards passing and ran for almost 400 more, throwing 11 TDs and running in 10. Owen Bell, Austin Kliegl, Gavin Gunnarson, Grady Moseley, Rylan Dunbar and Carter Ites are all key defensive players back. Moseley and Ites had 25 combined tackles for loss and seven quarterback sacks.

Dark horse: Aplington-Parkersburg knocked off Hudson and lost four of five games by one score or less. Mason Pruisner will be back after rushing for nearly 800 yards and nine scores, along with top receiver Wes Shirk.

Predicted playoff teams: Aplington-Parkersburg, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, Hudson, Union Community.

District 5

Teams: Dyersville Beckman Catholic, Camanche, Cascade, Lisbon, MFL MarMac, Northeast Goose Lake.

Favorite: The Dyersville Beckman Catholic defense allowed just over nine points per game last year, helping them to the district title. Jude Kramer will be the focal point on offense once again this season after rushing for 814 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also had 167 yards receiving with a pair of TDs.

Dark horse: Northeast’s Maxzen Eskildsen got a trial-by-fire last year as a sophomore, throwing for over 1,110 yards and seven TDs. His athleticism showed with 714 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns to lead the team.

Predicted playoff teams: Dyersville Beckman Catholic, Camanche, Cascade, Northeast.

District 6

Teams: Cardinal, Durant, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Louisa-Muscatine, Iowa City Regina, Sigourney-Keota.

Favorite: Even with some big-time losses, Iowa City Regina should be the preseason favorite after reaching the Class 1A title round. The Regals have a couple options at quarterback and return Tate Wallace, who has committed to Minnesota. Keep an eye on Gabriel Hegelheimer, who had 294 yards rushing with six TDs on 25 attempts last year.

Dark horse: Sigourney-Keota has a deep tradition on the football field. The Cobras will feature Ike Molyneux, who ran for 938 yards as part of a unit that had over 2,200 on the season. Blake Baker, Landon Conrad, Ayden Galindo and Carson O’Rourke are also back.

Predicted playoff teams: Durant, Eddyville-Blakesburg/Fremont, Iowa City Regina, Sigourney-Keota.

District 7

Teams: Interstate 35, Ogden, Panorama, Pleasantville, West Central Valley, West Marshall.

Favorite: The reigning two-time state baseball champions, Pleasantville will look to add a football title to the trophy case. Braylon Bingham is an Iowa commit, piling up 1,492 yards passing, 909 yards rushing and 80 tackles. Brayden Kennedy and JJ Phillips, baseball starts like Bingham, are also returning.

Dark horse: Interstate 35, nicknamed the Roadrunners, will have Jace Maxwell, Ace Currie and Nick Pasutti all back. Maxwell ran for 604 yards, Currie had 516 and Pasutti 438, as they ran for a combined 21 touchdowns.

Predicted playoff teams: Interstate 35, Ogden, Pleasantville, West Marshall.

District 8

Teams: Missouri Valley, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Treynor, Tri-Center, Underwood.

Favorite: After moving up, Tri-Center was still able to finish with four wins and qualify for the postseason. They graduated top WRs Zach Nelson and Cael Witt, but have QB AJ Harder back, as he threw for over 2,000 yards, and RB Adan Goldapp, who had 1,031 on the ground.

Dark horse: Shenandoah will be ushering in a new era with a new head coach in Drew Buckholdt, as he inherits a roster led by quarterback Joey O’Rourke. Gabe Buttry, Cole Graham and Hayden Roush join him.

Predicted playoff teams: Shenandoah, Treynor, Tri-Center, Underwood.

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