Assignments for the first round of the 50th year of the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Football Playoffs are now available for Classes 2A, 1A, A, and 8P.

First round games in these classes are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, October 22. Digital tickets will be available through the IHSAA Tickets page and go on sale at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 19.

District standings and qualifiers were released following Friday’s Week 8 games, with district placement determining first round hosts. For complete qualifying and assignment instructions, please view the 2021 Postseason Manual. 

First round assignments for Classes 5A, 4A, and 3A will be available next week, following their Week 9 regular season contests. The round of 16 in all classes will feature four four-team pods, with the winners of those pods advancing to the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls for the state semifinals and finals.

CLASS 2A

CLASS 1A

CLASS A

EIGHT-PLAYER

The Atlantic Trojans grabbed their third win of the 2021 football season with a 40-12 win at Saydel on Friday. The Trojans never trailed and had control of the game by halftime thanks to a Saydel special teams error and a couple of big interceptions.

Neither team was able to move the ball the first three possessions, but Atlantic caught a break on their second punt. Return man Austin Chally muffed the catch and Atlantic recovered the ball at the Saydel 30 yard line. 6 plays later Easton O’Brien scampered in from 7 yards out for the first score of the night. Saydel almost answered right back. The Eagles got all the way to the Atlantic 1 yard line but were stuffed on two runs. After a timeout the Eagles tried a pass to the right flat and Ethan Sturm picked off Judd Roberts pass at the goaline and brought it out to the 19 yard line with :13 seconds left in the first quarter. The Trojans were able to work all the way to the Eagles 8 yard line but settled for a 25 yard field goal from Lane Nelson to make it 10-0. Both teams traded empty possessions following the field goal. Atlantic went to punt it away and the ball sailed over Gannon O’Hara’s head. He was able to pick it up and run away from defenders and came up just a few yards short of getting a first down. The Eagles took over at the Trojan 49 but a holding penalty on 2nd down moved them back to their own 40. Then Colton Becker picked off another Roberts pass and returned it all the way to the 1. Caden Andersen punched it in on a quarterback sneak, putting Atlantic up 17-0. Lane Nelson would tack on a 33 yard field goal as time expired to end the half with a 20-0 lead for Atlantic.

The Trojans added a Caden Andersen to Jayden Proehl 18 yard touchdown hookup to start the second half. Dante Hedrington and Isaac Hansen would add touchdown runs for Atlantic later on. Saydel got their first score on a 90-yard kickoff return TD for Austin Chally. Judd Roberts hit Austin Maeder for a 22 yard touchdown pass early in the 4th for their other score.

The game was marred by a slew of penalties. 6 unsportsmanlike conduct calls were joined by a handful of personal fouls and three pass interference whistles. Frustration boiled over at the end of the game for the Eagles with three players being ejected with under a minute left due to comments made toward officials. It was an unfortunate end to the game and will affect Saydel’s roster for the final week of the season.

Atlantic improved to 3-5 on the season and moved to 2-2 in the district. The Trojans finish the season at home against Creston next Friday. Saydel fell to 0-8 on the year and 0-4 in district play. The Eagles are set to finish the year with a road trip to ADM.

The final district standings and point differential numbers were posted on Friday night for 2A through 8-Player football giving confirmation on what teams will make the playoff field next week. In Class 2A, 1A, and A the top four teams in each district make the playoff field with the +/- 17 differential used as a tiebreaker. In 8-Player the top three teams in each district are in with two wild card teams determined by the +/- 17 differential. The pairings and brackets are set to be released at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday by the IHSAA.

CLASS 2A

CLASS 1A

CLASS A

EIGHT-PLAYER

In 8-Player Audubon, CAM, and Exira-EHK are all in the field with their top 3 finishes in District 10. In District 9 Lenox, Fremont-Mills, and Stanton-Essex are in. East Mills also gets in as a wild card. In District 8 Martensdale-St. Marys, Southeast Warren, and Lamoni are in. In District 1 Remsen-St. Mary’s, Newell-Fonda, and Kingsley-Pierson are in.

In Class A District 8 qualifiers are Woodbury Central, Logan-Magnolia, IKM-Manning, and Tri-Center. District 7 qualifiers are Mount Ayr, Southwest Valley, Earlham, and AHSTW.

In Class 1A District 8 will send Underwood, Treynor, Kuemper Catholic, and West Monona. In District 7 Van Meter, ACGC, I-35, and Nodaway Valley/OM are in.

In Class 2A District 8 qualifiers are Greene County, Clarinda, Red Oak, and Clarke.

8-PLAYER

District 10
CAM 74, Boyer Valley 6- ON BVTV
Exira-EHK 52, Coon Rapids-Bayard 15
West Harrison 78, Griswold 24
Audubon 49, Woodbine 24- ON WOODBINE TIGER VISION

District 9
Bedford 60, East Union 31
Stanton 44, East Mills 18
Lenox 52, Fremont-Mills 46 OT
West Harrison 78, Griswold 24

District 8
Southeast Warren 38, Lamoni 22
Martensdale-St. Marys 1, Seymour 0 (Forfeit by Seymour)
Mormon Trail 59, Grand View Christian 10
Moravia 35, Murray 34

District 1
Kingsley-Pierson 62, Siouxland Christian 8
Newell-Fonda 48, Ar-We-Va 6 – ON ROCKET MEDIA
Remsen St. Mary’s 53, Glidden-Ralston 0
West Bend-Mallard 63, River Valley 8

CLASS A

District 8
Logan-Magnolia 41, Lawton-Bronson 0
Woodbury Central 60, Missouri Valley 8
IKM-Manning 35, Ogden 21
Tri-Center 51, Westwood 14

District 7
AHSTW 20, St. Albert 17
Earlham 49, Riverside 21
MMCRU 27, Sidney 14
Mount Ayr 41, Southwest Valley 33

CLASS 1A

District 8
Treynor 42, MVAOCOU 0
Underwood 42, Kuemper Catholic 7
West Monona 50, East Sac County 13- ON ESCN

District 7
Nodaway Valley 36, Panorama 14
Van Meter 41, ACGC 7
I-35 28, West Central Valley 7

CLASS 2A

District 8
Clarinda 44, Red Oak 0
Greene County 49, Clarke 3
Shenandoah 19, Des Moines Christian 14

CLASS 3A

District 6
Atlantic 40, Saydel 12- ON KJAN and KJANTV
ADM 52, Knoxville 0
Harlan 42, Creston 0

CLASS 4A

District 6
Glenwood 55, CB Thomas Jefferson 21
Lewis Central 42, Dallas Center-Grimes 10
Winterset 53, Des Moines Hoover 0

District 1
Fort Dodge 43, Denison-Schleswig 8- ON KDSN-TV
Spencer 42, LeMars 27
Webster City 41, Storm Lake 6

CLASS 5A

District 2
Des Moines Lincoln 38, Ames 36
CB Abraham Lincoln 37, Des Moines East 7
Sioux City North 27, Sioux City West 6 (@ Morningside)
Urbandale 35, Waukee 0
Dowling 31, Valley 27
Cedar Rapids Kennedy 24, Johnston 10