Cody Goodwin

cgoodwin2@dmreg.com

The final week of the Iowa high school football season has arrived, which means the playoffs are around the corner. Plenty of area teams have already punched their postseason tickets, while others have work do to.

In Class 4A, 10 playoff spots are filled. The other six will sort themselves out Friday night. A number of different scenarios remain for how certain teams can qualify — some are easy; others, a tad more complicated.

We’ve sifted through the current district standings and drawn out scenarios on how each team still in contention can qualify in Iowa’s biggest class.

District 1

Teams already in: Waukee (6-2 overall, 4-0 in district play)

Teams still in contention: Johnston (4-4, 3-1), Roosevelt (3-5, 2-2), Sioux City East (3-4, 2-2)

Scenarios

This district could fall a couple of different ways. If Johnston beats Sioux City East at home on Friday, the Dragons are in as the runner-up, and that’s that.

But if Johnston loses, it would fall to 3-2 alongside Sioux City East, which would own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Furthermore, If Johnston loses and Roosevelt beats Des Moines East, that'll create a three-way tie between Johnston, Sioux City East and Roosevelt. From there, the team with the highest point differential from the 17-point tiebreaker rule would advance.

District 2

Teams already in: Dowling Catholic (7-1, 4-0)

Teams still in contention: Ankeny Centennial (7-1, 3-1), Ames (5-3, 3-1)

Scenarios

This district looks complicated, but it’s really quite simple. If Dowling wins at Ames on Friday, the Maroons and Ankeny Centennial are both in.

But if Ames defeats Dowling, things get interesting. Both the Little Cyclones and Maroons would be tied at 3-1 in district play. If that occurs and Centennial loses, Ames and Dowling are playoff-bound.

If Ames and Centennial both win, it creates a three-way tie atop the district. The point differential is as such that Dowling is in, even under a worst-case scenario. For the Little Cyclones to advance, they’d need to beat Dowling by at least 17 and hope Centennial only beats 0-8 Sioux City West by one point.

Dowling-Centennial game gives Maroons a rankings bounce

District 3

Teams already in: Ankeny (5-3, 4-0)

Teams still in contention: Urbandale (5-3, 3-1), Council Bluffs Lewis Central (5-2, 2-2), Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson (4-4, 2-2)

Scenarios

This district could get all sorts of weird on Friday. The simplest scenario is if Urbandale beats Ankeny, which would put both teams into the postseason.

But if Ankeny wins, Urbandale drops to 3-2 in district play. Lewis Central and Jefferson could match the J-Hawks’ district record with victories over North and Hoover, respectively.

If Ankeny and Lewis Central win, but Jefferson loses, Lewis Central is in by virtue of its win over Urbandale earlier this season.

If Ankeny wins and Lewis Central loses, Urbandale is in regardless of the Jefferson result.

If there’s a three-way tie between Urbandale, Lewis Central and CB Thomas Jefferson, the team with the highest point differential would advance. Urbandale holds the upper hand on that count for now.

Super 10: Valley looks fine in Week No. 9

District 4

Teams already in: Valley (8-0, 4-0), Southeast Polk (4-4, 3-1)

That was easy.

District 5

Teams already in: Waterloo West (8-0, 4-0)

Teams still in contention: Cedar Rapids Washington (7-1, 3-1), Cedar Falls (5-3, 3-1)

Scenarios

Waterloo West is in the playoffs, even under Friday's worst-case scenario. The only question is who will join the WaHawks out of District 5.

If Waterloo West beats C.R. Washington, Waterloo West is in as the district champ and Cedar Falls is in as the runner-up. If Washington wins, the Warriors and WaHawks will both advance to the postseason.

District 6

Teams already in: North Scott (4-4, 3-1)

Teams still in contention: Western Dubuque (Epworth) (6-2, 3-1), Pleasant Valley (3-5, 2-2), Dubuque Senior (3-5, 2-2), Dubuque Hempstead (4-4, 2-2)

Scenarios

This is potentially the most confusing district in the class, if only because of the numerous possible outcomes. Whether we find order or chaos depends on the two teams at the top.

We know this much: North Scott is in, no matter what happens on Thursday against Davenport West (0-8). The Falcons have lost each of their district games by at least three touchdowns. Thus, a North Scott victory is likely, though not a guarantee. Win, and the Lancers are district champs. Period.

The other spot can be filled cleanly: Epworth, if it wins at Hempstead on Friday, secures the second spot, presuming the North Scott victory. (North Scott wins the head-to-head tiebreaker for the top seed.)

A loss by either team creates a domino effect of possibilities.

If only Epworth loses, it drops into a three-way share of second with Hempstead and the Pleasant Valley-Dubuque Senior winner. That deadlock will be decided by the 17-point tiebreaker rule.

If only North Scott loses, Epworth is the district champ. The Pleasant Valley-Dubuque Senior winner would leap into a two-way share of second with North Scott. However, the Lancers own the head-to-head tiebreakers over both teams and would advance.

If Epworth and North Scott both lose, a four-way tie for first emerges between Epworth, North Scott, Hempstead and the Pleasant Valley-Dubuque Senior winner. The first tiebreaker is the cumulative head-to-head record between the schools. No matter the four-team setup, North Scott and Hempstead both advance with 2-1 marks against the other squads. Furthermore, Hempstead would be the top seed by virtue of its head-to-head win over North Scott.

District 7

Teams already in: Bettendorf (6-2, 4-0), Iowa City High (6-2, 3-1)

After District 6, we needed that to be easy.

District 8

Teams already in: Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-1, 4-0)

Teams still in contention: Cedar Rapids Kennedy (5-3, 3-1), Iowa City West (6-2, 3-1)

Scenarios

Prairie is in, even under a worst-case scenario. Friday will simply help determine who will join the Hawks. If Prairie beats Kennedy on Friday, the Hawks are in as the district champ and Iowa City West is in as the runner-up.

If Kennedy beats Prairie and West loses, Kennedy and Prairie are in. If Kennedy and West both win, it creates a three-way tie at the top, and the 17-point tiebreaker would come into play. In that case, Kennedy would need to beat Prairie by at least 12 points in order to advance.

Cody Goodwin covers high school sports and college basketball recruiting for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at (515) 783-4458, email him at cgoodwin2@dmreg.com, or send him a tweet@codygoodwin.