Football districts, group released for 2021-22 season

The Iowa High School Athletic Union released the district pairings for the fall 2021-22 football season for the state of Iowa Friday, March 12.

The 2021 football season will be the first with a new seventh classification (Class 5A), approved in January by the Board of Control to reduce the disparity in enrollment in the IHSAA’s largest class of football, and to increase the number of participating teams and student-athletes in the postseason across all classes. Following the one-year assignments in 2020, districts and Class 5A groups are effective for a two-year cycle.

Classifications for area teams are as follows.

Class 5A, 4A, 3A, A

No area teams are featured in Class 5A, 4A, 3A or A.

Class 2A

Clarke (1-7) will stay in Class 2A for this upcoming season, playing in District 8.

Clarinda (4-5), Des Moines Christian (4-3), Greene County (7-3), Red Oak (0-8) and Shenandoah (3-5) will be District opponents for the Indians, who will be seeking a new head coach for the second straight offseason.

Clarke has not had a season of more than three wins in the Quickstats era, finishing its season either one or three wins every year but 2014-15 since the inception of the stats database in 2007-08.

Class 1A

Central Decatur’s (2-6) season will be played in District 6 against Cardinal (5-4), Pella Christian (6-4), Pleasantville (5-3), Sigourney-Keota (10-1) and Van Buren County (1-6).

Sigourney-Keota was bounced out of the Class 1A state playoffs against eventual champion OABCIG, and is headed by former Creston native Jared Jensen. The two-win season for the Cardinals is the lowest its had in the Quickstats era, the previous low being three wins in 2015-16.

Eight-man

Returning to 8-man next season is Murray (4-4).

District 8 is the home for Murray as the Mustangs will face Lamoni (7-3), Martensdale-St Marys (8-1), Moravia (1-7), Mormon Trail (3-5), Seymour (0-8), Southeast Warren (7-2).