Projecting the prep football playoff fields, Week 7 edition

The high-school football season has reached its two-thirds mark, which makes this as good a time as any to begin playing with playoff projections.

As you know, the postseason field has been carved in half this season, from 32 teams in each class to 16, in an effort to spread out the rounds of playoffs to seven days. It is becoming abundantly clear that this will cause some very good teams to be sitting out when the first round is played Oct. 28.

I am projecting the playoff field, with all future results (Weeks 7, 8, 9) determined by the BC Moore computer.

After determining the 16 teams, I tried to place the teams in bracket order based on seeding and geography, with every effort made to separate district opponents so they would not play until the semifinals.

CLASS 4A

West Bracket

Fort Dodge (7-2, D-4 runner-up) at Lewis Central (8-0, D-3 champion)

Johnston (5-4, D-1 runner-up) at West Des Moines Dowling (8-1, D-2 champion)

Ankeny Centennial (8-1, D-2 runner-up) at Waukee (7-2, D-1 champion)

Ankeny (5-4, D-3 runner-up) at West Des Moines Valley (9-0, D-4 champion)

East Bracket

Pleasant Valley (5-4, D-6 runner-up) at Cedar Falls (7-2, D-5 champion)

Iowa City West (7-2, D-8 runner-up) at Bettendorf (7-2, D-7 champion)

Cedar Rapids Washington (8-1, D-5 runner-up) at Western Dubuque (7-2, D-6 champion)

Iowa City High (7-2, D-7 runner-up) at Cedar Rapids Prairie (8-1, D-8 champion)

CLASS 3A

West Bracket

Boone (6-3, wild card) at Storm Lake (9-0, D-1 champion)

Norwalk (8-1, D-6 runner-up) at Creston/Orient-Macksburg (9-0, D-7 champion)

Sergeant Bluff-Luton (7-2, D-1 runner-up) at Webster City (8-1, D-2 champion)

Carroll (8-1, D-7 runner-up) at Pella (9-0, D-6 champion)

East Bracket

Benton Community (7-2, D-3 runner-up) at Clear Creek Amana (8-1, D-4 champion)

Ballard (7-2, D-2 runner-up) at Solon (8-1, D-5 champion)

Oskaloosa (7-2, D-5 runner-up) at West Delaware (8-1, D-4 runner-up)

Davenport Assumption (7-2, wild card) at Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-0, D-3 champion)

CLASS 2A

West Bracket

Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (7-2, D-1 runner-up) at Roland-Story (8-1, D-3 champion)

Centerville (5-4, wild card) at Carroll Kuemper (8-1, D-7 champion)

Southeast Valley (6-3, wild card) at Monroe PCM (8-1, D-6 champion)

South Central Calhoun (7-2, D-7 runner-up) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (8-1, D-1 champion)

East Bracket

New Hampton (8-1, D-2 runner-up) at North Fayette Valley (8-1, D-3 runner-up)

Central Lee (7-2, D-6 runner-up) at Williamsburg (8-1, D-5 champion)

Mount Vernon (6-3, D-5 runner-up) at Crestwood (7-2, D-2 champion)

Dike-New Hartford (6-3, D-3 runner-up) at Union (9-0, D-4 champion)

CLASS 1A

West Bracket

Pleasantville (8-1, D-5 runner-up) at Logan-Magnolia (8-1, D-7 champion)

Van Meter (8-1, D-6 runner-up) at Western Christian (7-2, D-1 champion)

Avoca AHSTW (8-1, D-7 runner-up) at Hinton (8-1, D-1 runner-up)

West Lyon (8-1, wild card) at Madrid (9-0, D-6 champion)

East Bracket

Wilton (7-2, wild card) at Pella Christian (9-0, D-5 champion)

Sigourney-Keota (8-1, D-4 runner-up) at Denver (9-0, D-2 champion)

South Winneshiek (7-2, D-2 runner-up) at Bellevue (9-0, D-3 champion)

Clayton Ridge (8-1, D-3 runner-up) at Iowa City Regina (8-1, D-4 champion)

CLASS A

West Bracket

Earlham (6-3 D-7 runner-up) at Lynnville-Sully (9-0, D-6 champion)

Westwood (7-2, D-1 runner-up) at Algona Garrigan (9-0, D-2 champion)

South O'Brien (5-4, D-2 runner-up) at West Sioux (9-0, D-1 champion)

Akron-Westfield (5-4, wild card) at Council Bluffs St. Albert (9-0, D-7 champion)

East Bracket

Hudson (8-1, D-5 runner-up) at East Buchanan (7-2, D-4 champion)

West Hancock (7-2, D-3 runner-up) at Saint Ansgar (9-0, D-3 champion)

New London (7-2, D-6 runner-up) at Wapsie Valley (6-3, D-4 runner-up)

Lisbon (8-1, wild card) at Gladbrook-Reinbeck (9-0, D-5 champion)

8-PLAYER

West Bracket

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton (6-3, D-7 runner-up) at Bedford (9-0, D-6 champion)

Coon Rapids-Bayard (8-1, D-8 runner-up) at Harris-Lake Park (9-0, D-1 champion)

Newell-Fonda (7-2, D-1 runner-up) at Audubon (9-0, D-8 champion)

Stanton (7-2, D-6 runner-up) at Fremont-Mills (9-0, D-7 champion)

East Bracket

Ackley AGWSR (7-2, D-2 runner-up) at Elkader Central (7-2, D-3 champion)

HLV (7-3, D-5 runner-up) at Midland (8-1, D-4 champion)

Don Bosco (8-1, D-3 runner-up) at Twin Cedars (9-0, D-5 champion)

Lone Tree (8-1, D-4 runner-up) at Turkey Valley (9-0, D-2 champion)

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com