IHSAA reveals playoff brackets

The playoffs show came and went, without even a minor surprise to Paul James.

"The matchups are exactly what I thought they would be," said James, the football coach at Cedar Rapids Washington. "We're just excited to be part of it, and to be in the position we're in."

The Iowa High School Athletic Association unveiled the playoff brackets Saturday morning. First-round games are 7 p.m. Friday.

Twenty-seven Gazette-area teams are among the 96 teams that qualified. That includes Iowa City Regina, which has captured six consecutive state championships. Regina and Lisbon are making their 13th straight postseason appearance; Solon has qualified for the 12th consecutive year.

Regina (8-1), the top-ranked team in Class 1A, opens at home against archrival West Branch (6-3). Regina Coach Marv Cook graduated from West Branch in 1984. Should Regina win, it would likely face Pella Christian (9-0) in a 1-vs.-2 matchup in the second round.

James' Washington squad is one of three from the Metro to qualify. The Warriors (8-1), who won a district title Friday with a 35-21 win over Waterloo West, host Western Dubuque (7-2) in a 4A contest at Kingston Stadium.

Cedar Rapids Prairie (8-1) hosts Waterloo West (8-1) in another 4A game, and Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-0) entertains Davenport Assumption (7-2) in 3A.

Mark Bliss is in his second year at Prairie. The Hawks have made giant strides since a 4-6 campaign in his maiden season, taking an eight-game winning streak to the postseason.

'We've got great kids and we're getting great coaching from our assistants,' he said. 'We're at the time of the season that anybody can beat anybody. We just need to continue to heal.'

Fifteen minutes after the playoff field was announced, Bliss was viewing tape of the Wahawks.

'On film, it looks like they've got some big-sized cats,' Bliss said.

In other first-round 4A games on the east side, Iowa City High (7-2) is at North Scott (5-4), and Iowa City West (7-2) travels to Bettendorf (7-2).

Xavier is one of three area unbeatens, joining North Fayette Valley (2A) and Turkey Valley (8-Player).

'It's hard to win on any Friday night,' Saints Coach Duane Schulte said. 'To go through undefeated, that says a lot about our kids.'

Lisbon extended its playoff streak by earning one of the two Class A wild cards. The Lions (8-1) travel to East Buchanan (7-2) for a rematch from their district game, won by the Buccaneers, 44-20, on Sept. 23.

The 8-Player tournament features a first-round dandy — Don Bosco (8-1) at Turkey Valley (9-0). The Dons eliminated the Trojans in the second round each of the last two seasons.

'(The IHSAA) talked about how they wanted to break up the good teams, seed them 1-through-4 on both sides, then you look and they just pair up the districts again,' Turkey Valley Coach Mark Scott said.

Lone Tree was a district co-champion, but missed the 8-Player dance despite an 8-1 overall record. So did Coon Rapids-Bayard.

Five 7-2 teams — Clear Creek Amana (3A), Wilton (1A), Panorama (1A), Graettinger GTRA (8-Player) and East Union (8-Player) didn't make it.

FIRST-ROUND FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

All games Friday, 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A

West Bracket

Lewis Central (6-2) at West Des Moines Valley (9-0)

Ankeny Centennial (8-1) at Ankeny (6-3)

Johnston (5-4) at West Des Moines Dowling (8-1)

Southeast Polk (5-4) at Waukee (7-2)

East Bracket

Western Dubuque (7-2) at Cedar Rapids Washington (8-1)

Iowa City High (7-2) at North Scott (5-4)

Iowa City West (7-2) at Bettendorf (7-2)

Waterloo West (8-1) at Cedar Rapids Prairie (8-1)

CLASS 3A

West Bracket

Glenwood (7-2) at Storm Lake (9-0)

Sergeant Bluff-Luton (7-2) at Carroll (9-0)

Norwalk (8-1) at Webster City (8-1)

Boone (7-2) at Creston/Orient-Macksburg (8-1)

East Bracket

Waverly-Shell Rock (6-3) at West Delaware (8-1)

Davenport Assumption (7-2) at Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-0)

Benton Community (7-2) at Solon (8-1)

Oskaloosa (7-2) at Pella (9-0)

CLASS 2A

West Bracket

South Central Calhoun at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (8-1)

Central Lyon-GLR (7-2) vs. Carroll Kuemper (8-1), at Denison

Southeast Valley (6-3) at Dike-New Hartford (7-2)

Roland-Story (7-2) at Monroe PCM (8-1)

East Bracket

Union (8-1) at Crestwood (7-2)

New Hampton (8-1) at North Fayette Valley (9-0)

Centerville (5-4) at Mount Vernon (7-2)

Central Lee (7-2) at Williamsburg (7-2)

CLASS 1A

West Bracket

West Lyon (7-2) at Western Christian (8-1)

Hinton (8-1) at Logan-Magnolia (8-1)

Avoca AHSTW (8-1) at Van Meter (9-0)

Madrid (8-1) at Pleasantville (8-1)

East Bracket

Clayton Ridge (7-2) at Denver (9-0)

South Winneshiek (7-2) at Bellevue (9-0)

West Branch (6-3) at Iowa City Regina (8-1)

Sigourney-Keota (8-1) at Pella Christian (9-0)

CLASS A

West Bracket

South O'Brien (6-3) at West Sioux (8-1)

Akron-Westfield (5-4) at Council Bluffs St. Albert (9-0)

Earlham (6-3) at Algona Garrigan (9-0)

Hudson (8-1) at West Hancock (7-2)

East Bracket

Wapsie Valley (6-3) at Saint Ansgar (9-0)

Lisbon (8-1) at East Buchanan (7-2)

Lynnville-Sully (8-1) at Gladbrook-Reinbeck (9-0)

BGM (5-4) at Montezuma (7-2)

8-PLAYER

West Bracket

Audubon (8-1) at Harris-Lake Park (9-0)

Newell-Fonda (7-2) at Ar-We-Va (7-2)

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton (6-3) at Bedford (8-1)

Lenox (6-3) at Fremont-Mills (9-0)

East Bracket

Don Bosco (8-1) at Turkey Valley (9-0)

Ackley AGWSR (7-2) at Elkader Central (7-2)

HLV (7-3) at Midland (7-2)

Iowa Valley (7-2) at Twin Cedars (9-0)

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