Iowa high school football 2021: Picking the area Class 3A districts

Fifth in a series diving into the area high school football districts for the 2021 season. Today, we examine Class 3A.

» More district picks: 8-Player | Class A | Class 1A | Class 2A

Thirty-six teams are assigned to 3A, with 16 advancing to the playoffs. The top two teams in each of six districts advance, plus four at-large qualifiers.

The 3A regular season will consist of nine games, with four rounds of playoffs.

A closer look at area districts:

District 3

OVERVIEW

Week 8, Oct. 15, at Independence. Definitely the game of the year in District 3. Maybe the game of the year in the area. West Delaware (10-2) was a 3A quarterfinalist last year; Independence (6-2) got to the round of 16 in 2A. Both are spearheaded by prolific running backs — the Hawks’ Wyatt Voelker accumulated 1,294 yards and 18 touchdowns (and was a monster defensively with 91 tackles) while the Mustangs’ Marcus Beatty netted 1,515 yards (in just eight games, remember) with 15 TDs. Indee also brings back its quarterback (Mitchell Johnson) and 10 of its top 12 tacklers. Everybody else is battling for third place and a possible at-large playoff berth.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *West Delaware

2. *Independence

3. Charles City

4. Center Point-Urbana

5. Hampton-Dumont/CAL

6. South Tama

District 4

OVERVIEW

Davenport Assumption (8-1) had the geographical misfortune of running into North Scott in the round of 16 last year, dropping a 13-10 heartbreaker to the eventual 3A state champions. The Knights allowed just 5.1 points per game. John Argo (36 tackles) is the top returner from that unit. QB Ayden Weiman also is back. Mount Vernon (7-2) appears to have a slight edge on Benton Community (3-5) for the other automatic playoff spot. Trenton Pitlik is a two-way star for the Mustangs, rushing for 1,193 yards and accumulating a team-high 60 tackles in 2020. Benton returns much of an attack that figures to be much more prolific than its 14.2-point-per-game production from last year.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Davenport Assumption

2. *Mount Vernon

3. *Benton Community

4. DeWitt Central

5. Maquoketa

6. Vinton-Shellsburg

District 5

OVERVIEW

Co-favorites Solon and Washington (Iowa) met as non-district foes last year, with the Demons picking up a 33-18 victory that helped propel them to an 8-1 record. Solon (7-3) rebounded from an 0-2 start and reached the 2A quarterfinals. Quarterback Blake Timmons spearheads the Spartans; he accounted for 1,717 total yards and 22 touchdowns. Washington has some substantial holes to fill, but does return top tackler Lucas Kroll. Grinnell (8-3) was a 3A quarterfinalist and could push the co-favorites. West Burlington-Notre Dame (4-5) might be a darkhorse possibility.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Solon

2. *Washington

3. *Grinnell

4. West Burlington-Notre Dame

5. Keokuk

6. Fairfield

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com