4 Downs: Gazette staff answers questions about Iowa high school football playoffs

The Gazette’s Iowa high school football staff breaks down the postseason. Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford share their thoughts in 4 Downs:

1st & 10: 1)What pod(s) hold the distinction as this year’s “Pod of Death?”

Linder: I will pick the two pods that house four ranked teams in The Gazette’s final poll – the 2A pod that includes No. 1 Central Lyon-GLR (along with Carroll Kuemper, Roland-Story and Clarinda), and the balanced 1A pod with MFL MarMac, Iowa City Regina, West Branch and Wilton.

Johnson: After much consideration of each pod in each class, I’m going with Class A, Pod A. Saint Ansgar and Lisbon both are 9-0 and East Buchanan (7-2) also could make it out of this group, in my opinion.

Pilcher: The “Pod of Death” has been our dark sense of humor about an extremely tough four-team bracket. Class A Pod A could be won by any of the four teams, which are a combined 32-4. No. 1 Saint Ansgar and No. 5 Lisbon are both 9-0, while Lake Mills and East Buchanan are 7-2. Lisbon is third at 43.9 points per game, Saint Ansgar is fifth (40.4) and East Buchanan is sixth (38.2). They all rank among the Class A leaders in fewest points allowed. Saint Ansgar handled Lake Mills in their first meeting, but a second win won’t be easy. The Buccaneers and Lions are capable of playing in the UNI-Dome. 1A Pod D with No. 4 MFL MarMac, No. 5 Iowa City Regina, No. 8 Wilton and No. 9 West Branch is probably THE Pod of Death others will mention.

Ford: I have all four teams in Class 4A Pod D ranked, so that’s my answer. Will any end up winning the state title? Not sure, but Ballard, North Polk, Indianola and Cedar Rapids Xavier all are capable of advancing.

2nd & long: Is this a year where Eastern Iowa will be able to cut in Central Iowa’s dominance in Class 5A?

Linder: Probably not. I do think that Cedar Rapids Prairie got a good draw, though, and that a first-round win at Waukee isn’t out of the question.

Johnson: In a word ... no.

Pilcher: On paper, Central Iowa teams are favored in all four pods. I just don’t think that will play out. Prairie (5-4) has winnable games. Don’t overlook Cedar Rapids Kennedy (6-3). The Cougars proved they can play with the Dowlings. Keep an eye on Iowa City High (6-3). The Little Hawks are playing as well as any team in the last few weeks. They plastered Bettendorf (7-2) last week and head back for the round of 16. A victory this week and I like City High’s chances against Waukee Northwest (7-2) or Ankeny Centennial (5-4). Does that mean anything more than a semifinal berth? Anything cane happen.

Ford: Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Dowling are in a clear Tier 1 in Class 5A, but I don’t think they are unbeatable. The Rams in particular have had a few close calls. But will any of the Eastern Iowa teams be able to put together a four-game run against tough competition? I think some have the talent to pull it off, but they haven’t shown the same type of consistency yet this season.

3rd & short: Which individual and/or team performances stood out to you from the first round of playoffs last week?

Linder: Since I think we all got the same email, I’m sure we’ll all be in agreement on sophomore quarterback Beau Burns of BGM. Passed for 444 yards, ran for 265 for a total of 709 offensive yards and 10 touchdowns in a 78-77 8-Player loss to Iowa Valley.

Johnson: Union Community’s 21-7 Class 2A first-round win over Waukon. That’s a 4 seed over a 1. A 4 seed that began the season 2-6.

Pilcher: Real easy. Monticello’s Preston Ries was phenomenal. According to Bound, he rushed for 204 yards and four touchdowns. He passed for 208 yards and two more scores. He also had nine tackles, six solo and 2.5 for loss. He even caught a 2-point conversion pass. Union Community’s win over Waukon was the biggest upset. Honorable mention was the 8-Player scoring outburst between Iowa Valley and BGM. The Tigers knocked off the district champion Bears, 78-77.

Ford: Union Community had the win of the week, in my opinion, going to district champion Waukon and pulling off a 21-7 upset. That’s the type of win Waukon has been known for in recent postseasons.

4th & goal: If you had one tweak to the postseason, what change would you make and why?

Linder: It’s not a postseason tweak as much as a classification tweak. Seven classes are one (and maybe two) too many.

Johnson: Perhaps add another two classes? Naw, I’m kidding. I think things are pretty solid the way they are.

Pilcher: Total cop out here but I like this format. I’m sure the RPI formula and the application of it can be cleaned up or tweaked, but I like the small classes starting in Week 9 with 32-team fields and the three big-school classes with 16-team fields. I know this seems really dumb and schools don’t want to lose out on the gate, but I’d love to see more doubleheaders and games at neutral sites. Can you imagine seeing a doubleheader between West Delaware and Davenport Assumption and Solon against Fort Madison at Kingston Stadium? Or, Newton vs. Western Dubuque and Decorah vs. North Scott at Wartburg’s Walston-Hoover Stadium or Loras’ Rock Bowl?

Ford: I think the IHSAA has done a good job with the postseason structure, so my tweak would be a major one. I’d put everyone in the playoffs, like every other sport. We’ll get rid of a regular-season game or two for the extra round(s). That will be easy since we don’t need districts (which keep getting smaller anyway). No more complaints about RPI. Everyone gets a shot. Yes, there would be more playoff blowouts in this scenario but I think they would just replace a lot of the regular-season blowouts that happen in district/group games. My only concern is devaluing the regular season. There probably wouldn’t be enough time for full-on conference schedules, but hopefully teams would use the freedom to get creative in scheduling and we see the type of parity that has started to define Class 4A’s best teams especially.