Cedar Rapids Washington back in the largest class for football

Warriors are 36th and final school in Class 5A, according to preliminary classifications announced Monday by IHSAA

Mar. 13, 2023 5:10 pm, Updated: Mar. 14, 2023 10:14 am

Cedar Rapids Washington wide receiver Brock Davis catches a pass during a high school football game between Cedar Rapids Washington and Clear Creek Amana at Clipper Stadium in Tiffin, Iowa, on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Grace Smith/The Daily Iowan)

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced preliminary classifications for prep football this fall.

This is the first year the IHSAA is classifying schools by a combination of enrollment and free and reduced lunch rates. The classifications are expected to be officially OK’d later this week.

Cedar Rapids Washington is the 36th and the final team in Class 5A, which will be a class up from the previous two years when the Warriors were playoff qualifiers in 4A. Des Moines North has a higher enrollment than Washington, but has the highest percentage of free and reduced lunch students.

Iowa City Liberty has a smaller enrollment than North, Washington, Sioux City West and Council Bluffs Jefferson but also has been moved from 4A to 5A because of its lower FDL number.

Williamsburg, which lost to Central Lyon in this past season’s Class 2A championship game, 10-6, has been bumped up to 3A for this two-year cycle.

Siouxland Christian, Western Christian, Des Moines Christian, Davenport Assumption, Waterloo Christian and Grand View Christian all are listed with a FRL percentage of 0.00.

The three smallest public-school FRL percentages were listed as Gilbert, Van Meter and Solon, in that order.

The IHSAA also announced Monday that the Class 3A and 4A portions of this year’s state baseball tournament will remain at Banks Field in Iowa City. The University of Iowa will do an overhaul of the stadium, but that overhaul will begin to take place in 2024 instead of 2023, the IHSAA said.

The Class 1A and 2A portion of the tournament will remain in Carroll.