Iowa high school football 2022: Picking the area 8-Player districts

This is the first in a series diving into the area Iowa high school football districts for the 2022 season. Today, we examine 8-Player.

Seventy-two teams are in the 8-Player class, with 32 advancing to the playoffs. That will consist of the top three teams in each of 10 districts, plus two at-large squads.

The 8-Player regular season will be eight games, with five rounds of playoffs. Teams not making the playoffs will be permitted to play a ninth regular-season contest if they so wish.

A closer look at area districts:

District 5

OVERVIEW

Despite the graduation of Conor Gruver, Easton Valley (12-1, 7-0) will be prolific again. The River Hawks averaged 60 points per game on their way to the 8-Player final; they fell to Anita CAM, 42-40, in the championship game. Carson Fuegen and Hayden Felkey both accumulated more than 1,000 receiving yards and combined for 35 touchdowns, and Charlie Simpson ran for 1,310 yards and 29 TDs. The call here is for Central City (3-6, 2-5), Edgewood-Colesburg (5-4, 5-2) and Midland (3-6, 3-4) in a virtual dead heat for the second and third automatic bids. Central City and Ed-Co both return their quarterbacks, and the Wildcats’ Aiden Klostermann rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last year.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Easton Valley

2. *Central City

3. *Edgewood-Colesburg

4. Midland

5. Lansing Kee

6. Elkader Central

7. Springville

District 6

OVERVIEW

WACO (10-1, 6-0) missed a trip to the UNI-Dome by only four points last year, dropping a tight quarterfinal game to Audubon. The Warriors have many of their leaders back for another potential deep run this fall, including RB Simeon Reichenbach, who rushed for 1,413 yards and 23 touchdowns last year. Drew Diers (52.5 tackles) returns to spearhead a defense that allowed only 16 points per game. New London (4-4, 3-3) has compiled a brilliant calendar year in 2022, winning state championships in track and baseball. Three of the four Tigers’ losses last season were determined by seven points or less, and a return to the postseason is likely if they can stave off challenges from Winfield-Mount Union (4-3, 3-3), Iowa Valley (3-5, 2-4) and English Valleys (7-2, 5-1).

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *WACO

2. *New London

3. *Winfield-Mount Union

4. Iowa Valley

5. English Valleys

6. Lone Tree

7. HLV

8. Tri-County

Other area districts

DISTRICT 3

1. *Turkey Valley

2. *Tripoli

3. *Clarksville

4. Janesville

5. West Central

6. Riceville

DISTRICT 7

1. *Baxter

2. *Montezuma

3. *BGM

4. Grand View Christian

5. Melcher-Dallas

6. Twin Cedars

7. Woodward Academy

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com