Iowa high school football 2022: Picking the area Class 4A districts

Sixth in a series diving into the area Iowa high school football districts for the 2022 season. Today, we examine Class 4A.

Thirty-six teams are assigned to 4A, with 16 advancing to the playoffs. The top two teams in each of six districts advance, plus four at-large qualifiers.

The 4A regular season will consist of nine games, with four rounds of playoffs.

A closer look at area districts:

District 2

OVERVIEW

Waverly-Shell Rock (10-2, 5-0) breezed through this district last year, winning all five games by 16 points or more, then reached the UNI-Dome before bowing to eventual champion Lewis Central in the semifinals. The Go-Hawks return three first-team all-state selections from a year ago in Jake Walker, Asa Newsom and McCrae Hagerty, the last of whom ran for 1,289 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. The order of the other five teams isn’t as clear. Last year’s runner-up, Decorah (7-4, 4-1) suffered massive graduation losses. Western Dubuque (4-5, 2-3) might be ready to bounce back after a rare sub-.500 season.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Waverly-Shell Rock

2. *Western Dubuque

3. Mason City

4. Marion

5. Decorah

6. Waterloo East

District 3

OVERVIEW

North Scott (9-1, 5-0) lost a good chunk of its depth to graduation, but the Lancers do return a few of their top defensive players (A.J. Petersen, Seth Madden and Cole Jennings) from a unit that surrendered just 6.3 points per game last season. That should enable them to stay atop a district that, quite frankly, wasn’t very strong last year. Iowa City Liberty (3-6, 3-2) is our pick to earn the second automatic bid.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *North Scott

2. *Iowa City Liberty

3. Burlington

4. Fort Madison

5. Clinton

6. Mount Pleasant

District 4

OVERVIEW

Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-2, 5-0) entered 2021 with a lot of question marks, but the Saints’ varsity newcomers stepped forward in a big way, and the reward was a trip to the 4A championship game. Thomas Sundell and Aidan McDermott earned first-team all-state status, and return for their senior campaign. Xavier won its five district games, all by 24 points or more, and that kind of dominance ought to continue. Cedar Rapids Washington (5-5, 3-2) returns some salty skill personnel in guys like Watts McBride, Miles Thompson and Michael Blank, and that might push the Warriors past Newton (5-4, 1-4) and Pella (4-5, 3-2) for the second automatic bid.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Cedar Rapids Xavier

2. *Cedar Rapids Washington

3. *Newton

4. Pella

5. Clear Creek Amana

6. Oskaloosa

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com