Mississippi Valley Conference football returns for 2020 season

CEDAR RAPIDS — And here you thought Mississippi Valley Conference football was permanently gone.

All it took was COVID-19 to reinstitute it. The 12 MVC schools that play in Class 4A announced their 2020 schedules Wednesday, and it's a return to conference play.

The six schools in the Mississippi Division (Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Linn-Mar, Cedar Rapids Washington, Iowa City High and Iowa City Liberty) play each other in Weeks 3 through 7 of the regular season. It's the same for the six 4A schools in the Valley Division (Dubuque Hempstead, Dubuque Senior, Waterloo West, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Iowa City West).

There will be true division champions if those games all are played.

The first two weeks of the season are slated to be mostly cross-divisional games. For instance, Kennedy and Prairie play Aug. 28, as do Washington and Jefferson, Iowa City West and Iowa City Liberty, Linn-Mar and Hempstead and Cedar Falls and Senior.

Waterloo East and Waterloo West continue their longstanding rivalry in Week 1, though East is a Class 3A school. Iowa City High's first game is against Davenport Central.

In Week 2 (Sept. 3 and 4), Kennedy and Washington play, as do City High and Liberty, Waterloo West and Cedar Falls, and Senior and Prairie.

Linn-Mar will play 3A Cedar Rapids Xavier, with those schools, obviously, being MVC members in every other sport. Western Dubuque (also a 3A MVC member) plays Hempstead.

Western Dubuque and Xavier are scheduled for Week 1 in a battle of the last two 3A state champs.

The IHSAA also released COVID-19 guidelines for all of its fall sports (football, cross country and golf). In football, guidelines and recommendations include expanding sideline team boxes for players only during games to the 10-yard line, no handshakes during the pregame coin toss or postgame, an encouragement to use masks and mandatory timeouts for sanitization and hydration every four minutes.

Preseason scrimmages will be allowed.

You can view all of the football guidelines here. Guidelines for cross country can be viewed here and for golf here.

Class 4A MVC football schedules

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

Cedar Falls

Aug. 28 — Dubuque Senior

Sept. 4 — at Waterloo West

Sept. 11 — at Cedar Rapids Prairie

Sept. 18 — Iowa City Liberty

Sept. 25 — at Iowa City High

Oct. 1 — at Cedar Rapids Washington

Oct. 9 — Linn-Mar

 

Cedar Rapids Prairie

Aug. 28 — Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Sept. 4 — at Dubuque Senior

Sept. 11 — Cedar Falls

Sept. 18 — at Iowa City High

Sept. 25 — Linn-Mar

Oct. 2 — at Iowa City Liberty

Oct. 9 — Cedar Rapids Washington

 

Cedar Rapids Washington

Aug. 28 — Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Sept. 4 — at Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Sept. 10 — Iowa City High

Sept. 18 — at Linn-Mar

Sept. 25 — at Iowa City Liberty

Oct. 1 — Cedar Falls

Oct. 9 — at Cedar Rapids Prairie

 

Iowa City High

Aug. 28 — Davenport Central

Sept. 4 — at Iowa City West

Sept. 10 — at Cedar Rapids Washington

Sept. 18 — Cedar Rapids Prairie

Sept. 25 — Cedar Falls

Oct. 2 — at Linn-Mar

Oct. 9 — Iowa City Liberty

 

Iowa City Liberty

Aug. 28 — Iowa City West

Sept. 3 — at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Sept. 11 — Linn-Mar

Sept. 18 — at Cedar Falls

Sept. 25 — Cedar Rapids Washington

Oct. 2 — Cedar Rapids Prairie

Oct. 9 — at Iowa City High

 

Linn-Mar

Aug. 28 — at Dubuque Hempstead

Sept. 4 — Cedar Rapids Xavier

Sept. 11 — at Iowa City Liberty

Sept. 18 — Cedar Rapids Washington

Sept. 25 — at Cedar Rapids Prairie

Oct. 2 — Iowa City High

Oct. 9 — at Cedar Falls

 

VALLEY DIVISION

Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Aug. 28 — at Cedar Rapids Washington

Sept. 3 — Iowa City Liberty

Sept. 11 — at Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Sept. 18 — Waterloo West

Sept. 25 — Iowa City West

Oct. 2 — at Dubuque Hempstead

Oct. 9 — Dubuque Senior

 

Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Aug. 28 — at Cedar Rapids Prairie

Sept. 4 — Cedar Rapids Washington

Sept. 11 — Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Sept. 18 — at Dubuque Senior

Sept. 25 — at Dubuque Hempstead

Oct. 2 — Waterloo West

Oct. 9 — at Iowa City West

 

Dubuque Hempstead

Aug. 28 — Linn-Mar

Sept. 4 — at Western Dubuque

Sept. 11 — at Dubuque Senior

Sept. 18 — at Iowa City West

Sept. 25 — Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Oct. 2 — Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Oct. 9 — at Waterloo West

 

Dubuque Senior

Aug. 28 — at Cedar Falls

Sept. 4 — Cedar Rapids Prairie

Sept. 11 — Dubuque Hempstead

Sept. 18 — Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Sept. 25 — at Waterloo West

Oct. 2 — Iowa City West

Oct. 9 — at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

 

Iowa City West

Aug. 28 — at Iowa City Liberty

Sept. 4 — Iowa City High

Sept. 11 — at Waterloo West

Sept. 18 — Dubuque Hempstead

Sept. 25 — at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Oct. 2 — at Dubuque Senior

Oct. 9 — Cedar Rapids Kennedy

 

Waterloo West

Aug. 28 — at Waterloo East

Sept. 4 — Cedar Falls

Sept. 11 — Iowa City West

Sept. 18 —at Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Sept. 25 — Dubuque Senior

Oct. 2 — at Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Oct. 9 — Dubuque Hempstead