Iowa high school football 2025: Picking the area Class 1A districts

Third in a series diving into the area Iowa high school football districts for the 2025 season. Today, we examine Class 1A.

Forty-eight teams are assigned to Class 1A, with 32 advancing to the playoffs. The top four teams in each of eight districts advance.

The Class 1A regular season will consist of eight games, with five rounds of playoffs.

A closer look at area districts:

District 5

OVERVIEW

The gap from top to bottom in this district isn’t all that wide, and this is a difficult race to handicap. Two teams (Camanche and Northeast) are down from 2A, while Lisbon makes the move up from Class A. Dubuque County rivals and Week 6 combatants Cascade (3-5) and Dyersville Beckman (6-3) appear to have the inside track at the title. Ryan Altiere takes over as head coach at Cascade, and inherits a veteran crew. An emphasis will be to enhance an offense that averaged just 11.4 points per game last season. Beckman graduated its quarterback, its top rusher and its top receiver, but does return some receiving depth, plus leading tackler Cody Hageman. Camanche should be improved after a 1-7 campaign in 2024, while the other three teams were hit hard by graduation.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Cascade

2. *Dyersville Beckman

3. *Camanche

4. *Northeast

5. MFL MarMac

6. Lisbon

District 6

OVERVIEW

Five years have passed since Iowa City Regina’s most recent state championship, and the Regals (9-2) have a fighting chance to make their first Dome voyage since. Kyle Tracy and Tate Wallace comprise one of the state’s top pass-catch duos; they combined for 51 completions, 752 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago. Tracy was responsible for 28 TDs (19 passing, nine rushing), and RB Savion Miller (922 yards, eight TDs) also returns. The Regals play three 2A teams in their non-district schedule, then their big district test is Week 6, at Sigourney-Keota. The Savage Cobras (7-2) return quarterback Brayden Wood from a squad that scored more than 40 points per game last season. Durant (3-6) and Eddyville EBF (2-7) are the best of the rest.

PROJECTIONS (*playoff qualifier)

1. *Iowa City Regina

2. *Sigourney-Keota

3. *Durant

4. *Eddyville EBF

5. Cardinal

6. Louisa-Muscatine

Other districts with area teams

DISTRICT 4

1. *Aplington-Parkersburg

2. *Hudson

3. *Union Community

4. *Jesup

5. Waterloo Columbus

6. Sumner-Fredericksburg

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com