Because why not......
Here is my district breakdowns for 2021 and playoff predictions (7 teams in 8 districts and top four get in the playoffs). I'm not spending five to ten minutes researching each team and returners. Just based on what I remember last year.
District 1:
1st- H-M-S- 7-3 last year. Lost in first round to West Hancock. Return a decent group.
2nd- South O'Brien- 6-4 last season. Lost quite a bit but a few nice kids returning.
3rd- Alta-Aurelia- 4-4 last season. Did some nice things offensively against WH. Some kids returning.
4th- Hinton- 1-5 in Class 1A last season. That experience could help them.
5th- Gehlen Catholic- 3-5 last season
6th- Akron-Westfield- 2-6 in 2020.
7th- MMCRU- 1-7 last year. Been not good since the merger and not being in 8man anymore.
District 2: THIS SHOULD BE THE BEST DISTRICT IN CLASS A!
1st- West Hancock- 9-2 last season. State Quarterfinalists. I'm a homer yes but this team should be better than last year. Lost some very good seniors but have a lot of experience returning but a good group coming up.
2nd- Saint Ansgar- 10-1 last year. Semifinalists- Always reloading. Lost some top talent but doesn't seem to matter much to them. Well coached.
3rd- Newman- I could see them upsetting SA or WH in the regular season. Lots of talent returning from a 6-3 team last season. Well coached.
4th- Lake Mills- 5-4 last year. Lost the Bacon kid to ISU but have some good kids coming back.
5th- West Fork- 5-3 in 2020. They tend to surprise a top team or two each year. Might not always win but competitive.
6th- North Butler- 3-5 last season
7th- North Union- 1-7 in 2020
District 3:
1st- Grundy Center- 11-1 in 2020. Last two runner ups. Still have some talent. Well coached. Weaker district minus Wapsie Valley
2nd- Wapsie Valley- 9-2 in 2020. Great tradition but will have a new coach. Haven't heard who that will be yet. Doesn't look like there's a lot returning but hard to tell.
3rd- AGWSR- 5-4 in 8man last season. They are lucky to be in a weak district but may be a tough transition back to 11 man.
4th- Hudson- 2-6 in Class 1A last year. Lost some of their top stat guys. The drop and weak district will help.
5th- North Tama- 2-6 last year
6th- BCLUW- 1-7 in 2020
7th- Nashua-Plainfield- 2-6 in 2020
District 4:
1st- South Winn- The only team in this district with a winning record in 2020. They were going to play WH and that would've been a great game! No competition here I'm afraid
2nd- Belluvue- I really don't know how to rank the rest of this district. Best guessing going on from here on out! 3-3 last season
3rd- East Buchanan- 3-6 in 2020
4th- Clayton Ridge- 3-6 last season
5th- North Linn- 2-6 in 2020
6th- Maquoketa Valley, Delhi- 2-7 last year
7th- Starmont- 0-7 in 2020
District 5:
1st- Lisbon- 7-3 in 2020. Always seem to be decent. Looks like they return enough
2nd- Alburnett- 6-3 in 2020. Purely going by last year's record and they return some
3rd- Wapello- 4-4. Know nothing about them
4th- Pekin- 3-4 in 2020. Tradition school but average lately. I just don't see any team better than them from here on out.
5th- North Cedar- 1-6 last year
6th- Columbus Community- 2-6
7th- Highland, Riverside- 1-6 in 2020
District 6:
1st- Belle Plaine- I just don't think much of this district. Some former traditional powers but they all seem to be down right now. 6-3 last year with some kids returning. Enough to give them the nod.
2nd- Madrid- Got a taste of the "postseason" last year. Lost to WH but had some nice athletes. I see them improving this season from last. 3-4 last year
3rd- Ogden- 4-3 last year. Don't know much about them. Feel like they should always have some athletes based on location.
4th- North Mahaska- 3-5 in 2020. I really want them to rebound and have some success. Been done for quite a while.
5th- Lynnville- Sully- 1-5 in 2020. Always well coached but low on talent. They could very well though take the 4th spot.
6th- Colfax-Mingo- 0-8 in 2020
7th- Wayne, Corydon- 0-5 last season. Nothing changing here more than likely.
District 7: This is the second best district in Class A!
1st- St. Albert- hard to pick against them being a Catholic school from a large city playing against small towns. Too much talent. 8-3 last year
2nd- Mount Ayr- 8-2 in 2020. Could give SA a run for their money. Always solid. I believe their coaching staff changed though.
3rd- Riverside, Oakland- 8-2 last year. Not typically a strong team but had success last year. Should boil over into 2021
4th- Southwest Valley- struggled between them and Earlham for 4th but went mostly off of last year's records. Were 6-3 in 2020
5th- Earlham- could see them sneak in. Caskey is a good coach. 4-3 last year.
6th- AHSTW- 2-3 in 2020
7th- Sidney- 0-8. Transitioning back from 8man
District 8:
1st- Logan-Magnolia- 8-2 last season. Made a decent run in the playoffs. Strong most years; don't see that changing.
2nd- Woodbury Central- typically competitive for a decade plus now. The game against L-B should be a good one. 5-4 in 2020
3rd- Lawton-Bronson- 5-3 in 2020.
4th- IKM-Manning- 3-6 last season. Has had some success in recent years. Played WH in 2019 playoffs and I feel like they had some younger kids playing.
5th- Missouri Valley- 1-7 in 2020
6th- Tri-Center- 2-5 last year
7th- Westwood Sloan- 2-5 in 2020
Again, used last year's records a lot but just wanted to get the conversation going!!
I just think that Class A is down this year looking at everything. The top five will be solid but everything after that drops significantly. The bulk of good teams are in Districts 2 and 7. My four Dome teams are: Saint Ansgar, West Hancock, St. Albert, and Logan-Magnolia. SA and WH can only happen if they separate them out with a system they used last year. I could easily see them play in the quarterfinals though for the sake of geography. Grundy Center and Mount Ayr will be right there as well. Other teams I see winning a playoff game or two are: H-M-S if they don't have to travel east, Wapsie Valley if they make the right hire, Newman Catholic could do some damage, South Winn. That's about it though.
Go ahead and tear this apart and let's have a fun, civil conversation!!!
Here is my district breakdowns for 2021 and playoff predictions (7 teams in 8 districts and top four get in the playoffs). I'm not spending five to ten minutes researching each team and returners. Just based on what I remember last year.
District 1:
1st- H-M-S- 7-3 last year. Lost in first round to West Hancock. Return a decent group.
2nd- South O'Brien- 6-4 last season. Lost quite a bit but a few nice kids returning.
3rd- Alta-Aurelia- 4-4 last season. Did some nice things offensively against WH. Some kids returning.
4th- Hinton- 1-5 in Class 1A last season. That experience could help them.
5th- Gehlen Catholic- 3-5 last season
6th- Akron-Westfield- 2-6 in 2020.
7th- MMCRU- 1-7 last year. Been not good since the merger and not being in 8man anymore.
District 2: THIS SHOULD BE THE BEST DISTRICT IN CLASS A!
1st- West Hancock- 9-2 last season. State Quarterfinalists. I'm a homer yes but this team should be better than last year. Lost some very good seniors but have a lot of experience returning but a good group coming up.
2nd- Saint Ansgar- 10-1 last year. Semifinalists- Always reloading. Lost some top talent but doesn't seem to matter much to them. Well coached.
3rd- Newman- I could see them upsetting SA or WH in the regular season. Lots of talent returning from a 6-3 team last season. Well coached.
4th- Lake Mills- 5-4 last year. Lost the Bacon kid to ISU but have some good kids coming back.
5th- West Fork- 5-3 in 2020. They tend to surprise a top team or two each year. Might not always win but competitive.
6th- North Butler- 3-5 last season
7th- North Union- 1-7 in 2020
District 3:
1st- Grundy Center- 11-1 in 2020. Last two runner ups. Still have some talent. Well coached. Weaker district minus Wapsie Valley
2nd- Wapsie Valley- 9-2 in 2020. Great tradition but will have a new coach. Haven't heard who that will be yet. Doesn't look like there's a lot returning but hard to tell.
3rd- AGWSR- 5-4 in 8man last season. They are lucky to be in a weak district but may be a tough transition back to 11 man.
4th- Hudson- 2-6 in Class 1A last year. Lost some of their top stat guys. The drop and weak district will help.
5th- North Tama- 2-6 last year
6th- BCLUW- 1-7 in 2020
7th- Nashua-Plainfield- 2-6 in 2020
District 4:
1st- South Winn- The only team in this district with a winning record in 2020. They were going to play WH and that would've been a great game! No competition here I'm afraid
2nd- Belluvue- I really don't know how to rank the rest of this district. Best guessing going on from here on out! 3-3 last season
3rd- East Buchanan- 3-6 in 2020
4th- Clayton Ridge- 3-6 last season
5th- North Linn- 2-6 in 2020
6th- Maquoketa Valley, Delhi- 2-7 last year
7th- Starmont- 0-7 in 2020
District 5:
1st- Lisbon- 7-3 in 2020. Always seem to be decent. Looks like they return enough
2nd- Alburnett- 6-3 in 2020. Purely going by last year's record and they return some
3rd- Wapello- 4-4. Know nothing about them
4th- Pekin- 3-4 in 2020. Tradition school but average lately. I just don't see any team better than them from here on out.
5th- North Cedar- 1-6 last year
6th- Columbus Community- 2-6
7th- Highland, Riverside- 1-6 in 2020
District 6:
1st- Belle Plaine- I just don't think much of this district. Some former traditional powers but they all seem to be down right now. 6-3 last year with some kids returning. Enough to give them the nod.
2nd- Madrid- Got a taste of the "postseason" last year. Lost to WH but had some nice athletes. I see them improving this season from last. 3-4 last year
3rd- Ogden- 4-3 last year. Don't know much about them. Feel like they should always have some athletes based on location.
4th- North Mahaska- 3-5 in 2020. I really want them to rebound and have some success. Been done for quite a while.
5th- Lynnville- Sully- 1-5 in 2020. Always well coached but low on talent. They could very well though take the 4th spot.
6th- Colfax-Mingo- 0-8 in 2020
7th- Wayne, Corydon- 0-5 last season. Nothing changing here more than likely.
District 7: This is the second best district in Class A!
1st- St. Albert- hard to pick against them being a Catholic school from a large city playing against small towns. Too much talent. 8-3 last year
2nd- Mount Ayr- 8-2 in 2020. Could give SA a run for their money. Always solid. I believe their coaching staff changed though.
3rd- Riverside, Oakland- 8-2 last year. Not typically a strong team but had success last year. Should boil over into 2021
4th- Southwest Valley- struggled between them and Earlham for 4th but went mostly off of last year's records. Were 6-3 in 2020
5th- Earlham- could see them sneak in. Caskey is a good coach. 4-3 last year.
6th- AHSTW- 2-3 in 2020
7th- Sidney- 0-8. Transitioning back from 8man
District 8:
1st- Logan-Magnolia- 8-2 last season. Made a decent run in the playoffs. Strong most years; don't see that changing.
2nd- Woodbury Central- typically competitive for a decade plus now. The game against L-B should be a good one. 5-4 in 2020
3rd- Lawton-Bronson- 5-3 in 2020.
4th- IKM-Manning- 3-6 last season. Has had some success in recent years. Played WH in 2019 playoffs and I feel like they had some younger kids playing.
5th- Missouri Valley- 1-7 in 2020
6th- Tri-Center- 2-5 last year
7th- Westwood Sloan- 2-5 in 2020
Again, used last year's records a lot but just wanted to get the conversation going!!
I just think that Class A is down this year looking at everything. The top five will be solid but everything after that drops significantly. The bulk of good teams are in Districts 2 and 7. My four Dome teams are: Saint Ansgar, West Hancock, St. Albert, and Logan-Magnolia. SA and WH can only happen if they separate them out with a system they used last year. I could easily see them play in the quarterfinals though for the sake of geography. Grundy Center and Mount Ayr will be right there as well. Other teams I see winning a playoff game or two are: H-M-S if they don't have to travel east, Wapsie Valley if they make the right hire, Newman Catholic could do some damage, South Winn. That's about it though.
Go ahead and tear this apart and let's have a fun, civil conversation!!!