Future of isolated 4A football programs

[tnobd]

Ames @ 3-2 , Newton @ 5-0, Indianola @ 3-2, Ft Dodge @ 3-2, Marshalltown @ 1-4 , Clinton @ 1-4, Mason City @ 0-5 ,Ottumwa @ 0-5 , Muscatine @ 0-5 and Burlington @ 0-5. Will Newton make the playoffs this year? Will we see any of these 4A schools in the first round consistently in the next decade or play beyond the first night of the playoffs? I am assuming the overall lack of success in some of these school is in coaching, participation numbers and off season preparation. Do the Iowa 4A playoffs totally belong to the suburban teams at this point?

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Umm it's belonged to the suburban teams for quite a while now.

4A is dangerously close to becoming a case where they should just take roughly the top 8 teams and have them play a round robin and whoever has the most wins is your 4A champ.

But really it's just gonna be Dowling and whoever wants to give them a decent game for the fans.

That's the future of football in Class 4A.......nothing wrong with that. Football is fun! Isn't everyone having fun!? (besides Dowling fans)

 

[Hawksince73]

Since 2012, it's been Metro Des Moines vs. CR-IC and it could be that way again this year if IC West comes out of the east bracket.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Agree, in football it's the same teams pretty much every year-- they have the numbers, the culture and the coaches. You could cut 4A to 16- 24 teams easily and move everybody else down, or take those same teams and move them to a 5A superschool league. There is a humongous difference between the top schools in 4A and the bottom schools. The better 3A teams perform very well against the lower half of 4A. Uh, 4A Dowling would have to be in the top group or they may never lose another game.