With district play set to open in week 5, these following games are ones to keep an eye on with some having a true shot at bringing home a title
District 1: Emmetsburg @ West Lyon, Inwood
Old school smash mouth football at its finest. Emmetsburg’s wealth of seniors vs West Lyon’s juniors. WL makes enough plays on their home field to open district play.
District 2: South Central Calhoun @ Ogden
Maybe this game is a complete blowout, but Ogden comes in 3-1 and it’s a home district opener. They haven’t played great teams, but carry some momentum with them as they host SSC. I still expect the Titans to roll to a dominate road victory.
District 4: West Branch @ Bellevue
This is easily the best game of the week and should decide who wins the district. WB has been rolling on offense and staying fairly balanced. You know what you’re getting with the passing game, and running the ball has been just as impressive. Their o-line is coming together and really taking over up front. Bellevue took care of Clayton Ridge on Friday to remain undefeated. Clasen has been stellar in the ground game, and they’ve done just enough in the pass game to keep balance and throw teams off. 44% completion rate and a 4 td to 5 int isn’t great but it’s doing the job for now. But, if Clasen gets shut down, can that passing game for Bellevue step up? I believe WB makes it a point to suffocate Clasen and force that pass game to beat them, which it will come up a bit short.
District 5: Sigourney-Keota @ Wilton
SK has been high powered on offense since Crawford has been back after missing the season opener. As he goes, they go as a team. Stopping him or just trying to slow him down means your team will win, but that’s easier said than done. Wilton coming off their first loss against 2A ranked Benton. How will Wilton answer that loss? They must slow down Crawford and make SK work hard for everything. After this, it’s two straight road games for Wilton, including at Mediapolis in week 7.
District 6: Dike-New Hartford @ North Linn
This game could have seen two 4-0 teams battle it out, but NL suffered their first loss Friday night to Ed-Co. Was it possible they were peeking ahead at who was coming to town in week 5? Maybe, but they will need to bring everything they have when DNH visits. DNH took down 2A ranked Union Friday night in impressive fashion as they remained undefeated. NL has some good athletes on their team and will need to gritty performance to keep it close.
District 7: I-35 @ Woodward-Granger
I-35 needs to win these games leading up to their regular season finale at PC. They could potentially be 8-0 heading into that game, but a lot of football to be played before that point.
Some really good games to kick off district play. The headliner obviously being WB @ Bellevue that should decide the district champ. The loser will need to avoid another slip up as two losses could keep them out. Cascade could play spoiler as they will travel to WB in week 8 before hosting Bellevue in week 9.
Week 5 game picks
West Lyon, Inwood
South Central Calhoun
West Branch
Wilton
Dike-New Hartford
I-35, Truro
District 1: Emmetsburg @ West Lyon, Inwood
Old school smash mouth football at its finest. Emmetsburg’s wealth of seniors vs West Lyon’s juniors. WL makes enough plays on their home field to open district play.
District 2: South Central Calhoun @ Ogden
Maybe this game is a complete blowout, but Ogden comes in 3-1 and it’s a home district opener. They haven’t played great teams, but carry some momentum with them as they host SSC. I still expect the Titans to roll to a dominate road victory.
District 4: West Branch @ Bellevue
This is easily the best game of the week and should decide who wins the district. WB has been rolling on offense and staying fairly balanced. You know what you’re getting with the passing game, and running the ball has been just as impressive. Their o-line is coming together and really taking over up front. Bellevue took care of Clayton Ridge on Friday to remain undefeated. Clasen has been stellar in the ground game, and they’ve done just enough in the pass game to keep balance and throw teams off. 44% completion rate and a 4 td to 5 int isn’t great but it’s doing the job for now. But, if Clasen gets shut down, can that passing game for Bellevue step up? I believe WB makes it a point to suffocate Clasen and force that pass game to beat them, which it will come up a bit short.
District 5: Sigourney-Keota @ Wilton
SK has been high powered on offense since Crawford has been back after missing the season opener. As he goes, they go as a team. Stopping him or just trying to slow him down means your team will win, but that’s easier said than done. Wilton coming off their first loss against 2A ranked Benton. How will Wilton answer that loss? They must slow down Crawford and make SK work hard for everything. After this, it’s two straight road games for Wilton, including at Mediapolis in week 7.
District 6: Dike-New Hartford @ North Linn
This game could have seen two 4-0 teams battle it out, but NL suffered their first loss Friday night to Ed-Co. Was it possible they were peeking ahead at who was coming to town in week 5? Maybe, but they will need to bring everything they have when DNH visits. DNH took down 2A ranked Union Friday night in impressive fashion as they remained undefeated. NL has some good athletes on their team and will need to gritty performance to keep it close.
District 7: I-35 @ Woodward-Granger
I-35 needs to win these games leading up to their regular season finale at PC. They could potentially be 8-0 heading into that game, but a lot of football to be played before that point.
Some really good games to kick off district play. The headliner obviously being WB @ Bellevue that should decide the district champ. The loser will need to avoid another slip up as two losses could keep them out. Cascade could play spoiler as they will travel to WB in week 8 before hosting Bellevue in week 9.
Week 5 game picks
West Lyon, Inwood
South Central Calhoun
West Branch
Wilton
Dike-New Hartford
I-35, Truro
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