When the high school football regular season ends on Friday night the pairings will be set for the expanded post-season. Beginning this season, 32 teams in each class will advance to next Wednesday night’s sub-state round.
Bud Legg of the Iowa High School Athletic Association says they have 72% of the teams set for the postseason, when they usually have around 60 to 61%. He says that makes for fewer teams to find.
Legg says they need the scores from 144 games to put the field together and once those results are in, the Board will have the pairings set, and he hopes they can have that done by midnight.
Legg says the seeding will be determined by a point system in class 4A. In the other classes, 4 teams 1-4 are in, and they are paired up with a sister district. The pairings would have the 1’s play the 4’s and the 2’s play the 3’s.
Legg says the expanded field has led to some changes in how the pairings will be set. He says the 150 mile limitation between schools has been thrown out for the substate. Then the playoff first round and quarterfinals will be set by brackets all the through to the championship game.