Iowa High School Football Week Nine Preview

The final regular-season week of the Iowa high school football season kicks-off to an early start with Cedar Falls hosting Waterloo East at the UNI-Dome Thursday night (Oct. 22, 2015).

With a win, playoff-bound Cedar Falls (5-3, 2-2) could improve its playoff seed, but it'll depend on the outcome of Thursday night's Linn-Mar at Cedar Rapids Jefferson game. The Tigers could lock up the No. 3 seed in Class-4A District 5 with a victory and a loss by Jefferson. If the J-Hawks beat Linn-Mar, Cedar Falls would get the No. 4 seed. Cedar Falls and Jefferson enter week nine tied for third in the district race, but the Tigers own the tie-breaker over the J-Hawks.

It's a difficult season-finale for Waterloo East (0-8, 0-4), which is looking to snap a 26-game losing streak. The Trojans have been shutout in three of their last five games, while scoring just 16 points. East's last victory was a 33-14 win at Davenport Assumption in the first-round of the 2012 playoffs.

The marquee match-up this week is a showdown between top-10 rated teams in Class-2A that will determine the champion of District 6. Fifth-ranked Aplington-Parkersburg (7-1, 5-0) welcomes third-rated South Tama (8-0, 5-0) to Ed Thomas Field Friday night, with a No. 1 playoff seed at stake.

The high-profile match-up features a powerful Aplington-Parkersburg offense that has scored at least 45 points in each of its seven wins going against the staunch defense of the Trojans, who have shut out six of eight opponents while allowing only 15 points this season.

Also in Class-2A, a competitive race will be decided in District 3. Entering Friday night's games, three teams are tied for the district lead with identical 4-1 marks. Waukon (7-1), which plays at Oelwein, has the best overall record among the three, but North Fayette Valley (6-2) is the defending state champion. The eighth-ranked TigerHawks play at New Hampton, while Dyersville Beckman Catholic (5-3) plays a Center Point-Urbana squad that is hoping for a fourth-place finish in the district.

In Class-1A, No. 10 Hudson (7-1, 4-1) hosts South Winneshiek (6-2, 4-1) with a home playoff game on the line. The Pirates and Warriors enter the game tied for second-place in the District 4 standings.

Finally, in Class-3A, there is an intriguing non-district game to end the 2015 regular season. No. 7 Independence (7-1, 5-1) hosts Maquoketa (6-2, 5-1) at Lyle Leinbaugh Field Friday night in a match-up of teams with similar records who are in second-place in their respective districts.

The schedule of this week's games involving Cedar Valley and Northeast Iowa teams is posted below. The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) will release the playoff pairings late Friday night or early Saturday morning following the completion of all week nine games.

Note: All Games Are Friday night, Except Waterloo East at Cedar Falls.