Who is ready for some Iowa high school football playoff action?
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the IHSAA released pairings for small classes in the first round of the 2026 Iowa high school football playoffs. Classes 5A, 4A and 3A still have one more week of regular season to go, but teams in Class 2A, 1A, A and 8-player all now know where their journey to a state championship begins.
In total, 32 teams make up the playoff field in each class. For Classes 2A, 1A and A, the field is made up of each district champion, runner-up, third-place team and fourth-place team. In 8-Player, the district champion, district runner-up, third-place team and two wild card teams qualify for the playoffs.
Here's a look at the first set of Iowa high school football playoff pairings for 2026.
All games below will be played on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. CT.
Class 2A
- Southeast Valley at CL/GLR
- Cherokee at Spirit Lake
- Bellevue at Waukon
- New Hampton at Dike-New Hartford
- Vinton-Shellsburg at Alburnett
- Chariton at Mid-Prairie
- West Liberty at PCM
- Albia at Van Meter
- OABCIG at Western Christian
- Unity Christian at Kuemper Catholic
- Hampton-Dumont-CAL at Crestwood
- Grand View Christian at Roland-Story
- Osage at West Branch
- Anamosa at Wilton
- West Burlington/Notre Dame at Centerville
- Pella Christian at Clarinda
Class 1A
- Tri-Center at West Lyon
- Hinton at Emmetsburg
- MFL MarMac at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows
- Eagle Grove at Aplington-Parkersburg
- Cardinal at Northeast
- Columbus Catholic at Regina
- Manson NW Webster at West Marshall
- West Central Valley at Treynor
- South Hardin at Ridge View
- Lawton-Bronson at South Central Calhoun
- Cascade at Grundy Center
- Sigourney/Keota at Hudson
- Sumner-Fredericksburg at Beckman Catholic
- Pleasantville at EBF
- Shenandoah at Interstate 35
- East Sac County at Underwood
Class A
- Logan-Magnolia at West Sioux
- North Butler at West Fork
- Belmond-Klemme at Saint Ansgar
- Columbus Community at East Buchanan
- Wapsie Valley at Pekin
- Southwest Valley at Madrid
- Earlham at Riverside
- Sibley-Ocheyedan at Woodbury Central
- West Monona at MMCRU
- Starmont at Newman Catholic
- West Hancock at Nashua-Plainfield
- Van Buren County at North Linn
- Maquoketa Valley at Danville
- Mount Ayr at Lynnville-Sully
- Martensdale-St. Marys at ACGC
- Gehlen Catholic at St. Albert
Eight-player
- Wayne at Iowa Valley
- East Union at Audubon
- CAM at Kingsley-Pierson
- GTRA at Bishop Garrigan
- Moravia at Don Bosco
- WACO at Edgewood-Colesburg
- Springville at Gladbrook-Reinbeck
- North Tama at Montezuma
- Fremont-Mills at Bedford
- Murray at Woodbine
- Janesville at North Union
- Riceville at Kee
- Boyer Valley at St. Mary’s, Remsen
- Clarksville at Turkey Valley
- Lenox at Southeast Warren
- English Valleys at Coon Rapids-Bayard
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa high school football playoff matchups, Class 2A, 1A, A, 8-player