Iowa high school football wrapped up its ninth and final week of the 2026 regular season Friday night, with playoff games in the smaller classes and marquee regular-season matchups across Class 5A and 4A.
Top-ranked Johnston rolled past Des Moines Roosevelt 49-0, No. 2 Southeast Polk awaited Des Moines East, and Carlisle, ranked third in Class 4A, handed seventh-ranked Ballard a 35-3 loss in one of the night's most anticipated games, according to Yahoo Sports.
Big classes close the regular season
Friday marked the end of the regular season for Iowa's largest classes. The KCCI sports desk reported that the big classes have finished their schedule and will learn their postseason pairings next.
Among the Friday night results in the largest classes:
- Carlisle 35, Ballard 3
- Indianola 35, Urbandale 24
- Johnston 49, Des Moines Roosevelt 0
- Cedar Rapids Prairie 48, Dubuque Senior 0
- Sioux City Heelan 24, Algona 14
Other ranked matchups on the Week 9 slate included Marshalltown at No. 3 Dowling Catholic, Council Bluffs Lincoln at No. 4 Ankeny, No. 7 Valley at Des Moines Lincoln, Norwalk at No. 8 Waukee Northwest, No. 9 Waukee at Waterloo West, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy at No. 10 Dallas Center-Grimes. In Class 4A, No. 10 North Polk hosted Gilbert, and in 3A, No. 3 Des Moines Christian hosted Winterset.
Class 2A playoffs open with lopsided wins
While the big schools finished district play, the postseason was already underway in Classes 2A, 1A, A and eight-player. The 2A bracket produced some of the most one-sided results of the night.
Dike-New Hartford shut out New Hampton 48-0, Alburnett beat Vinton-Shellsburg 47-7, Kuemper Catholic blanked Unity Christian 35-0, and Roland-Story cruised past Grand View Christian 35-0. Osage edged West Branch 12-7 in one of the tighter 2A contests.
Several 2A games were still in progress or awaiting final scores, including Cherokee at Spirit Lake, Bellevue at Waukon, Chariton at Mid-Prairie, West Liberty at PCM, Albia at Van Meter, OABCIG at Western Christian, Hampton-Dumont-CAL at Crestwood, Anamosa at Wilton, West Burlington/Notre Dame at Centerville, and Pella Christian at Clarinda.
CL/GLR opened its playoff run with a 38-14 win over Southeast Valley.
Class 1A results from Friday night
In Class 1A, the blowouts kept coming. Aplington-Parkersburg, a program with a deep football tradition, crushed Eagle Grove 50-0. Regina beat Columbus Catholic 50-7, West Marshall shut out Manson NW Webster 45-0, and Treynor dominated West Central Valley 41-0.
Hinton also posted a shutout, beating Emmetsburg 34-0, while South Central Calhoun won 29-12 over Lawton-Bronson and Sigourney/Keota defeated Hudson 31-7.
Games listed without finals included Tri-Center at West Lyon, MFL MarMac at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, Cardinal at Northeast, South Hardin at Ridge View, Cascade at Grundy Center, Sumner-Fredericksburg at Beckman Catholic, Pleasantville at EBF, Shenandoah at Interstate 35, and East Sac County at Underwood.
Class A and eight-player playoff scores
Class A featured the wildest score of the week anywhere in the state: East Buchanan put up 82 points in an 82-8 demolition of Columbus Community.
Other Class A finals included West Sioux 38, Logan-Magnolia 0; Madrid 35, Southwest Valley 13; and North Linn 69, Van Buren County 0. Games still awaiting finals included North Butler at West Fork, Belmond-Klemme at Saint Ansgar, Wapsie Valley at Pekin, Earlham at Riverside, Sibley-Ocheyedan at Woodbury Central, West Monona at MMCRU, Starmont at Newman Catholic, West Hancock at Nashua-Plainfield, Maquoketa Valley at Danville, Mount Ayr at Lynnville-Sully, Martensdale-St. Marys at ACGC, and Gehlen Catholic at St. Albert.
In eight-player action, Bishop Garrigan beat GTRA 50-14, Gladbrook-Reinbeck won 47-7 over Springville, and Lenox routed Southeast Warren 56-6. The Des Moines Register's scoreboard also listed pending eight-player games such as Wayne at Iowa Valley, East Union at Audubon, CAM at Kingsley-Pierson, Moravia at Don Bosco, WACO at Edgewood-Colesburg, 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, and English Valleys at Coon Rapids-Bayard.
Thursday night results
Several teams got an early start on the week with Thursday games. West Des Moines Valley dominated Des Moines Lincoln 56-0, Sioux City East shut out Ames 35-0, and Clinton handled Davenport West 43-6.
- AGWSR 37, Colfax-Mingo 20
- Camanche 44, Durant 32
- Cedar Rapids Washington 52, Waterloo East 20
- Forest City 28, Estherville Lincoln Central 6
What happens next
For Class 5A, 4A and 3A teams, the focus now shifts to the postseason bracket. Pairings will determine who earns home-field advantage and who faces a road gauntlet through November.
For the smaller classes, the road to the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls continues next week with second-round playoff games. First-round winners advance, and the season ends abruptly for the losers, a reality that gives small-town Iowa football its October urgency.
Frequently asked questions
When did Week 9 of the 2026 Iowa high school football season end?
Most Week 9 games were played Friday night, Oct. 23, 2026, with several contests held Thursday, Oct. 22.
Which Iowa teams had already started the playoffs in Week 9?
Classes 2A, 1A, A and eight-player opened their postseason during Week 9, while Classes 5A, 4A and 3A finished the regular season.
Where can readers find the full IHSAA scoreboard?
Yahoo Sports and the Des Moines Register published complete Friday night scores from the IHSAA, with updates as remaining games went final.