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Clarion-Goldfield/Dows will welcome a familiar foe in the second round of the playoffs.
The sixth-ranked district champion Cowboys (8-1 overall) host No. 10 South Hardin (7-2) in a rematch from the regular season.
Defending eight-player champ and fifth-rated Bishop Garrigan (8-1) hosts Remsen St. Mary's (7-2). No. 8 North Union (8-1) will hit the road to face ninth-rated Kingsley-Pierson (8-1), while No. 8 South Central Calhoun (8-1) will travel to face No. 5 Underwood (8-1) in a 1A playoff tilt.
Algona (5-4) opens the 3A postseason on the road at No. 3 Carroll (8-1).
In early October, the Cowboys earned a 31-21 victory over the Tigers. CGD led the contest 17-13 at the half.
The Cowboys ran for 238 yards in the contest and threw for two touchdowns. Maxton Downing and Charlie Campbell both had TD runs. Campbell's went for 40 yards.
J.D. Morrical threw scoring strikes – to Colin Sesker and Downing – for 21 and 66 yards, respectively.
For the Tigers in the first meeting, Braden Weig and Manning Pfantz had one-yard touchdown runs. Weig was 21-for-43 passing for 269 yards and a touchdown strike to Aspen Briggs.
Weig is the leading passer in 1A with 25 TD passes and third at 28 overall scores. He also leads 1A with 2,289 yards throwing.
Cameron Adams has 956 yards on the ground and nine TDs.
For the Cowboys, Morrical has thrown for 574 yards and 10 touchdowns. Morrical has 549 rushing yards and five scores.
On the ground, Sesker has run for 748 yards and 11 TDs. Charlie Campbell (446) and Reed Campbell (432) have seven and six touchdowns, respectively. Downing (388) has six scores.
Paxton Lingenfelter has three touchdown catches. Huxley Lingenfelter and Sesker have two each.
The winner of this contest will play the winner of Hinton and second-ranked West Lyon in the quarterfinals.
No. 8 SOUTH CENTRAL CALHOUN (8-1) at No. 5 UNDERWOOD (8-1)
The eighth-rated Titans have won four straight games and are looking to avenge a 54-8 loss to the Eagles in 2025.
In their opening-round playoff contest last Friday, the Titans ousted Lawton-Bronson 29-12. South Central Calhoun ran for 406 yards.
The Titans had three 100 yard rushers, led by Cooper Nattress (136). Garrett Krause (134) and Hayden Stickrod (119) eclipsed the century mark and had two TDs each.
This year, the Titans have rushed for 2,856 yards and 32 touchdowns. Mattress has 833 on the ground and six TDs. Krause has ran for 739 and 10 scores.
Brayden Werneburg has four touchdowns, while Stickrod has six along with 518 yards.
Underwood quarterback Nash Mitchell is second in 1A with 21 touchdown passes and is fifth with 1,833 yards passing.
River Allen has run for 857 and 12 scores.
Maddox Michaelsen is the leading receiver at 476 yards and four scores. Kyle Sub (335) has five trips to the end zone, as does Tayden Hull (316).
The winner will face the victor of Shenandoah vs. No. 4 Treynor.
REMSEN ST. MARY’S (7-2) at No. 5 BISHOP GARRIGAN (8-1)
It will be a familiar postseason foe for defending eight-player champion Garrigan.
The Golden Bears square off with the Hawks – a team that knocked them off (22-20) in the 2024 state semifinals. Garrigan topped RSM 21-18 in 2023.
It was an impressive playoff opener last week for the Golden Bears, who rushed for 383 yards. CJ McGregor was the groundhog, going for 229 and three touchdowns.
Carter Cink had 138 yards and three scores, while Jerad Graves had a TD pass to Weston Rosenmeyer. McGregor also had two interceptions.
The Golden Bears have rumbled for 2,641 yards as a squad. McGregor has gone over the 1,000 plateau with 1,299 and 19 touchdowns. Cink has 664 and 14 scores.
Garrigan senior quarterback Michael Joyce, who is now out for the season with an injury, threw for 782 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for five more scores before going down.
The Golden Bear defense has picked off 13 passes and recovered seven fumbles. McGregor has five swipes and Joyce has three.
Hawk quarterback Dalton Klein has thrown for 977 yards and 16 TDs. Klein is also the leading rusher with 1,007 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Tyten Waldschmitt has 14 rushing scores.
The winner of this contest will face either Lenox or No. 3 Woodbine.
No. 13 ALGONA (5-4) at No. 3 CARROLL (8-1)
It's been a while since these two have met. Carroll has prevailed in the last three meetings, but they haven’t faced each other in over a decade.
The Bulldogs enter the contest running for 1,693 yards. Cael Rotert is the groundhog with 620 yards and eight touchdowns.
Quarterback Nathan Manske has thrown for 406 and three scores.
The Tigers have 2,498 yards on the ground. Senior Adam Malik leads Class 3A in rushing TDs with 24 and is second with 1,606 in all-purpose yards. He is the leading rusher in 3A with 1,503 yards.
The winner of this contest takes on either No. 7 Sioux Center or No. 14 Sioux City Heelan.
No. 8 NORTH UNION (8-1) at No. 9 KINGSLEY-PIERSON (8-1)
The Warriors and Panthers meet for the first time since 2010 and ’11 on Friday.
Last week, North Union picked up a 55-0 win over Janesville – its third in a row. Carson Crouch went for 156 and Greyson Colegrove had 124. Both had two touchdowns each.
Colegrove threw two touchdown passes to Cooper Hoye.
On the season, Colegrove has thrown for 652 yards and 10 scores. He has rushed for 883 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Crouch has 1,285 rushing yards and 21 TDs.
Hoye is the leading receiver with 22 grabs and 390 yards, with nine trips to the end zone.
The Warrior defense has 14 fumble recoveries and eight interceptions. Dyson Wilkert, Max Merrill and Kyan Walter have two picks each. Colegrove has three interceptions.
For the Panthers, Eli Schroeder has thrown for 1,187 yards and 24 TDs. He has five rushing scores.
Wyatt Klaschen has 11 touchdowns on the ground and Darius Rasmussen (707 yards) has eight trips to the end zone.
Sam Doeschot has 483 receiving yards and 11 TDs, while Klaschen has six scores and Jack Seglem has four.