All but one of the seven Iowa high school football championship games pitted a public school against a private school. The outlier was Class A, MMCRU vs. St. Ansgar. (Semi-ironic, no?) That is more public vs. private finals in football than we’ve had recently. Last year only two of the seven title games had private schools, both of which won.
Due to the IHSAA bracketing Valley-Dowling in the semifinal, a non-Des Moines suburb team has a chance in the largest class (5A) final, but it’s Iowa City Liberty, who beat also-newly-existing Waukee Northwest never mind Dowling crushed Eastern Iowa as usual.
Four of the six private schools playing in the finals won a title: Algona Garrigan, Carroll Kuemper, Xavier, and Dowling. West Lyon needed overtime to beat Iowa City Regina. Nevada beat Sioux City Heelan.
But hey, at least Iowa’s taxpayers are funding everyone on the field now.
(Note: For the first time in YEARS, Grundy Center did not take the field on championship week.)