Schedules for the 2020 Iowa high school football season announced

Clear Lake is among the 54 teams competing in Class 2A

Schedules for the 2020 Iowa high school football regular season were announced by the Iowa High School Athletic Association last week.  The schedules are in place for just one year, as opposed to the usual two-year football cycle.

Districts and groups are assigned by the IHSAA, then schools select preferred non-district opponents through a priority list. The IHSAA attempts to align schedules with as many priority list selections as possible, however opponents and availability cannot be guaranteed.

Clear Lake is among the 54 teams competing in Class 2A in 2020.  Each team will play five district games and four non-district games.  The winners of each of the nine districts in the class will be automatic qualifiers for the State Play-offs; seven at-large berths will be available.  The IHSAA’s Ratings Percentage Index will continue to be used for ranking at-large qualifiers.

Last season the (5-0, 9-0) Lions were the winners of Class 2A District 3.  Three teams from that district remain on the Lions’ 2020 schedule: Iowa Falls-Alden (3-2, 5-4), Forest City (1-4, 2-7) and Hampton-Dumont-CAL (0-5, 1-8).  Three other 2020 opponents also won their district last season. 

New to the Clear Lake schedule will be Aplington-Parkersburg and Osage, which each competed in Class 1A District 3 last season.  Osage won the district with a 5-0, 5-4 record; A-P went 3-2, 5-4.  Another Class 2A district winner, Waukon, is also on the Lion schedule.  Waukon finished with a 5-0, 9-0 record in District 4.   West Marshall, State Center tied for the Class 2A District 7 title with a 4-1, 6-3 record, while Roland-Story was in the cellar of that district at 0-5, 1-8.  Humboldt (2-3, 2-7) will drop from Class 3A to 2A this year.

Week 1 of the 2020 football season is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27.  Clear Lake will begin its season on Friday, Aug. 28, by hosting Aplington-Parkersburg.  Their second game will also be played at home, as Osage is scheduled at Lions Field Sept. 4.  The remainder of the schedule includes: at Humboldt Sept. 11; at Waukon Sept. 18; home vs. Iowa Falls-Alden Sept. 25; at Forest City Oct. 2; home vs. Hampton-Dumont-CAL Oct. 9; at West Marshall-State Center Oct. 16; home vs. Roland-Story Oct. 23.

The 2020 football postseason will begin on Friday, Oct. 30 for all classes.