Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The start of the 2020 prep football season is a little more than five months away but Thursday offered up a chance to focus on football with the Iowa High School Athletic Association releasing full schedules.

Teams got a partial look at 2020 opponents last month when the IHSAA announced district assignments in the five smallest classes and groups and tiers in Class 4A.

On Thursday full slates were revealed giving

Here are five quick takeaways after scanning the 2020 schedules for the seven teams in the Your Prep Sports area.

Liberty High’s Welcome to Class 4A

Liberty High dives right into the deep end in its first season in Class 4A with back-to-back rivalry games against West High and City High to open the season.

The challenging start is nothing new for the Lightning who played their first varsity game ever against City High at Bates Field and edged the Little Hawks 23-20 in the season opener last season.

Liberty High went 7-3 and reached the playoffs for the first time last year in Class 3A before making the bump to the big schools.

The season opener with West High on August 28 in North Liberty will be one of the most anticipated area games in recent seasons and the Lightning return to Bates Field on September 4 for a rubber game in the series with City High.

After the rivalry games to open the seasons things don’t slow down for Liberty High as the Lightning face a stretch of four consecutive games from week four to week seven against teams that reached the 4A playoffs last season.

Write Down These Rivalry Dates

Back-to-back cross-town showdowns for Liberty High to open the season are just the beginning of an intriguing list of rivalry matchups for Your Prep Sports area teams.

The annual Battle for the Boot is set for week six (October 2) at West High where City High will seek its first win in the series since 2017.

West High won a thriller 36-32 in the season finale for both teams last season at Bates Field.

Regina and West Branch will continue their longtime rivalry with a week four (September 18) matchup at the Little Rose Bowl in the first regular season meet between the conference foes since 2013.

The two teams met in the Class 1A quarterfinals last season with Regina winning 30-20 at the Little Rose Bowl.

City High hosts Ames in week three in the annual Little Cyclone/Little Hawk series on the eve of the Iowa/Iowa State game.

Another old rivalry continues when Solon plays host to Mount Vernon in week eight (October 16).

Solon has won 17 straight over Highway 1 and WAMAC rival Mount Vernon.

Another WAMAC rivalry will be renewed in week four when Clear Creek Amana hosts Williamsburg which is coming off an 8-4 season that ended with a trip to the 2A semifinals.

Familiar Feel for Solon in Return to 2A

Solon was one of the teams to draw attention earlier this winter when it was announced the defending 3A runner-up Spartans were dropping to Class 2A.

A drop in class obviously results in a nearly entirely new set of opponents but for the Spartans it will be some familiar foes, at least in name.

Solon has six games with WAMAC schools on its 2020 schedule including four district matchups against conference foes.

The Spartans join WAMAC teams South Tama, Vinton-Shellsburg, Center Point-Urbana and Mount Vernon in 2A, District 6 and will host Williamsburg in the season opener and travel to Marion in week three in non-district contests.

West High Faces Another Strong Schedule

The newly implemented success model put into use for the first time in Class 4A this season was created with the idea of teams playing more games against similar opponents.

For perennial 4A power West High that means another year with a schedule loaded with some of the state’s best.

West High has five games against 2019 playoff teams on its schedule including a trio of teams that advanced to the 4A quarterfinals or further a year ago.

In addition to its opener at Liberty High (7-3), West High faces 4A playoff teams Urbandale (7-4) and Cedar Falls (10-1) on the road and hosts 2019 semifinalist Bettendorf (9-3) in the regular season finale.

City High Can Make a Climb

City High returned the players to improve on a two-win season from a year ago regardless of its schedule.

After taking a quick glance at the schedule the Little Hawks could be poised to make a jump as any team in 4A.

Following a season-opening trip to Bettendorf and a week two home game with Liberty High the Little Hawks close the season with seven consecutive games against teams that finished under .500 last season.

Included in that seven-game stretch are road trips to Pleasant Valley (4-5) and West High (4-5) who both defeated City High last season as well as home games with CIML foes Ames (3-6), Des Moines Lincoln (3-6) and Des Moines North (0-9).

City High closes the season by hosting Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4-5) and traveling to Davenport Central (3-6).

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