We continue our look at the districts in our area with Class 3A District 6.
The two-time defending state champion Pella Little Dutch have won their last 28 games in back-to-back unbeaten seasons, but it won’t be easy to do it a third time.
Pella defeated Norwalk twice last season, including in the championship game. Norwalk is also in District 6 and with returning quarterback Brady Brandsfield, they are looking to leapfrog the Dutch.
Norwalk and Pella will undoubtedly be the top two teams on paper heading into the season, even with Pella losing Class 3A Player of the Year Noah Clayberg to graduation.
The teams that are looking to muscle into that mix are Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Grinnell, Knoxville, Nevada, and North Polk.
Bondurant-Farrar was 6-4 last season and will be in good shape to challenge for a top three spot in the district. Carlisle (6-4) is in very much the same position, having finished third last year in the same district behind Pella and Norwalk.
Knoxville was also a part of that district, and finished the season 5-4, missing the playoffs as the #5 team in that district (Chariton finished 4th).
Grinnell also could be in for a leap as they return most of their top contributors from a 4-5 team in 2015.
Nevada finished 2-7 last season, missing the playoffs, and North Polk lost in the first round of the playoffs to finish 5-5 as a Class 2A team last year.
This district seems to have a few different levels but if a team like Grinnell makes a leap, it could get interesting to see if anyone can upset Norwalk or Pella for a playoff berth in this district.
We’ll keep trucking through our district previews tomorrow with a look at Class 2A District 5, which features Mid-Prairie.
