As they previously indicated, the Iowa High School Athletic Association released the first and second round playoff four-team "pods" for the start of the 2020 football playoffs.

As a district champion, West Branch has received a BYE for the first round of the playoffs, meaning they will not be playing a game this Friday and will automatically advance to the second round.

Coach Pedersen after receiving news of the first-round bye:

"We are excited to be in the postseason and earn a bye. It is a credit to the kids for not giving after we were at 1-2. The coaches believe in them, and the team came together and earned this district title. We are excited to finally get back on the Little Rose Bowl [for the second round]. We hope to have a big crowd. It's a new season. We are ready to get to work."

The two other teams in the West Branch pod, pod #10, are Van Buren (1-5) and Mediapolis (5-2), who will match up this Friday. The Bears will play the winner of that game the following Friday, October 23 at the Little Rose Bowl in West Branch.

All Class 1A pods can be viewed over on the state's website, in addition to playoff pods from all classes.