DUBUQUE, Iowa — Oct. 26, 2026 — The high school football postseason reaches full swing on Friday night, Oct. 30, 2026, with area teams still alive in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois all on the schedule.

In Iowa, the round of 16 is set. Class 4A Western Dubuque, which closed the regular season at 8-1 and ranked fourth in the state’s final Class 4A rankings, will host Ballard. The winner of that pod game moves on to meet the winner of Clear Creek-Amana at Waverly-Shell Rock for a berth in the state semifinals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. In Class 3A, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic travels to Mount Vernon, with the winner advancing to face the winner of Iowa Falls-Alden at Clear Lake. All Iowa round-of-16 games kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026.

In Class 1A second-round play, Dyersville Beckman Catholic travels to West Marshall. Beckman opened its playoff run with a 62-12 win over Sumner-Fredericksburg on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, while Cascade’s season ended the same night in a 34-15 loss to Grundy Center. In Class 2A first-round play on Oct. 23, Bellevue fell 46-12 to Waukon.

Across the border in Wisconsin, Level 2 of the WIAA playoffs continues Friday night. In Division 5, Darlington hosts Winnebago Lutheran. In Division 6, Cuba City travels to Kenosha St. Joseph and Potosi/Cassville travels to Mondovi. In Division 7, Iowa-Grant hosts Pepin/Alma and Black Hawk/Warren travels to Ithaca/Weston. In 8-man Level 3 play, Belmont hosts Oakfield. Platteville’s season ended in Level 1 with a 49-20 loss to Evansville, and Lancaster fell 35-7 to Bonduel.