It will be uncharted territory for the powerhouse Pella football program as they navigate the new Class 4A this fall, with a wave of new district opponents and a major rivalry looming on the docket.

Pella is now a part of the 36 team class after 5A was added to help balance some of the disparity between larger schools and enrollment challenges that led to competitive disadvantages. The Dutch are in a loaded 4A field with several traditional state powers and schools with rich athletics tradition.

The rest of Class 4A District 4:
Cedar Rapids, Washington
Clear Creek-Amana
Newton
Oskaloosa
Pella
Xavier, Cedar Rapids

Pella will see familiar foes in Little Hawkeye Conference rivals Newton and Oskaloosa, but the rest of the district is largely new. The Dutch played with Clear Creek-Amana in the same district in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and have never faced Cedar Rapids, Washington. Pella will rekindle a playoff rivalry in the regular season as they take on Xavier.

In the new Class 4A, 16 teams will qualify for the playoffs, with the top two from each district and four at-large qualifiers determined by RPI in the field competing for a state championship.

Full schedules, including non-district opponents, are set to be released in April. Hear every Pella Dutch football game this fall on 92.1 KRLS and the KRLS2 stream.