Paul James was chatting about the high school football playoffs on KGYM last Friday afternoon when he was asked about the field being reduced from 32 to 16 teams next season by the IHSAA.

James, the football coach and athletic director at Cedar Rapids Washington, said he agrees with the move, partly because it will eliminate some of the mismatches that have occurred in first-round games between powerful No. 1 seeds and weak No. 4 seeds.

As a case in point, James mentioned that his team scored 78 points against Clinton in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs last year in a game that quickly got out of hand. Washington was undefeated at the time and headed to the championship game a few weeks later, whereas Clinton made the playoffs with a 2-7 mark from a weak district.

Things are quite a bit different for Washington this year. The Warriors are still a strong club with an 8-1 record and another No. 1 seed, but this time they've drawn a dangerous first-round assignment against the Cedar Falls Tigers Wednesday night.

Cedar Falls is not a state power this year, but the Tigers posted a 6-3 record during the regular season and were ranked in the Top 10 earlier in the year before losing a few games. Cedar Falls actually tied for second place in District 5 with Jefferson and Linn-Mar with 3-2 district marks, but the Tigers lost all the tiebreakers and ended up with the No. 4 seed.

Change a few touchdowns here or there, and Cedar Falls might have been a No. 2 seed instead of a No. 4. Washington should win Wednesday night's game at Kingston, but it will be a lot closer than its 78-13 conquest of Clinton a year.

This year's total blowout will be Bettendorf (9-0) against Davenport North (1-8), but we'll let the folks in the Quad Cities worry about that one.

The Kennedy Cougars drew Clinton in the first round of the playoffs this year and are heavily favored to win that game, but Clinton has improved this season with a 5-4 record despite being a No. 4 seed. Kennedy (9-0) has enjoyed the first undefeated regular season in school history and is poised to make a long run in the playoffs as a top seed in Class 4A.

The Xavier Saints (8-0) are a No. 1 seed in the Class 3A playoffs, giving the Metro area three No. 1 seeds for the postseason tournament. But just like Washington, the Saints have drawn a potentially tricky first-round date with Waverly-Shell Rock, another program with a rich tradition in football. Waverly has a 6-3 record and tied for third place in its district with a 3-3 mark, but the Go-Hawks lost the tiebreaker and had to settle for the No. 4 seed.

Kennedy, Washington and Xavier should advance, but some of those games might not be as easy as you might think.

The resurgent Jefferson J-Hawks (6-3) drew a No. 2 seed and should be playing at home Wednesday night, but Kennedy and Washington have dibs on Kingston Stadium and the J-Hawks got pushed to Ash Park in Mount Vernon for their opener against Dubuque Senior (4-5). The J-Hawks should win that game and enjoy the trip home from Cornell College.

The Prairie Hawks (4-5) have rolled up 101 points in their last two games and appear to be peaking at the right time for Wednesday's game at Iowa City West. The Trojans limped home with a 3-6 record, but they showed earlier in the year that they have a dangerous club when they lost a 34-31 thriller to Kennedy. Prairie and Iowa City West could play a very entertaining game.

The Linn-Mar Lions (4-5) have a shot at Iowa City High (6-3) Wednesday night, but the Lions might have the toughest assignment of all the Metro teams in the opening round. Iowa City High is not a world-beater this year, but Linn-Mar got thumped in its last game by Jefferson while City High won a 42-41 thriller against Muscatine.

The second round of the playoffs will be held next Monday, Nov. 2 with the highest remaining seeds playing at home again. If all the "favorites" prevail in the first round, we'll have a bunch of No. 1 seeds playing No. 2 seeds that night.

Kennedy, Bettendorf, Washington and Pleasant Valley are the No. 1 seeds in our half of the state in Class 4A. Jefferson, Iowa City West, Iowa City High and North Scott are the No. 2 seeds.

The IHSAA will announce the second-round pairings Wednesday night, after the opening round is finished. There are no pre-determined brackets for the playoffs as the IHSAA takes it step by step.

The No. 1 seeds cannot play each other until the third round of the playoffs on Friday, Nov. 6, and that's when it could get real interesting if all four of the No. 1 seeds have advanced that far. The IHSAA likes to take geography into account when it makes the pairings, so don't be surprised if the pairings that night in the Class 4A quarterfinals would be Kennedy against Washington at Kingston Stadium and Bettendorf against Pleasant Valley in Bettendorf.

The semifinals and finals will be held at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, with teams from our half of the state facing teams from the west.