High School Football

#9 Mt. Pleasant needed to win every phase of the game and make a splash play to escape Keokuk with a 35-34 victory last night. Dylan White nailed three field goals for the Panthers, including a new career long 43 yarder, to complement a Griffen Jones kick return touchdown and 28-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Walker to Jack Newman, giving the Panthers a 23 to 14 halftime lead. Then Keokuk’s Jadyn Burton went to work as the Chiefs scored 20 unanswered points to take an 11-point lead with a little under nine minutes remaining in the game. 

Still, Mt. Pleasant began to chip away as a quick touchdown drive was cemented by a tough Griffen Jones touchdown, as he ended the night with 89 rushing yards. But the hero of the game was senior Lathan Novak-Watson as he intercepted a Burton pass at his own 10-yard line and returned it 90-yards for the game winning pick six. He would nab his second interception of the game on the next drive and Ramzy Davis would stamp the game over with a first down run, bringing his total to 124 yards for the night. Panther head coach John Bowlin was ecstatic that everyone got to see what he knew about his team: that they don’t give up,

“Well, I mean, I’ve known that, but it’s great to have everybody see it. You know, I mean, I know what these guys are capable of and what they’re made of and the hard work they put in so. Just to go show it and you know, we put ourselves down there, but we never gave up and, you know, holy cow, come up with some huge plays there at the end and can’t say much better than you know, senior leadership and being in the right spots. You know, obviously Lathan with those two huge picks to win it for us is monstrous and just a lot, a lot of fight which you know, just love seeing it out there.”

The Panthers return home to square off against #3 Solon at 7:30 pm on Friday, October 17th, with the winner claiming the District Championship. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

#7 Mid-Prairie won their second consecutive district championship last night after demolishing Mediapolis 62-21. Brock Spears collected 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the losing effort. The Bulldogs will host Central Lee on Friday at 7 pm.

Central Lee’s offense could not regain its footing after a first quarter touchdown, falling to Wilton 28-7. 

Van Buren County celebrated their Homecoming with an upset over Wapello last night 45-32. The Warriors will be on a bye week. 

WACO dropped their fourth consecutive game last night after losing 52-33 to Springville. The Warriors will take on #4 Iowa Valley on Friday at 7 pm. 

Fairfield walloped Fort Madison last night 50-12 to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Trojans will compete against Keokuk at home on Friday at 7:30 pm. 

West Burlington/Notre Dame was shut out by West Liberty last night, 43-0. The Falcons will tangle with Mid-Prairie at 7 pm on Friday. 

Danville had Pekin on the ropes, leading 27 to 26 late in the fourth quarter until Nolan Glick stepped in front of Bear pass and took it back for the game winning pick six for a 32-27 final. Second place in the district will be up for grabs when the Bears travel to Wapello on Friday at 7 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against Belle Plaine on Friday at 7 pm. 

High School Volleyball

Wapello will make the trip to Jefferson High School for the Westside Invite today.

#2 Holy Trinity Catholic will attend the Pella Invite today.

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will travel to Oskaloosa for a tournament today.

Central Lee, West Burlington, and Van Buren County will compete in the Davis County Invitational today. 

WACO will take on Pekin at home on Tuesday, October 14th, for their regular season finale. 

Columbus will celebrate their senior night on Tuesday against Hillcrest Academy at 7:30 pm. 

Danville will host an Invite on Thursday, October 16th, with Burlington Notre Dame and Mt. Pleasant making the trip. 

Mediapolis will host a tournament on Thursday at 5 pm with Holy Trinity Catholic participating. 

High School Cross Country

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference will meet at Hillcrest Academy on Tuesday, October 14th.

Mt. Pleasant will host the Southeast Conference meet on Thursday, October 16th.

Southeastern Community College

The men’s and women’s soccer teams will travel to Central Community College today.

The volleyball team will host a triangular tomorrow, October 12th. 

College Football

#22 Iowa State will stay on the road as they look to regroup against Colorado today at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call. 

Iowa will travel to Wisconsin tonight for kickoff at 6:05 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call. 

This Day in Sports History

1927 – New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig is named American League MVP; despite hitting an MLB record 60 Home runs, Babe Ruth, as a former winner, is not eligible.

1991 – Chip Beck ties a PGA record lowest 18 hole score of 59 during the 3rd round of the Las Vegas Invitational at the Sunrise Golf Club.

2020 – NBA Finals: the LA Lakers beat the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 to win a record equaling 17th title; MVP: LeBron James; first to win the award with 3 different teams.

8-Player

(4-4) Springville 52, (3-4) WACO 33

(7-0) #4 Iowa Valley 71, (4-3) English Valleys 26

Class A

(7-0) Pekin 32, (5-2) Danville 27

(3-4) Van Buren County 45, (5-2) Wapello 32

Class 2A

(6-1) #7 Mid-Prairie 62, (3-4) Mediapolis 21

(5-2) Wilton 28, (2-5) Central Lee 7

(3-4) West Liberty 43, (3-4) West Burlington/Notre Dame 0

Class 3A

(6-1) #9 Mt. Pleasant 35, (3-4) Keokuk 34

(7-0) #3 Solon 42, (3-4) Washington 0

Class 4A

(5-2) Davenport North 47, (5-2) Burlington 17

Prep Volleyball- The road to Xtream Arena in Coralville will get underway on Monday, October 20^th, for Classes 1A and 2A, while Classes 3A, 4A, and 5A will start their journey on Tuesday, October 21^st. Now, teams know who they have to go through first with the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union releasing the Regional Pairings yesterday. Here’s a look at our local matchups.

Class 1A

We will be focused on region 2 for our local teams with #2 Holy Trinity Catholic entering as the #1-seed for the region, thus earning a bye into the second round on October 22^nd.

For the first-round matchups, Winfield-Mt. Union will get to host Pekin, WACO will travel to Burlington Notre Dame, and Wapello will tangle with New London at home with the winners playing against one another. All games will be at 7 pm.

The Wolves have won their last eight games against Pekin, including a four-set victory in late September. The winner will travel to Fort Madison to take on the Crusaders.

WACO will have a tough hill to climb with the Nikes boasting a 10-2 record at home this season with those two losses coming against West Liberty and Holy Trinity Catholic.

Lastly, Wapello has not dropped a set against New London in their last three contests.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Dunkerton is the top seed, but the bracket also includes Clayton Ridge, Turkey Valley, Central Elkader, Edgewood-Colesburg, Kee High, Starmont, and West Central.

For a full look at the bracket, follow this link: Class 1A Region 2 Bracket

Class 2A

Looking at region 8, we have got a trio of local teams to look out for in Danville, Van Buren County, and West Burlington. The Bears will get to play their first-round contest at home against Cardinal, while the Warriors and Falcons will clash on Wednesday, October 22^nd, in Keosauqua.

Danville and Cardinal have not met on the floor since 2022, but the Bears hold the series lead since 2008 with a 14-8 record. Danville’s record does not reflect the skill of the team with five matches going to their tiebreaker set. They have managed to take a set from Holy Trinity Catholic along with Van Buren County and Central Lee.

Danville’s senior libero Graci Huff wants the season to last as long as possible,

“… So I want to just prolong it as much as you can and get as much time with my teammates and my coaches as I can before the seasons over and prove to everybody that we are a good team and show them what we should have been showing them all season.”

After a long time of losing to West Burlington—13 straight matches—Van Buren County snatched the two matches this season by narrow margins, needing a tiebreaker set to decide the final: 15-8 in game one and 16-14 in game two.

The winner between Danville and Cardinal will take on Regina Catholic on Wednesday on the road for the top half of the bracket.

Teams on the bottom half of the bracket: Nashua Plainfield, Central Springs, Sumner-Fredericksburg, South Winneshiek, and Gamer Hayfield Ventura.

For a full look at the bracket, follow this link: Class 2A Region 8 Bracket

Class 3A

Region 2 will get right to the point by pinning Mediapolis against Central Lee on Tuesday, October 21^st, at 7 pm. The Bulldogs will get to host after winning five of the six sets in their two matchups this season.

Overall, Mediapolis holds an 18-2 over Central Lee since 2007. The winner will compete against the winner between Assumption and Camanche on Thursday, October 23^rd, with the Saints entering the region as the top seed.

The bottom half of the bracket will include Wilton, Maquoketa, Wahlert Catholic, and Monticello.

For a full look at the bracket, follow this link: Class 3A Region 2

There will be no meet up—initially—between two Southeast Conference (SEC) foes in region 7 as Fairfield will be in the top half of the bracket, while Washington is set in the bottom half of the bracket.

The Trojans will play on Tuesday at West Liberty with the winner taking on the winner between Mid-Prairie and Davis County. The Comets have dominated the series over Fairfield, earning a 4-0 record in the process with this year’s matchup marking the first time the Trojans have won a set.

Washington will host Benton on Tuesday with the winner taking on Center Point-Urbana and Vinton-Shellsburg. The Demons will be looking for their first win over the Bobcats in their fourth contest against one another.

For a full look at the bracket, follow this link: Class 3A Region 7

Class 4A

A bit of déjà vu for Mt. Pleasant in region 1 as the Panthers will get to host their first-round matchup against a conference opponent with the winner moving on to play a daunting Clear Creek Amana squad.

This year, the Panthers will host Keokuk on Tuesday at 7 pm with KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, on the call. Mt. Pleasant has picked up 34 wins over Keokuk in 42 matches since 2007, including a home sweep in early September.

The Panthers will be leaning on their two senior attackers in Alex Scott and Addison Clark, as the pair combined for 27 kills against the Chiefs.

The bottom half of the bracket will have Xavier, Oskaloosa, and Grinnell.

For a full look at the bracket, follow this link: Class 4A Region 1

We will see another SEC showdown in region 6 with Fort Madison traveling to Burlington on Tuesday at 7 pm. The winner will square off North Scott on Thursday.

The Bloodhounds have dropped their past five matches against the Grayhounds without winning a set.

The bottom half of the bracket will include Independence, Decorah, and Western Dubuque.

For a full look at the bracket, follow this link: Class 4A Region 6

More

KILJ is excited to bring the tournament trail to you live, so stay tuned to find out what game will be calling live as the games draw closer!