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.