High School Football
Class 3A District 4 released their Most Valuable Players and All-District Teams yesterday and Mt. Pleasant yielded 21 All-District honors and shared multiple MVP awards.
Carter Myers shared Offensive Line MVP with Washington’s Greyson Hartman. Myers tallied 15 pancakes as the Panthers ran for an average of over 200 yards in district games.
Isaiah Lange and Solon’s James Thomsen were Co-Defensive Line MVPs as Lange racked up 13 sacks for the season, which is more than the Panthers tallied as a team in 11 of the past 14 seasons.
Dylan White took home Co-Specialist MVP honors after going 7 for 11 in field goals this year, including a career long 43-yarder. He was instrumental in the kickoff game, leading to multiple onside recoveries.
Joining this trio on the First Team was Ramzy Davis at running back, as he found the endzone 13 times this season, Kellen Kohorst, Merrick Lamm, Jack Newman, Max Sloat, Brody Clark, and Griffen Jones.
Garnering Second Team honors was Lathan Novak-Watson, Jaymisen Rich, Colton Syfert, Tate Dorothy, Ryan Helling, and Kaden Schadt. Getting named All-District Honorable Mentions was Kale Housh, Gavin Kerr, Keegan Heaton, Grayson Walker, and Asa Rose.
Lastly, in his third season at the helm, Panther head coach John Bowlin claimed Co-Coach of the Year honors for the district with Lucas Stanton of Solon. Coach Bowlin talked about what the award meant to him and what this means for the program moving forward,
Yeah, I think just the, you know it’s obviously, you know, humbling to get that and get our team there. You know, hopefully our guys expect, you know I know the first year we started we didn’t have any wins, but I think the work we put in and kind of the expectations of what it takes. They’ve bought into that and I think they’ll continue to do that, so, you know, I’m obviously excited about the kids we have and what’s coming back and you know, I think it’s just I always tell the kids, it’s amazing how much you can grow from one year to the next to as long as you buy into the process and you know they have and they see it. So, anything if you’re willing to put the work in and good things are happening. We just got a lot of good kids that are doing that right now. So, we’re pretty fortunate to have some really good kids here that put the work in and now it’s paying off for them.
Fairfield supplied four First Team players in running backs Ethan Bisgard and Zandrik Allison, along with Nolan Smith on the offensive line and Voss Richardson as a utility.
For a full breakdown of the All-District Teams, follow this link: Class 3A All-District 4 Teams
High School Wrestling
The Van Buren County girls’ team wrestled at the Cardinal Dual tournament last night and picked up victories over Keokuk (72-12) and the hosts (60-24), but fell to Fort Madison (48-35). Amony Adams and Lexie Wiley exited the night without a loss for the Warriors.
The Wapello, WACO, and Columbus girls’ teams will participate in a meet at Sigourney tonight.
The Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis, and Van Buren County girls’ teams will compete at the Burlington Grayhound Invite on Saturday, November 22nd.
The Fairfield girls’ team will head to Wilton for a tournament on Saturday.
High School Basketball
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team held their jamboree last night with the Southeast Conference dueling members of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference. Fort Madison’s pressure defense shut down Lone Tree, while a cold night of shooting led to a 25-25 tie between Mediapolis and Keokuk.
Against a tough Burlington squad, Winfield-Mt. Union hung in for a half, but was outscored 23 to 5 in the second half to fall 39-19. Wolves head coach Mendy McCreight knows these types of nights before a season helps the team’s development,
“Yeah, I think it’s really important, especially when it comes to what we really need to work on and practice. I can actually see it and coach it against a different team. One of the things we need to really pick up is our defense, but that comes as we go. It’s just a whole new learning ball game for us.”
In the final game of the night, Mt. Pleasant’s speed and tenacious defense held Columbus in check for a 30-15 final in favor of the Panthers. Despite a tough first game to open up the schedule next week, Panther head coach Curt Watson and his staff are ready to get off and running,
“I’m really excited. Probably wish we didn’t play Pella first, but it is what it is and we’re going to go up there and perform and we’re going to try to play our best basketball and we’re going to see what we can do against them. But our coaching staff is really, really excited this year with the girls we got and the team chemistry’s great and it’s just been really fun.”
The Columbus girls’ and boys’ teams will scrimmage English Valleys on the road on Friday, November 21st, at 6 pm.
The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will tip off the season on Friday at home against New London at 6 pm.
The New London girls’ team will scrimmage against Fairfield and Van Buren County will take on Sigourney at a jamboree held by Cardinal tonight.
The Wapello girls’ team will face off against Washington on Friday at 6 pm for a scrimmage.
The Van Buren County girls’ and boys’ teams will host WACO for a scrimmage on Friday.
The West Burlington boys’ and girls’ teams will take on Fort Madison on Saturday, November 22nd, for a scrimmage.
High School Bowling
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will host an invite on Thursday, November 20th, with Central Lee and West Burlington in attendance.
Postseason High School Football
#1 Bishop Garrigan and #2 Woodbine will meet on Thursday, November 20th, at 9:30 am for the Eight-Player state championship.
The Class A championship contest is set for Thursday at 1 pm between Saint Ansgar and MMCRU.
The Class 1A state title game between West Lyon and Regina Catholic is slated for Thursday at 4 pm.
Pella and Xavier will meet at 7 pm on Thursday for the Class 4A state title.
The Class 2A championship is set for Friday, November 21st, at 10 am between #6 Van Meter and #1 Kuemper Catholic.
The Class 3A championship will be played on Friday at 1 pm between #7 Nevada and #4 Bishop Heelan.
The Class 5A championship will wrap up action on Friday with kickoff at 7 pm between Dowling Catholic and Iowa City Liberty.
Southeastern Community College
The women’s basketball team will host a tournament starting on Friday, November 21st, at 5 pm against Spoon River College.
The men’s basketball team will travel to Moberly Area Community College on Saturday, November 22nd, at 7 pm.
The men’s and women’s wrestling teams will host Hawkeye Community College tomorrow, November 19th, at 6 pm.
College Football
Iowa will look to bounce back at home on Saturday, November 22nd, at 2:30 pm against Michigan State. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the call.
Iowa State will host Kansas on Saturday at 11 am. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.
College Basketball
The #19 Iowa women’s team will compete in the WBCA Showcase on Thursday, November 20th, at 8 pm against Baylor.
The Iowa men’s team will square off against Southeast Missouri State tonight at 7:30 pm at home.
The #12 Iowa State women’s team will face off against Drake on the road on Thursday at 6 pm.
The #16 Iowa State men’s team throttled Stonehill College last night 96-57. Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson each poured in 23 points, while Jefferson added nine rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in the all-around effort. The Cyclones will play in the Players Era Men’s Championship tournament starting on Monday, November 24th, against #14 St. John’s at 3:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1949 – Brooklyn Dodgers infielder Jackie Robinson was named the National League MVP. Robinson became the first African-American player to win the Award.
1979 – Richard Petty won the 29th NASCAR Winston Cup Series, becoming the first driver to win seven Cup championships.
1987 – Cubs Andre Dawson is the first player from a last-place club to win an MVP.