Author: Slaten Swords

High School Basketball

The Columbus girls’ team broke through for their first victory of the season in a 55-24 final over Hillcrest Academy last night. Kennedy Woepking totaled 11 points in the win. The boys’ team lost to the Ravens 61-45. The Wildcats will throw down against Highland on Tuesday, December 9th, with the girls’ playing first at 6 pm.

Mt. Pleasant was swept by Burlington last night with the girls’ team losing 71-56 and the boys’ team falling 59-42. Abigail Shelangoski led the scoring with 12 points in the girls’ game, while Isiah Lange tallied 16 points in the boys’ game.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will host Holy Trinity Catholic on Monday, December 8th, at 7:30 pm.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will travel to Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, December 9th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union split their matchup against Lone Tree last night with the girls’ team losing 75-33, while the boys’ team shut down the Lions 46-36. Max Edwards had a big night, knocking in 15 points, collecting 16 rebounds, and snatching six steals in the victory. The Wolves will head to Hillcrest Academy on Tuesday with game one at 6 pm on the road.

The West Burlington boys’ team narrowly fell to Mediapolis last night 58-55. The Falcons will host Davis County tonight with the girls playing first at 4 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will tangle with Tipton today at 12:20 pm on the road. 

The Wapello girls’ team fell to Louisa-Muscatine last night 56-38. The Arrows will compete against Prince of Peace on Monday at 6 pm.

WACO hosted Pekin last night and the girls’ team was unable to come out on top, losing 53-47, while the boys’ team defeated the favorite of the SEISC-North in a 61-55 final. Brenna Graber scored 14 points in the girls’ game and Holden Hughes put up 20 points in the boys’ contest. 

The WACO girls’ team will face off against Louisa-Muscatine on Tuesday at 6 pm on the road and the boys’ team will make-up their game with Holy Trinity Catholic on Monday with gametime at 7:30 pm.

Danville swept Holy Trinity Catholic last night with the girls’ teams hammering the Crusaders 74-21, while the boys’ team snuck out with a 57-55 comeback victory. Corbin Van Niewall netted 15 points in the loss.

The Danville girls’ team will square off against Fort Madison on Thursday, December 11th, with tip-off at 6:30 pm.

The Danville boys’ team will take on Wapello today at 3:30 pm at home. 

The Van Buren County boys’ team defeated New London last night 60-56 for their first victory of the season. 

Van Buren County will host Centerville tonight with the girls’ game leading off the night at 5:30 pm. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to Lone Tree on Monday at 7:30 pm. 

Fairfield split their conference matchup with Fort Madison last night with the girls’ team falling 47-30, while the boys’ team snuck out with a 47-44 victory. The Trojans will face off against Ottumwa on Tuesday with the girls playing first at 6 pm at home.

Burlington Notre Dame will make the trip to West Branch on Monday with the boys’ game following the girls’ game at 7:30 pm.

Central Lee will travel to Danville on Friday, December 12th, with game one of the doubleheader starting at 6 pm.

High School Bowling

Fairfield split their matchup with Burlington last night with the boys’ team winning 2,563-2,548, while the girls’ team lost 1,571-1,548. The Trojans will compete in a triangular on the road on Monday, December 8th.

Mt. Pleasant will host Keokuk on Thursday, December 11th. 

High School Wrestling

The Burlington girls’ team won the Bill Rex Invitational last night, while the Van Buren County girls’ team took 5th place with 122.5 points. The Warriors were led by Jacqueline Singer and Brystol Wiley as they each claimed 2nd place in their respective weight classes. The Fairfield girls’ team saw Samantha Lyons and Kendra Allison snatch the gold in their respective weight classes. 

The Van Buren County and Fairfield girls’ teams will compete at the Washington meet on Thursday, December 11th.

The Van Buren County boys’ team will wrestle at the Bill Rex Invitational today. 

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will continue the Cliff Keen Independence Invitational today with five wrestlers having gone undefeated yesterday in Kohen Dietzenbach, Rowan Berndt, Ryan Rose, Jared Glendening, and Kael Cook.

The Wapello, WACO, and Mt. Pleasant boys’ and girls’ teams and the Mediapolis and Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ teams will participate in the Willard Howell Tournament today.

The Fairfield boys’ team will travel to the Bob Murphy Invitational today.

The New London boys’ team will start their season when they host the Jeremy Fulk Classic today. 

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team will face off against Northeast Community College today at home at 1 pm.

The men’s basketball team will host Kankakee Community College today at 3 pm.

College Football

Iowa State will have a new head football coach after Penn State hired Matt Campbell to an eight-year deal yesterday. The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year led the Cyclones to eight winning seasons in his 10 years at the helm. Iowa State hired Jimmy Rogers yesterday to fill the slot, inking the former Washington State head coach to a six-year deal. Rogers led South Dakota State to a 27-3 record and the FCS Championship in his two years as head coach.

College Basketball

The #12 Iowa women’s team will make the trip to Rutgers tonight at 5 pm for their first Big Ten matchup. 

The Iowa men’s team will face off against Maryland today at 3 pm at home.

The #10 Iowa State women’s team will take on Northern Illinois tomorrow, December 7th, at 1 pm at home.

The #10 Iowa State men’s team will travel to #1 Purdue today with tip-off at 11 am.

This Day in Sports History

1961 – Syracuse running back Ernie Davis became the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy.

1992 – San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice catches an NFL record 101st touchdown in a 27-3 win over the Miami Dolphins at Candlestick Park.

2018 – Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry goes off for a franchise-record 238 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-9 win versus the Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville; Henry’s 99-yard touchdown run ties Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett’s longest run in NFL history.

Ames, IA- Cyclone fans might be singing Waiting For a Train after last night’s news, or maybe they will be yodeling In the Jailhouse Now. In case the residents of Ames are confused, the songs listed above are Jimmie Rogers songs, which the new Iowa State football coach shares a name with, though the spelling is different.

The Cyclones wasted no time inking a deal with their new head coach after it was announced that Penn State signed Matt Campbell to a deal, pending approval on Monday by the compensation committee of the school’s board of trustees, of eight years.

In his 10-year tenure with Iowa State, Campbell was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and led the Cyclones to eight winning seasons, including a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon in 2020 for the schools’ first top-10 finish.

Campbell collected a 72-55 record with the Cyclones, becoming the winningest coach in school history and managed to accumulate a 35-15 record at Toledo.

For Rogers, he was plucked from Washington State as he led the Cougars to six wins this season and a bowl-game berth in his first year at the helm. He made a name for himself in his 12-year career at the helm of Football Championship Subdivision’s South Dakota State, which resulted in an FCS championship in 2023 and a trip to the semifinals the next season.

“My family and I are excited to be joining the Iowa State University community and the Cyclone football program,” Rogers said. “Iowa State has been one of the nation’s top programs for the last decade and we look forward to building upon its upward trajectory. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jamie Pollard has given me to lead the Cyclones. From the administration, to the alumni and current student-athletes, this University has everything needed to compete at the highest level in college football,” he added. “I am honored to be given this opportunity and responsibility and cannot wait to get started.”

Rogers owns a 33-9 record in his three-year head coach record as he earned the Eddie Robinson Award in 2023 as the nation’s top FCS coach.

Burlington, IA- In the first Southeast Conference (SEC) showdown of the season, Mt. Pleasant was looking to kennel the Burlington Grayhounds; instead, the Panthers spent the night in the doghouse, getting swept 71-56 in the girls’ game and 59-42 in the boys’ game.

Girls’ Game

#11 Burlington had won the previous four matchups against Mt. Pleasant with the last two having the Grayhounds jump out to instant double-digit leads. That was not the case in last night’s action as a lack of offense from the hosts saw the Panthers trail by only six at the end of the first quarter, 13 to 7.

Burlington got out to a fast start in the second quarter, increasing their lead to eight, 16 to 8, before Mt. Pleasant roared back with a 10 to 3 run to only trail 19 to 17. This is where the game slipped away from the Maroon and Gold as the Grayhounds saw Mylee Stiefel and Vanessa Woodsmall combine for five of the team’s six three-pointers in the second quarter.

A two-point deficit turned into a 17-point deficit at the half and the Panthers were never able to keep up with the hot hands of Burlington. The Grayhounds were led by their big three of Daphne Brown, who led the way with 26 points, Stiefel, and Woodsmall, as the trio scored 66 of the team’s 71 points.

For Mt. Pleasant, there is reason to be confident in the team’s performance. Their 56 points are the most the squad has put up in a game since the 2023 season. Additionally, seven of the eight players that saw time on the floor put up at least three points, including a team-high 12 points from Abigail Shelangoski.

The biggest positive was Elodie Rawson being one of the eight in the rotation. Originally, the freshman was not slated to see the court until January. Nevertheless, the young guard saw action and played some solid minutes.

Mt. Pleasant will attempt to get their first win of the season on Monday, December 8^th, at 7:30 pm in their home opener.

Boys’ Game

Another game, a similar story for Mt. Pleasant. The Panthers were held under 10 points in a quarter 30% of the time last season, while allowing 20 or more points 20% of the time. So far this season, it is 25% and 37.5%, respectively.

Burlington, in their first game of the season, strutted out almost a completely new starting squad from a year ago. The starting lineup included a sophomore named Jett Morris. If you did not know his name before the game, you do now.

The sophomore exploded onto the scene, scoring 28 points as Burlington outscored the Panthers 34 to 18 in the middle frames. One of the problems for Mt. Pleasant was a lack of three-point shooting. As a team that buried over 150 threes last season, the Panthers managed to knock down just one in the contest.

Overall, it was a night that lacked offense. Moreover, it is the fourth consecutive game for the Panthers going back to the end of last season that they failed to eclipse the 50-point plateau. Still, there’s reason to be excited about Mt. Pleasant.

Isaiah Lange, a sophomore, netted 16 points in the effort, while Carter Gehling, another sophomore, knocked down the only three-pointer. Additionally, the Panthers are without the services of Noah Lange and Ryan Helling, two of their starters from a season ago.

If the three-point can start falling, then the Panthers could be looking at a fun season. However, they will be tasked with traveling to Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, December 9^th, at 7:30 pm.

Both Burlington teams will play Muscatine on the road with the boys’ team playing today and the girls’ team facing off on Monday.

Other Conference Games

The Keokuk girls’ team will be looking to reclaim the conference crown, and they got off to a good start by beating Washington last night 49-41, while the Fort Madison girls’ team knocked down Fairfield 47-30.

On the boys’ side, Keokuk demolished Washington 78-42 and Fairfield snuck past Fort Madison 47-44.