Postseason Football

The quarterfinal round is officially complete and four teams from each of the seven classifications will be heading to the UNI-Dome this week to compete in their semifinal matchups. Here’s how the quarterfinal matchups wrapped up last night.

Starting in Class 5A, Iowa City Liberty outlasted Ankeny 21-13, while last year’s champion Southeast Polk pummeled Iowa City West 42-15. The Rams and Lightning will play on Friday, November 15th, at 7 pm. Dowling Catholic won a defensive battle against Ankeny Centennial 14-10 and Valley defeated Johnston 38-35 in a shootout. The two will compete on Friday at 4 pm.

In Class 4A, Lewis Central, attempting to repeat as state champions, surpassed ADM 32-25. The Titans will face off against Pella at 4 pm on Thursday, November 14th, after the Dutch defeated Gilbert 19-14 as dual threat quarterback Collin Kerndt finished the night with 183 total yards and three touchdowns in the win. North Polk handled business against Xavier 35-14, while North Scott snuck past Decorah 28-24. The Comets and Lancers will compete at 7 on Thursday night.

In Class 3A, Mt. Vernon is heading back to the state tournament after overcoming a 15-point deficit at halftime to take down Algona 31-28. After scoring the first three points of the game, Solon was humbled by Humboldt in a 35-3 drubbing last night. The Mustangs and Wildcats are slated to play on Saturday, November 16th, at 7 pm. Wahlert Catholic defeated Independence 24-7 and Sergeant Bluff-Luton handled Nevada 53-21. The two will compete on Saturday at 4 pm.

For Class 2A, Mid-Prairie’s 7-game winning streak was snapped by PCM in a 41-0 shutout last night. PCM will face off against Spirit Lake on Saturday at 10 am. Van Meter also pitched a shutout against Anamosa, 31-0, while West Lyon sprinted past Kuemper Catholic 49-14. Van Meter versus West Lyon is scheduled to start at 1 pm on Saturday. 

Grundy Center is looking to repeat as Class 1A state champions after crushing Sumner-Fredericksburg 35-6. Grundy Center will take on Wilton after the Beavers’ Owen Hassell rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns in a 14-point fourth quarter comeback to win over Regina Catholic 21-14. Dike-New Hartford downed South Hardin 36-19 and Hinton defeated Underwood 37-15. The two will compete on Friday at 10 am.

Each game in Class A was decided by at least two possessions as West Hancock handled Woodbury Central 44-15, Saint Ansgar smacked Maquoketa Valley 44-13, Tri-Center ran past ACGC 47-20, and Madrid did enough to beat Lisbon 27-14. West Hancock and Madrid will face off at 10 am on Thursday, followed by Tri-Center versus Saint Ansgar at 1 pm.

Lastly, 8-player semifinal football will begin on Wednesday, November 13th, with Remsen St. Mary’s taking on Bishop Garrigan at 10 am, while Gladbrook-Reinbeck will compete against Lenox at 1 pm. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team traveled to Missouri for day one of the Midwest JUCO challenge and picked up a narrow victory over Mineral Area College, 65-59. The Blackhawks will face off against Three Rivers Community College today at 2 pm for the final day of the challenge. 

College Football

Iowa’s trip to California was spoiled by a late field goal as UCLA exited with the 20-17 victory. The Hawkeyes struggled to run the football, gaining just 80 yards on the ground with Kaleb Johnson averaging just 2.7 yards per carry and scoring one of the two rushing touchdowns. Iowa will look for answers during their bye week.

#17 Iowa State will look to get back in the win column against Kansas on the road today at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

College Basketball

The Iowa men’s team will stay at home to take on South Dakota on Tuesday, November 12th, at 8 pm. 

The #6 Iowa State men’s team will face off against Kansas City at home on Monday, November 11th, at 7 pm.

The #8 Iowa State women’s team will host Southern tomorrow, November 10th, at 2 pm.

The Iowa women’s team will travel to Virginia Tech tomorrow at 4:30 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1953 – The Supreme Court rules Major League baseball exempt from antitrust laws.

1991 – Houston’s Roman Anderson becomes the first player in NCAA history to surpass 400 points by kicking a 32-yard field goal in the Cougars’ 23-14 victory over Texas.

1996 – Evander Holyfield upsets Mike Tyson in an 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas to regain the WBA heavyweight boxing title; becoming the second boxer, after Muhammad Ali, to win a heavyweight title three times.

Prep Football- 8-Player kicked off the quarterfinal round last night and familiar faces will be making a reappearance at the UNI-Dome next Wednesday, November 13^th, after dominating the competition, while one game needed extra time to decide a winner.

Pod A

If #1 Lenox and Montezuma counted only the odd quarters, it would have been a tight contest; unfortunately for the Braves, that’s not how football works as they were outscored 35 to 0 in the second and fourth quarters as the Tigers won 62-20.

Both teams ran the ball efficiently as Lenox rumbled for 325 rushing yards and six scores, while Montezuma put up 221 rushing yards and three scores, but turnovers leaned in the Tigers favor with three interceptions, including a pick-six from senior Brody Brokaw.

The Tigers were led by dual threat quarterback Gabe Funk as he rushed for 145 yards and collected six total touchdowns in the win. The Braves had Broox Stockman finish the night with 132 yards and two scores on the ground.

Montezuma finished the season with a 10-2 record.

Pod B

#3 Don Bosco and #5 Gladbrook-Reinbeck had already met for the season opener, which the Dons won 33-26. Since then, the teams had only grown stronger especially on offense as Don Bosco outscored their first two postseason opponents 114 to 26, while the Rebels put up 119 points.

A close matchup was expected, a double-overtime thriller ending on a failed two-point attempt was unexpected but enjoyed by Gladbrook-Reinbeck who snuck away with the 34-33 victory on the road.

Don Bosco continued to lean on Kyler Knaack as he rushed the ball 41 times for 193 yards and three touchdowns, he even recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Drew Eilers was the muse for the Rebels tossing for 189 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck had a chance to end the game in the first overtime, but the extra point attempt went wide, keeping the game tied at 27. Eilers would scramble for one of his two rushing touchdowns in the second overtime and the extra point would put the Rebels up 34 to 27.

Predictably, Knaack who pound his way in from two-yards out to set a two-point conversion; yet Eilers, the hero of the game, came up with the stop and sealed the win for the Rebels.

Don Bosco finished with a 10-1 record for the season.

Pod C

#2 Bishop Garrigan is looking to repeat as state champs after dispatching #10 Edgewood-Colesburg 51-36. Running the football was the game plan for the Golden Bears and they executed the plan to the tun of 399 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

Trayton Cink kept the ball 21 times for 200 yards and three scores to lead the rushing attack for the defending champions. Pryce Rochford attempted to put the Vikings on his back with 299 total yards, four total touchdowns, and 17.5 tackles but it was not enough.

Edgewood-Colesburg finished the season with a 10-1 record.

Pod D

#4 Remsen St. Mary’s and #6 Audubon both entered the game undefeated, but it was clear by the end of the night who the better team was with the Hawks pummeling the Wheelers 61-20.

The game was over by halftime as St. Mary’s ran the score up to 46 points, while Audubon managed just six points in the same span. Landon Waldschmitt could do no wrong as the senior threw for four touchdowns and rushed for two more to go along with his 218 total yards.

The Hawks defense lived up to their name, snatching three interceptions in the victory. Aaron Olsen, senior, was the lone bright spot for Audubon as he collected 72 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Audubon amasses a 10-1 record for the season.

State Semifinal Matchups

#4 Remsen St. Mary’s will take on #2 Bishop Garrigan at 10 am, followed by #5 Gladbrook-Reinbeck versus #1 Lenox at 1 pm on Wednesday, November 13^th, at the UNI-Dome.

Postseason Volleyball

The 2024 state championship matches are in the books and despite the dramatic nature of the contests, only one of the game’s made it to a fourth set.

Class 5A’s state championship bout featured last year’s champion #6 Waukee Northwest taking on #1 Pleasant Valley. The Spartans would curtail any thought of a repeat as they went on a 10 to 1 run in the fourth set to win their program’s second championship (25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 25-16). Isabelle Kremer led the team with 24 kills as she was named All-Tournament Team Captain. 

#2 Bishop Heelan cruised to their fourth state championship in a sweep of #5 Pella (25-10, 25-13, 25-17) in the Class 4A championship. The Crusaders were led by a trio of All-Tournament team nods, Maddie LaFleur’s 36 assists fed Maliyah Hacker and Ava Lloyd as they finished the game with a combined 34 kills in the victory. 

Class 3A featured a rematch of last year’s championship game where #2 Western Christian pulled off the upset and downed #1 Mt. Vernon in four sets. The Mustangs were on a mission to not allow that to happen again, sweeping the Wolfpack (25-17, 25-17, 25-18). The Mustangs finished with an impressive kill efficiency of 0.343 as they collected their 5th state championship in program history. 

#1 Denver was not going to be denied in their pursuit of their first state championship as they defeated #2 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in a sweep (25-16, 25-23, 25-20) in the Class 2A championship contest. Molly Shafer’s historic run came to an end as the senior collected 26 kills in the loss and 88 over the course of the postseason, including a state record 41 kills in their semifinal win. The Cyclones were led by Channing Johnson’s 38 assists.

#1 Ankeny Christian had never been to the state tournament before 2022, the Eagles are now three-time state champions after taking down #6 BCLUW in straight sets last night (25-15, 25-13, 25-13). Katie Quick, who was named All-Tournament Team Captain for the third year in a row, collected 36 assists and 10 kills as Macey Nehring led the team with 17 kills. 

Postseason Football

In Class 2A, Mid-Prairie will take on PCM tonight  at 7 on the road. 

In Class 3A, #5 Mt. Vernon will travel to take on Algona tonight at 7 pm. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team will compete in the Midwest JUCO challenge today with a game against Mineral Area College.

College Football

Iowa will travel to UCLA tonight at 8:05 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.

#17 Iowa State will look to get back in the win column against Kansas on the road tomorrow, November 9th, at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

College Basketball

The Iowa men’s team kept Southern at arm’s length the entire night to secure an 89-74 victory. The Sandfort brothers led the charge with Pryce throwing in a game-high six threes for 22 points, while Payton put up 17 points and collected eight rebounds. The Hawkeyes will stay at home to take on South Dakota on Tuesday, November 12th, at 8 pm. 

The #6 Iowa State men’s team will face off against Kansas City at home on Monday, November 11th, at 7 pm.

The #8 Iowa State women’s team hosted a block party in last night’s 64-42 victory over Indiana State, swatting 10 shots. Audi Crooks continued to dominate the post, tallying her 34th straight game of double-digit points with a team leading 16 points. The Cyclones will host Southern on Sunday, November 10th, at 2 pm.

The Iowa women’s team will travel to Virginia Tech on Sunday at 4:30 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1966 – Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles outfielder, selected as AL MVP, first player to win MVP in both leagues.

1966 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs an anti-trust immunity to the AFL-NFL merger.

1970 – Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints kicks a then-NFL record 63 yard field goal. The record stood for 43 years.