High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will stay at home to compete against Tipton on Friday, September 13th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. Head coach John Bowlin talked about the message he delivered to his team heading into this week of practice,

“You know, it’s been a long time since the Panthers have won on this home field and they’ll be ready to go. I think you know, it’s another game that we can definitely compete in. I think these guys can compete against everybody. I believe in them. I think that they’re gonna put the work in. They know that. So, we’ll show up on Monday and we’re going to learn and just get better and keep working as hard as we can.”

West Burlington/Notre Dame will go against West Liberty on Friday at 7:30 pm at home.

WACO will celebrate homecoming this Friday at 7 pm against Winfield-Mt. Union. 

New London will host Iowa Valley on Friday at 7 pm.

Fairfield will face off against Washington on Friday at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Danville is back at home to take on Pekin on Friday at 7 pm.

Van Buren County will host Highland on Friday at 7 pm for their home opener. 

Central Lee will take on Durant on Friday at 7 pm at home.

Mediapolis will attempt to upset Regina Catholic on Friday at 7 pm on the road. 

Columbus will hit the road to face off against Lisbon at 7 pm on Friday. 

Wapello will compete at home against Louisa-Muscatine on Friday at 7 pm. 

High School Volleyball

Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO traveled to English Valleys for a tournament over the weekend and here’s how the two teams competed.

WACO finished pool play with a 1-2 record, falling to Hillcrest Academy 21-13 and 21-3 and Sigourney 21-13 and 21-5 in straight sets, while picking up a three set victory over Collins-Maxwell, dominating the final two sets 21-10 and 15-5. A big reason for the Warriors’ success against the Spartans was their serving as they generated 12 aces, including five from Kinsey Hildebrand.

Winfield-Mt. Union handled business in their pool, finishing a perfect 3-0. The Wolves swept the hosts 21-13 in both sets and Cardinal 23-21 and 21-14, while taking down East Marshall 15-10 in the third set. This set up a championship matchup against Sigourney with the two teams trading the first two sets, before the Wolves narrowly lost the third set 18-16 to finish as the runner-up. Quin Smith led the Wolves with 30 kills over the entire tournament as Madisen Kellogg tallied 61 assists.

WACO will face off against Wapello tomorrow, September 10th, at 7:30 pm at home.

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Pekin tomorrow at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Burlington Notre Dame hosted their own tournament over the weekend and here’s how it went down. In pool play, Wapello went 1-2 with losses to #13 Burlington Notre Dame and #9 West Burlington in straight sets, while sweeping Danville 21-14 and 22-20, propelling the Arrows into the semifinals.

New London struggled, losing to the Nikes, Falcons, and Danville, as that was the lone win of the tournament for the Bears with losses to Wapello, Keokuk, and Van Buren County.

Van Buren County lost to the Falcons 21-12 in both sets, but defeated Danville and Burlington Notre Dame in a thrilling three set final that the Warriors yanked out with a 15-9 score in pool play, which brought Van Buren County to the semifinals.

Despite that loss, the Nikes handled business in pool play with sweeps of Wapello (22-20, 21-17), Keokuk (21-7, 21-12), and New London (21-12, 21-13) to set up a rematch with Van Buren County in the semifinals. 

West Burlington did not drop a set in pool play with their closest margin of victory being 11 points with wins over New London, Wapello, Van Buren County, and Keokuk. The Falcons would meet Wapello in the semifinals and dominate, winning 21-11 and 21-5. Wapello’s Mila Jordan led the team with 25 kills. 

The Nikes handled business against Van Buren County in the semifinals with a sweep to set up a championship match against West Burlington. However, the hosts could not down the Falcons, losing 25-18 and 25-9 in straight sets. Madalynn Knapp tabbed 46 kills for the Nikes, while Emma Elmore tallied 99 assists. Taryn Snodgrass led the tournament with 111 assists as she captured her 1,000th career assist and Carli Cline finished with her 1,000th career dig, while leading the team with 12 aces.

West Burlington will host the rematch against Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow at 7:30 pm. 

Van Buren County will face off against New London tomorrow at 7:30 pm at home. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will look to right the ship tomorrow against Danville at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Mt. Pleasant will attempt to get back in the win column tomorrow at home against Fort Madison with the opening serve at 7:15 pm.

Central Lee will host Mediapolis tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

Fairfield will travel to Keokuk tomorrow at 7:15 pm. 

High School Cross Country

Winfield-Mt. Union, New London, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Mediapolis, and Van Buren County will run tomorrow, September 10th, at 4:30 pm at the Riverview Club. 

Fairfield will host their invitational on Thursday, September 12th, with Burlington Notre Dame, Central Lee, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Mediapolis, Mt. Pleasant, Winfield-Mt. Union, Van Buren County, and New London all attending. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will face off against Des Moines Area Community College on Wednesday, September 11th, at 7 pm on the road. 

College Football

#21 Iowa’s defense held Iowa State scoreless through the first half while Kaleb Johnson punished the Cyclone defense to the tune of 187 rushing yards and two scores for the game; however, it was a last-second field goal by Iowa State that gave the Cyclones a comeback victory, 20-19. Rocco Becht threw two touchdowns as Jaylin Noel collected 133 receiving yards and a score through the air. Darien Porter picked off Cade McNamara twice in the win.

Iowa State is on a bye week.

Iowa will attempt to get back on track against Troy at home on Saturday, September 14th, with kickoff at 3 pm. The broadcast will be on KILJ 105.5 FM.

This Day in Sports History

1960 – The Denver Broncos beat the Boston Patriots, 13-10, in the American Football League’s first game before 21,597 fans at Nickerson Field in Boston.

2002 – MLB Arizona Diamondbacks’ left handed pitcher Randy Johnson reaches 300 strikeouts for the fifth consecutive season, extending his major league record.

2018 – Green Bay Packers start 100th season with historic 24-23 comeback win over Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field; first ever Packer recovery from a 17-plus point deficit after three quarters of play.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant was attempting to start the year 2-0 for the first time since 2017, but West Burlington/Notre Dame’s rushing attack proved to be too much as the Falcons exited with the victory 31-10. The night started in the Panthers favor as Keegan Heaton deflected a punt, giving the Panthers a short field. Mt. Pleasant drove the ball and opted for a 22-yard field goal to take a 3 to 0 lead.

The Falcons next drive lasted over seven minutes as Landry Haberichter found Liam Stensgard open for a 15-yard touchdown pass, but a missed extra point and a field goal at the end of the half gave the Falcons a 9 to 3 lead.

Mt. Pleasant forced their third takeaway of the night in the middle of the third quarter and with a short field again, Payton Walker and Cooper Coleman went to work, gashing the defense which led to a 19-yard touchdown scramble for Walker to reclaim the lead 10 to 9. However, Quincy Collins’ physicality kept a tired Panther defense on the field as he rushed for three scores in the second half and 187 total yards for the game. Head coach John Bowlin talked about his team’s performance after the game,

“Yeah, our defense, I thought, really played three quarters. I mean they gave us in the second half, they gave us the ball back two times and we couldn’t do anything on offense, you know, and those on me, I gotta mix some things up a little better there, but we had holes there we were missing and you know give credit to their D, they were flying around playing hard you know we just got to get better at finishing the game there so our I thought our defense though was playing pretty lights out there for the first three quarters and just you know huge stop at the end of the first half came out and took the lead in the second-half right away and just like we had planned on doing and then we kind of just you know they got a little stronger than us at the end and we were definitely tired and not able to finish the game.”

Mt. Pleasant will stay at home to compete against Tipton on Friday, September 13th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

West Burlington/Notre Dame will go against West Liberty on Friday at 7:30 pm at home.

WACO and Iowa Valley met last night in a battle of the unbeatens and for the first time since 2018, the Tigers came out with the win 56-35 in a shootout. Clayton Miller threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns as Gage Samo was his go-to target, hauling in four passes for 81 yards and two scores. Nolan Krieger finished with 475 total yards and seven touchdowns in the win. WACO will celebrate homecoming this Friday at 7 pm against Winfield-Mt. Union. 

New London battled with Winfield-Mt. Union last night but finished short of the mark, losing 68-32. The Tigers will host Iowa Valley on Friday at 7 pm.

Fairfield ran wild last night against Fort Madison’s defense, pummeling the Bloodhounds 55-15. Luke Konczal had touchdown runs of 69 and 74 for the Trojans. Fairfield will face off against Washington on Friday at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Danville snuck past Highland to pick up their first win of the season 14-7. The Bears are back at home to take on Pekin on Friday at 7 pm.

Van Buren County was crushed by Pekin last night 54-0 as Will Adam tossed for 326 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 95 yards on the ground for the Panthers. The Warriors will host Highland on Friday at 7 pm for their home opener. 

Central Lee shutout Cardinal last night 47-0. Kayden Calfee had two passing touchdowns to go along with his 87 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. The Hawks will take on Durant on Friday at 7 pm at home.

Mediapolis lost to Sigourney-Keota last night 23-7. The Bulldogs will attempt to upset Regina Catholic on Friday at 7 pm on the road. 

Columbus handled Wapello last night 51-14. The Wildcats will hit the road to face off against Lisbon at 7 pm on Friday. Wapello will compete at home against Louisa-Muscatine on Friday at 7 pm. 

In other local scores, Washington defeated Burlington 14-6, Mt. Vernon handled Union 43-6, Assumption fell to Davenport North 28-19, and Keokuk lost 40-13 to Pella.

High School Volleyball

Winfield-Mt. Union will compete at a tournament today at English Valleys along with WACO. 

Danville, New London, West Burlington, and Van Buren County will compete in a tournament at Burlington Notre Dame today.

Mt. Pleasant will attempt to get back in the win column on Tuesday, September 10th, at home against Fort Madison with the opening serve at 7:15 pm.

Central Lee will host Mediapolis on Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

Fairfield will travel to Keokuk on Tuesday at 7:15 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will look to right the ship on Tuesday against Danville at 7:30 pm on the road. 

High School Cross Country

Winfield-Mt. Union, New London, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Meidapolis, and Van Buren County will run on Tuesday, September 10th, at 4:30 pm at the Riverview Club. 

Fairfield will host their invitational on Thursday, September 12th, with Burlington Notre Dame, Central Lee, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Mediapolis, Mt. Pleasant, Winfield-Mt. Union, Van Buren County, and New London all attending. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will face off against Des Moines Area Community College on Wednesday, September 11th, at 7 pm on the road. 

College Football

#21 Iowa is set to host this year’s rendition of the Cy-Hawk Series today at 2:30 pm. The Iowa broadcast will be on 105.5 FM and the Iowa State broadcast will be on 98.5 FM and AM 1130. 

This Day in Sports History

1892 – James Corbett KOs 4 to 1 favorite and defending champion John L. Sullivan in 21 rounds at the Olympic Club, New Orleans for the world heavyweight boxing title; Sullivan’s only defeat and his last fight.

1979 – The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) makes its debut.

1991 – Brigham Young University quarterback Ty Detmer passes for a then-NCAA record 11,606 yards.

8-Player

Winfield-Mt. Union 68, New London 32

Iowa Valley 56, WACO 35

Belle Plaine 46, HLV 24

Midland 19, English Valleys 14

Class A

Danville 14, Highland 7

Columbus 51, Wapello 14

Lisbon 48, Louisa-Muscatine 0

Class 2A

Central Lee 47, Cardinal 0

West Burlington 31, Mt. Pleasant 10

Regina Catholic 28, Mid-Prairie 17

Davis County 56, Centerville 33

Sigourney-Keota 23, Mediapolis 7

Pekin  54, Van Buren County 0

Class 3A

Fairfield 55, Fort Madison 15

Washington 14, Burlington 6

Mt. Vernon 43, Union 6

Davenport North 28, Assumption 19

Pella 40, Keokuk 13

Keokuk, IA- Mt. Pleasant began their season on the road at the Elks Fairview Golf Course in Keokuk and while the young teams performed well, it was another Southeast Conference team that dominated on both the boys’ and girls’ sides: Fort Madison.

In both varsity races, the Bloodhounds had 13 runners finish in the top ten (seven for the boys and six for the girls). Here’s how everyone fared last night.

Fort Madison

On the girls’ side, the Bloodhounds claimed the first five slots with Avery Rump grabbing 1^st place over Elie Hellman by 35 seconds with a time of 20 minutes and 10 seconds. Addison Rump, Mara Smith, and Jordyn Marshall claimed the other spots.

McKayla Schinstock snuck into the top ten with a time of 22 minutes and 26 seconds as Fort Madison totaled just 15 points, while Central Lee claimed second place with 97 points.

On the boys’ side, Jacob Shottenkirk, a top 30 runner in Class 3A, finished just three seconds ahead of WACO’s Jude Dykstra to take 1^st place with a time of 17 minutes and 33 seconds. Mason McLey placed 3^rd with a time of 17 minutes and 57 seconds.

Nolan Guzman, Peyton Lambert, Hunter Weigand, and Calvin Johnson claimed 5^th through 8^th place with times ranging from 18 minutes and 10 seconds to 18 minutes and 20 seconds. Finaly, Riley Tripp finished in 10^th place with a time of 18 minutes and 49 seconds.

The Bloodhounds finished with 18 points with Illini West taking 2^nd place with 71 points.

Central Lee

The Hawks girls’ team’s top runner was Evelyn Adkins as she grabbed 12^th place with a time of 23 minutes and 7 seconds. Macy Anderson was the next finisher in 22^nd place with a time of 25 minutes and 16 seconds.

On the boys’ side, the team finished in 3^rd place with 114 points as they defeated Clark County on a 6^th runner tie breaker. Leo Thomas grabbed 20^th place with a time of 20 minutes and 16 seconds, while Austin Forgarty and Ayden Kent finished in 25^th and 27^th, respectively.

Mt. Pleasant

Both squads finished with top 10 runners as the boys’ team took 5^th place with 130 points and the girls’ team took 4^th place with 98 points, losing the 6^th runner tie breaker with Keokuk.

Locken Henderson was the top runner for the Panthers as he raced to a time of 18 minutes and 4^th place. Silas Hulett finished in 13^th place followed by Oliver Rynders in 42^nd place with a time of 23 minutes and 17 seconds.

On the girls’ side, Ouintrie Lee grabbed 8^th place for the Panthers with a time of 21 minutes and 54 seconds, while Bella Dodds took 14^th place with a time of 23 minutes and 17 seconds. Monroe James claimed 30^th place with a time of 27 minutes and 1 second.

Holy Trinity Catholic

The boys’ team rounded out the team scoring with 177 points. Jay Ellison was their first finisher with a time of 21 minutes and 24 seconds, which placed him in 31^st place. Layne Rung grabbed 33^rd and Tanner Williams finished in 36^th place.

West Burlington-Notre Dame

The Falcons did not have enough runners to finish with a team score; however, Kaitlyn Kipp and Hannah Fruehling each finished within the top 15 in the girls’ race. Kipp took 6^th place with a time of 21 minutes and 34 seconds, while Fruehling took 11^th place.

Liam Haeger was the top runner for the Falcons on the boys’ side as he finished in 17^th place with a time of 20 minutes and 6 seconds.

WACO

The aforementioned Jude Dykstra was the best runner for the boys’ team with Tristan Luitjens being the next Warrior to finish in 29^th place with a time of 21 minutes and 13 seconds.

On the girls’ side, Josie Dykstra also finished in the top 10 as the Warrior paced her way to a 9^th place finish with a time of 22 minutes and 21 seconds. Elyssa Graber raced to a time of 24 minutes and 8 seconds, good enough for 16^th place.

Burlington

The girls’ team was led by Katelyn Kobliska’s 27^th place finish with a time of 26 minutes and 30 seconds. Maisy Yeoman took 32^nd place with a time of 27 minutes and 17 seconds.

Keokuk

Hannah Karre was the top runner for the Chiefs in 7^th place with a time of 21 minutes and 48 seconds as the team finished in 3^rd place with 98 points.

The boys’ team collected 163 points as Rollan Zetterlund grabbed 24^th place with a time of 20 minutes and 35 seconds.

Next Cross Country Event

A majority of these teams will meet in Fairfield on Thursday, September 12^th, for the Ron Hunerdosse Invite. Danville, New London, Mediapolis, Washington, Winfield-Mt. Union, and Van Buren County will also join the mix.