Postseason High School Volleyball

The quarterfinals finished up play yesterday and Class 3A featured the only upsets of the day.

For Class 3A, #1 Western Christian punched their ticket to a record 25th straight semifinal match after sweeping #8 Mt. Vernon. The Wolfpack tallied a kill efficiency of 0.380 with just six errors on the match. #5 Humboldt will get to take on the challenge after the Wildcats swept Cherokee Washington in dominant fashion. The semifinal showdown will be at 2 pm today.

In the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Assumption handled #7 Mid-Prairie in straight sets. Jovi Evans tabbed seven kills in the loss as the Golden Hawks finished with a 30-10 record for the season. The Knights will take on #6 Kuemper Catholic at 2:25 pm today after Kuemper Catholic pulled off the upset against #3 Red Oak in four sets. 

Over in Class 2A, #1 Denver started their campaign for a second straight state championship with a sweep against #8 Wapsie Valley, averaging a win differential of 11 points per set. #4 Grundy Center rallied back from a two-set deficit to defeat #5 Beckman Catholic 15-13 in the tiebreaker set. The semifinal matchup between Denver and Grundy Center will take place today at 4 pm.

#2 Dike-New Hartford defeated #7 Aplington-Parkersburg in straight sets, while #3 Hinton took down #6 Regina Catholic in four sets. The Blackhawks and Wolverines will face off today at 4:25 pm. 

Lastly, in Class 1A, #1 Saint Ansgar crushed #8 East Mills in straight sets last night to advance to the semifinals where they will play #4 Dunkerton, who nearly blew a two-set-to-nothing lead against #5 BCLUW but escaped with a 15-8 victory in the fifth set. The Saints and Raiders will play at 6 pm tonight. 

The night concluded with #2 Janesville taking down #7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck in four sets and #3 North Tama sweeping #6 Sidney. The Redhawks and Wildcats will square off tonight at 6:25 pm.

In Class 5A, #1 Waukee Northwest will take on #5 Ankeny today at 10 am, while #2 Ankeny Centennial and #6 Valley will meet at 10:25 am.

For Class 4A, #1 Clear Creek Amana will take on #5 North Scott in the semifinals today at noon. #2 Sioux Center and #3 Pella will meet in the semifinals today at 12:25 pm.

Postseason High School Football

For Class 3A Pod B, Solon will host Winterset on Friday, November 7th, at 7 pm.

For Class 2A Pod C, Mid-Prairie will take on Van Meter on Friday at 7 pm. 

For Eight-Player Pod D, Iowa Valley will face off against Audubon at home tomorrow, November 6th, at 7 pm for their quarterfinal matchup. 

High School All-District Teams

District 5 for Eight-Player released their All-District Teams yesterday and Iowa Valley’s Nolan Kriegle defended his Offensive MVP from last season after leading the state in total touchdowns this season. Casey Krull of Iowa Valley took home All-District Head Coach for the second straight season. 

WACO put five on the 1st Team with Hayden Shelman being named 1st Team running back as the junior produced 1,212 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns for the season. Adam Stafford was named 1st Team offensive lineman as he helped pave the way for an offense that compiled 2,054 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns. Niles Reichenbach took home 1st Team kicker and linebacker as he nailed a 30-yard field goal and amassed 35 tackles. Lastly, Trey Edeker’s eight tackles for loss earned the senior 1st Team defensive lineman.

Casey Coakley, Tyler Rogers, Sam Meyer, and Raefe Davison were named to the 2nd Team.

Winfield-Mt. Union had seven players find a spot on the All-District Team. Tayson Samuels and Max Edwards were named to the 1st Team as pass catchers. Samuels hauled in 53 receptions for 615 yards and three touchdowns, while Edwards led the team with eight receiving touchdowns on 46 catches for 580 yards. Throwing the ball was 1st Team punter and 2nd Team quarterback Cody Milks. The junior averaged 36 yards per punt and tossed for 1,404 yards and 13 touchdowns, while running for another five scores.

Grant Anderson earned his second 1st Team offensive lineman honor as he provided the lanes for four yards per carry and the necessary time for Milks to throw the ball. 

On the 2nd Team, Gabe Cummings claimed a spot on the offensive line, while Nicholas Sparrow totaled 380 yards and seven touchdowns as a running back for the Wolves. On the 2nd Team defense, Wyatt Palmer was named 2nd Team defensive lineman. 

For a full list of the All-District Teams, follow this link: Eight-Player All-District 5 Teams

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will travel to Fort Dodge for the Region 11 championship match at 7 pm tonight against Iowa Central Community College. 

The women’s basketball team roared back from a slow first half to pull off the 77-76 comeback victory over Carl Sandburg Community College last night. The Blackhawks will host Black Hawk College at 5 pm on Wednesday, November 12th.

The men’s basketball team will host the Midwest Classic on Friday, November 7th, with game one at 7 pm.

College Football

Iowa State will make the trip to TCU on Saturday, November 8th, at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

Iowa will host #6 Oregon on Saturday at 2:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

College Basketball

The #21 Iowa women’s team will host Evansville on Sunday, November 9th, at 2 pm.

The Iowa men’s team secured their first win in the Ben McCollum era, crushing Robert Morris last night 101-69. Bennett Stirtz stuffed the stat sheet in the winning effort, cashing in for 19 points, six assists, and four steals. The Hawkeyes will stay at home for their Friday, November 7th, matchup against Western Illinois at 6 pm.

The #14 Iowa State women’s team will go against Southern University tonight at 6:30 pm at home.

The #16 Iowa State men’s team will face off against Grambling State tomorrow, November 6th, at 7 pm at home.

This Day in Sports History

1967 – The New Orleans Saints pick up their first franchise victory, beating the Philadelphia Eagles 31-24.

1968 – MLB Detroit Tiger Denny McLain becomes the first AL pitcher to win MVP, winning unanimously.

1978 – Oakland Raider’s John Madden becomes the 13th coach to win 100 NFL games.

Prep Football- As District 5 for Eight-Player cheers for Iowa Valley to continue their undefeated run through the season with a quarterfinal showdown against Audubon at home this Thursday, November 6^th, the All-District Teams were released with the Tigers leading the pack.

Offensive MVP

For the second consecutive season, Nolan Kriegel of Iowa Valley took home Offensive MVP as the junior combined for 2,434 total yards and 53 touchdowns through ten weeks of the season. Most importantly, as a quarterback, he has thrown zero interceptions and completing 67.3% of his passes.

His 58 total touchdowns rank first in the entire state. He was also voted 1^st Team All-District quarterback.

Defensive MVP

Belle Plaine, the newcomer to the district, had Wade Sankot lift the hardware. The 1^st Team All-District linebacker tallied 57 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and nabbed a pick-six in his senior season along with rushing for 845 yards and eight touchdowns.

Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year

Iowa Valley has produced one of the best seasons in their program’s history, climbing as high as #4 in the Eight-Player rankings for the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and still sitting at 10-0 with one win separating them from a trip to the UNI-Dome.

For those efforts, Casey Krull was named All-District Head Coach for the second straight season and Dan Sovers was named All-District Assistant Coach.

Golden Spikes Award

The Golden Spikes award is given out to players who were injured for all or part of the season and did not play enough games to earn All-District honors.

Unfortunately, Deshon Anderson of English Valleys made the list for the second consecutive year. Chandler McKibben of Iowa Valley was also nominated for the award.

WACO

The Warriors made it to the postseason for the 5^th straight season after finishing in 3^rd place for the district. For that achievement, WACO had five players make it on 1^st Team Offense or Defense and five additional players find a spot on the 2^nd Team.

Swiss army knife Hayden Shelman was named 1^st Team running back for the district as his electric play carried the offense. The junior produced 1,212 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 7.1 yards per carry. He also added 571 yards through the air passing and 21 yards receiving. He finished the season with 22 total touchdowns.

Paving the way for Shelman and the offense that compiled 2,054 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns was 6’8 senior Adam Stafford. For his bulldozing ways, Stafford was named 1^st Team offensive lineman.

For the final spot on the 1^st Team offense, Niles Reichenbach was named 1^st Team kicker. The senior was 26 of 28 on extra points and made a 30-yard field goal on the season. This is the second season in a row that he has earned this honor.

Switching over to defense, Trey Edeker was named 1^st Team defensive lineman. The undersized lineman burrowed his way through for 25 tackles, including a team high eight tackles for loss and the only sack of the season.

Along with earning 1^st Team kicker, Reichenbach also claimed 1^st Team linebacker. The senior finished second on the team with 35 tackles and tied for first with interceptions two.

On the 2^nd Team, Casey Coakley was named 2^nd Team wide receiver and Nic Pacha was put on as 2^nd Team offensive lineman. Coakley led the team with 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, Tyler Rogers found a spot on the defensive line, while Sam Meyer and Raefe Davison were named 2^nd Team linebackers. Meyer led the team in tackles with 43.5 and nabbed two interceptions. Davison collected six tackles for loss and Rogers amassed 18 tackles.

Levi Bachman and Kellen Shelman were named to the Honorable Mention list.

Winfield-Mt. Union

The Wolves nearly snuck into the playoffs but just missed out despite averaging 30 points per game with their most impressive win coming against English Valleys in a 28-26 final. Helping the offense glide through the air was Tayson Samuels, as he was named 1^st Team wide receiver, and Max Edwards, 1^st Team tight end.

Samuels led the team in receptions with 53 and yards with 615. He also grabbed three touchdowns. Edwards caught 46 passes for 580 yards with a team-leading eight receiving touchdowns. It is Edwards’ second time earning a spot on the 1^st Team.

Also finding a spot on the 1^st Team for the second straight season was senior offensive lineman Grant Anderson. He helped the rushing attack gain four yards per carry and 1,526 yards through the air.

Appreciating that time was 1^st Team punter and 2^nd Team quarterback Cody Milks. The junior averaged 36 yards per punt as he booted it away 18 times throughout the season. As a quarterback, he tossed for 1,404 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 157 yards and five scores on the ground.

Nicholas Sparrow, a senior, was named 2^nd Team running back for his 380 total yards and seven total touchdowns. Leading the way was 2^nd Team offensive lineman Gabe Cummings, a senior.

Wyatt Palmer was placed on the 2^nd Team defensive line as he accounted for 13.5 tackles, one tackle for loss, and two fumble recoveries. Kade Sweezer was named Honorable Mention.

Full 1^st Team Offense

QB- Nolan Kreigel, Iowa Valley

RB- Hayden Shelman, WACO

RB- Cale Weisskopf, HLV/TC

RB- Dane Smith, Iowa Valley

RB- Braydon Anderson, English Valleys

WR- Tayson Samuels, Winfield-Mt. Union

WR- Evertt Bender, English Valleys

TE/FB- Max Edwards, Winfield-Mt. Union

OL- Mason Hoyt, Iowa Valley

OL- Will Sankot, Belle Plaine

OL- Adam Stafford, WACO

OL- Grant Anderson, Winfield-Mt. Union

UTL- Drew Fisher, English Valleys

UTL- Dallas Sherman, Iowa Valley

K- Niles Reichenbach, WACO

Full 1^st Team Defense

DL- Kane Axmear, English Valleys

DL- Lane Chvala, Iowa Valley

DL- Owen Ary, Iowa Valley

DL- Trey Edeker, WACO

LB- Chance Hoyt, Iowa Valley

LB- Wade Sankot, Belle Plaine

LB- Cael Grove, English Valleys

LB- Niles Reichenbach, WACO

DB- Josh Reed, Iowa Valley

DB- Layne Peska, Iowa Valley

UTL- Jack Osborn, English Valleys

UTL- Aidan Timm, Belle Plaine

RET- Peyton Dostal, Belle Plaine

P- Cody Milks, Winfield-Mt. Union

Full 2^nd Team Offense

QB- Cody Milks, Winfield-Mt. Union

RB- Nick Sparrow, Winfield-Mt. Union

WR- Casey Coakley, WACO

WR- Sean McCullough, HLV/TC

TE/FB- Derek Kressley, Belle Plaine

OL- Ben Flander, English Valleys

OL- Kaleb Bolinger, English Valleys

OL- Nic Pacha, WACO

OL- Gabe Cummings, Winfield-Mt. Union

UTL- Breyer Jack, HLV/TC

K- Kray Massman, Belle Plaine

Full 2^nd Team Defense

DL- Tyson Kriegel, Iowa Valley

DL- Elijah Lillie, Iowa Valley

DL- Wyatt Palmer, Winfield-Mt. Union

DL- Tyler Rogers, WACO

LB- Colton Mikesell, English Valleys

LB- Sam Meyer, WACO

LB- Raefe Davison, WACO

DB- Boston Rooda, HLV/TC

DB- Zavier Pederson, Iowa Valley

Honorable Mentions

Belle Plaine: Tanner Johnson

English Valleys: Owen Mather and Christian Tripses

HLV/TC: Tristan Pirkl and Easton Krumm

WACO: Levi Bachman and Kellen Shelman

Winfield-Mt. Union: Kade Sweezer