(Photo Courtesy of Keokuk’s Marketing Specialist Jessica Martin)

Keokuk, IA- It is not often that a former NFL player is hired to be the head coach of a high school football team; it is beyond rare that a former NFL player seeks out an opening at a high school, but Keokuk was the beneficiary of this seldom seen move.

Zach Summers, the Athletic and Activities Director, was the one to reveal the news that Marvin McNutt had been the one to pick Keokuk and understood the team,

“…And he knows our kids by name.”

When the inevitable question popped up of “why Keokuk?” new head coach McNutt had a simple answer,

“…One of my favorite quarterbacks is from here, James Vandenberg,” said McNutt. “I also recruited from here for Coe [College], these kids are special and so is this area.”

McNutt was an All-State athlete in football, baseball, and basketball at Hazelwood Central High School before joining the Iowa Hawkeyes football program. He was a team captain in 2011 and a part of Kirk Ferentz’s Leadership committee from 2007-2011.

With the help of Vandenberg, McNutt ended his collegiate career as the all-time leader in receiving touchdowns and yardage, single season and career, before becoming the 194^th pick in the NFL draft for the Philadelphia Eagles. He bounced around the league for three seasons before becoming a head coach for the Cedar Rapids Titans in Indoor Football League in 2017.

After serving as the general manager in 2018, McNutt moved on to become the wide receiver coach at Coe College until 2022. He coached two All-Conference receivers in his first two seasons.

(Photo Courtesy of Keokuk’s Marketing Specialist Jessica Martin)

He talked with the varsity, junior varsity, and middle school football players that attended the press conference afterwards as his goal for this program is a State Championship,

“I’m not going to just coach you like high school or college players, I’m going to coach you for the NFL.”

McNutt ended his press conference with this last note,

“…Let’s see where we can take this program, we will shoot for the moon and land next to the stars.”

The Chiefs finished last season with a 4-5 record as they have collected just three winning seasons over the past 16 seasons. Keokuk will start the season on the road against Ottumwa on August 30^th at 7:30 pm.

Girls’ State Basketball

The matchups are set for the state tournament with Class 5A and 3A set to tip-off the event today at 10 am. Here are today’s matchups.

In Class 5A, #1 Johnston defeated #8 Valley 60-31. #4 Waukee narrowly defeated #5 Ankeny Centennial 46-44. #2 Davenport North will take on #7 Cedar Falls, who has just one loss on the season. Lastly, #6 Pleasant Valley’s attempt to repeat will be a tough one as they compete against #3 Dowling Catholic at 3:15 pm to start off their tournament.

Class 3A will aptly have three games tonight with their final game starting off the day tomorrow, February 27th. At 5 pm, #1 Estherville Lincoln Central faces off against #8 Forest City. #4 Mount Vernon takes on #5 Harlan Community. #2 Des Moines Christian takes on #7 Benton Community to round the night in a rematch of last year’s four-seed versus five-seed contest that saw the Bobcats come out on top. #3 Solon will compete against #6 Dubuque Wahlert tomorrow morning at 10 am to finish up the Class 3A first round as there will be a new champion crowned.

Boys’ Substate Basketball

In Class 1A Substate 5, the defenses dominated but a 12 to 2 run for Winfield-Mt. Union gave the Wolves the momentum needed to win 46-41 over Holy Trinity Catholic. The Crusaders had cut the deficit to two in the fourth quarter, but Winfield-Mt. Union again counted on clutch free throws to seal the win. Luke Hellige led the scoring for Holy Trinity Catholic with 16 points as Conner Gehling finished his career with 1,001 points after cashing in for 10 points. Head coach John Hellige talked about his seniors Gehling and Maddox Rung.

Cam Buffington led the way with 18 points as Abram Edwards was enthusiastic about his team advancing to state after the game. The Wolves took the #4 seed and will take on #5 Lynnville-Sully on Monday, March 4th, at 12:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at noon.

Class 2A Substate 4, West Burlington rushed past West Branch 61-44 over the weekend to advance to the state tournament with a perfect 21-0 record. The Falcons grabbed the 4th seed and will take on Treynor on March 4th at 7:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7 pm.

For Class 3A Substate 5, Keokuk will face off against Williamsburg in the substate final tonight at 6:30 pm at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

All-Southeast Conference Teams

The Southeast Conference released their All-Conference list before the weekend for girls’ and boys’ wrestling along with girls’ basketball and here’s the First-Team All-Conference members.

For girls’ wrestling, Fort Madison had eight First-Team All-Conference members in Hailey Kemper, Lucille Zimmerman, Briena Fenton, Mara Smith, Chloe Sokolik, Kat Diprima, Tatum Peters, and Sadie Brandon. Burlington had four honorees in Aliya Snyder, Sarina Cline, Adrian Thorton, and Kiara Rodriguez. Fairfield’s Samantha Lyons and Keokuk’s Jalyiah Gardner also earned a spot as Gardner and Smith earned CO-SEC Wrestler of the Year honors. Peyton Mowery of Mt. Pleasant grabbed Second-Team All-Conference.

For boys’ wrestling, Fort Madison led the way with five First-Team honorees in Luke Vanderpool, Isaac Thacher, Teague Smith, Cory Arnett, and SEC Wrestler of the Year Nolan Riddle. Fairfield had Cael McCabe, Zandrik Allison, and Dain Burkhart earn a spot on the list. Robert Howes was the lone member of Keokuk to earn First-Team honors. Washington had three wrestlers grab a spot in Aaron Boone, Caden Greiner, and Chase Greiner. Landon Beckler of Mt. Pleasant was named Second-Team All-Conference.

For girls’ basketball, Keokuk headlines the team with Makenna Altgilbers, Camryn Atterberg, and SEC Player of the Year Kendra Boatman making the First-Team. Dayonna Davis of Fort Madison, Savannah Hollander of Fairfield, and Mylee Stiefel of Burlington also earned a spot. Mt. Pleasant’s Abby Carthey grabbed a spot on the Second-Team. 

Boys’ Basketball will be released this week.

College Basketball

The #4 Iowa women’s team got back in the win column yesterday with a three-point barrage against Illinois, winning 101-85. The Hawkeyes nailed 17 threes as Caitlin Clark registered a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Hawkeyes will travel to Minnesota on Wednesday, February 28th, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team clobbered BYU over the weekend 74-49 as Audi Crooks set the new freshman season scoring record after putting up 18 points in the win. Emily Ryan led the way in scoring with 22 points. The Cyclones will face off against #10 Kansas State on Wednesday at 6:30 pm.

The #8 Iowa State men’s team defeated West Virginia 71-64 over the weekend. Tamin Lipsey led the scoring with 14 points. The Cyclones will compete against Oklahoma on Wednesday at home at 7 pm.

The Iowa men’s team fell to #12 Illinois over the weekend 95-85. Tony Perkins had a nice game with 18 points and tied for the team high in rebounds with 8. The Hawkeyes will take on Penn State in a road matchup tomorrow, February 27th, at 8 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1967 – 9th Daytona 500: Mario Andretti wins his first and only NASCAR Grand National event; only time a driver born outside the US has ever won the Great American Race.

1981 – 84 penalties (406 mins) assessed for a brawl between the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars and the Boston Bruins. Boston won 5-1.

2017 – 59th Daytona 500: Kurt Busch wins after Kyle Larson runs out of gas on the last lap; Jeffrey Earnhardt makes NASCAR history as the first ever 4th generation driver to compete in the Daytona 500.