Preview for High School Football
Mt. Pleasant will be hosting Fairfield to begin the season on August 25th with John Bowlin leading the squad in his first season with the Panthers.
Danville and Van Buren County will be competing in the same district in Class A with the Bears taking on Lynnville-Sully and the Warriors facing off against Central Lee.
In 8-man football, Winfield-Mt. Union begins their season against Central City. New London will travel to take on Easton Valley. Lastly, WACO’s week one matchup will be Fremont-Mills on the road.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s Cam Buffington is electric with the football; however, Head Coach Scott McCarty mentioned that they thought about moving the selfless senior to the offensive line but vetoed the move.
Preview for High School Volleyball
Mt. Pleasant’s first game of the season will be on a road trip to Burlington on August 21st to take on the Grayhounds in Logan Wall’s first game at the helm for the Panthers.
New London’s first game of the season will be a home matchup against Holy Trinity Catholic on August 31st.
Winfield-Mt. Union will host Keokuk to start the season on August 24th.
Holy Trinity Catholic will be participating in a tournament on August 26th hosted by Bondurant-Farrar to start their season.
WACO will host their own tournament on August 21st. Van Buren County will also be competing in the tournament.
Central Lee will begin their season on August 26th with their own tournament starting at 9 am.
Upcoming Meet the Player Nights
Mt. Pleasant will be hosting their “Meet the Panthers Night” on August 18th at the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex; the only exception being the volleyball team will scrimmage at the high school at 4 pm. Introductions will begin at 7:15 pm starting with the Cheerleaders followed by Cross Country, Volleyball, and then Football. A cheer performance will lead into a run-through for the Panther football team.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s “Meet the Players” night will be August 21st at 7 pm.
College Football Award Watches
The University of Iowa’s defense this season will be something to fear as they continue to be acknowledged for their potential. Nick Jackson was added to the Dick Butkus Award watch list and Cooper DeJean was named to the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Watch List.
The Butkus Award is given to the nation’s most outstanding linebacker and Jackson has some big shoes to fill as Jack Campbell, last year’s Hawkeye star, won the award last season. Jackson transferred from Virginia and was named their defensive MVP last season after totaling 104 tackles and five sacks.
This is now DeJean’s third award watch list after being named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Paul Hornung Award watch lists. The Thorpe award goes to the best defensive back in the nation. DeJean tallied 75 tackles, five interceptions, and eight pass breakups last season and set Iowa’s pick-six record. Desmond King was the last Hawkeye to win the award in 2015.
Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa has also been named to the Thorpe Award watch list. Tampa registered 40 tackles, including five for a loss in last year’s campaign that included his first career interception. Tampa is also on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award.
This Day in Sports History
1919 – Green Bay Packers football club founded by George Calhoun and Curly Lambeau.
1929 – New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth becomes first MLB player to hit 500 home runs in 6-5 loss to Cleveland.
1984 – Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owens’ 1936 feat, winning his 4th Olympic gold medal as part of the US 4 x 100m relay team.