Postseason Football
The 2024 state tournament semifinals continued yesterday as Class A and Class 4A squared off with only one potential repeat champion able to advance through the first two days.
The first semifinal matchup featured Class A’s champion from last year in West Hancock taking on Cinderella story Madrid. The fairytale almost continued after a 28-point second half by the Tigers, but West Hancock’s rushing attack went off for 450 yards and seven touchdowns, including touchdown runs of 79 and 73 yards. Gustavo Gomez and Brady Bixel each finished with three touchdowns as Bixel added 240 yards on the ground. Preston Wicker had 418 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns in the loss.
The second game of the day was not nearly as close with Tri-Center’s highflying offense besting Saint Ansgar 42-14. A.J. Harder tossed for 286 yards and two scores in the win. The Class A championship game between Tri-Center and West Hancock is scheduled for Thursday, November 21st, at 1 pm.
In Class 4A, Pella’s 14-point 4th quarter outburst knocked the defending champions Lewis Central out of the tournament with a 28-16 final. Emmanuel Diers rambled for 175 yards and two touchdowns for the Dutch.
In the final game of the night, North Polk demolished North Scott 35-7. Nathan Feldmann did not have to throw the ball often, completing only five passes for 105 yards, but three of those passes went for touchdowns as B.J. Tate caught an 84-yard touchdown. The Class 4A championship will play on Thursday night at 7.
Classes 1A and 5A will play today with Wilton and Grundy Center kicking off the day at 10 am, while Hinton and Dike-New Hartford will play at 1 pm. Valley will take on Dowling Catholic at 4 pm and Southeast Polk will look for a chance to repeat with a matchup against Iowa City Liberty at 7 pm.
Tomorrow, November 16th, Spirit Lake will face off against PCM at 10 am and Van Meter will take on West Lyon at 1 pm for Class 2A. Rounding out the day will be Class 3A with Wahlert Catholic competing against Sergeant Bluff-Luton at 4 pm and Mt. Vernon slated to play Humboldt at 7 pm.
The 8-Player championship game between Remsen St. Mary’s and Gladbrook-Reinbeck will be played on Thursday at 9:30 am as the Hawks eye their fourth state championship, while the Rebels will be looking for their third title.
High School Girls’ Basketball
Mt. Pleasant will host a scrimmage tomorrow, November 16th, with Central Lee and Davis County making the trip. Head coach Curt Watson is ready to see the team’s growth in action,
“I’m really looking forward to that, see what we can do against, you know, some different teams and stuff and then we have our Jamboree on Monday. We’re going to do a lot of, you know, experience and different lineups and stuff with the girls. We told them they’re all going to play. You know, we’re probably going to dress 10 girls this year to start with on the varsity. So they’re all going to get a lot of playing time. We’re hoping to get after it and press the full court man a little bit more this year and so hopefully Saturday is going to give us a good idea of what we need to work on for Monday for the Jamboree and see how much we can improve from Saturday to Monday.”
Southeastern Community College
The men’s basketball team will host Richard J. Daley College tomorrow night at 7.
College Football
Iowa State will face off against Cincinnati tomorrow, November 16th, at 7 pm at home. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.
Iowa is on a bye this week.
College Basketball
The #7 Iowa State men’s team will face off against IU Indianapolis on Monday, November 18th, at 7 pm at home.
The Iowa men’s team will compete in the John Deere Quad Cities Hoops Showdown tonight at 7:30 against Washington State.
The #8 Iowa State women’s team continued their dominant start to the season with an 80-47 win over St. Thomas last night. Audi Crooks was a force in the post, cashing in for a game-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds. The Cyclones will play Northern Iowa on Wednesday, November 20th, at 6 pm on the road.
The Iowa women’s team will travel to take on Drake at 2 pm on Sunday, November 17th.
This Day in Sports History
1970 – Paul Brown, as head coach of the expansion Cincinnati Bengals, defeats his former team the Cleveland Browns, a moment he calls his “greatest victory.”
1992 – Richard Petty drove in the final race of his 35-year career.
1998 – Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) moved into third place on the all-time touchdown list when he got his 127th.