Sports, November 16th

Postseason Football

Classes 1A and 5A held their semifinal matchups yesterday and three of the four games were decided by seven points or less.

The one blowout of the day was the first game of the day as Class 1A’s defending champion Grundy Center thundered past Wilton 42-7. Judd Jirovsky was nearly perfect, completing 17 of his 18 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. 

Dike-New Hartford nearly watched their win slip through their hands as Hinton, down 24 to 6 with less than two minutes to go, found the endzone, recovered an onside kick, and scored another touchdown to make the new and ultimately final score 24-18 when their final onside kick attempt failed. The Wolverines were led by Colin Meester’s two total touchdowns. The Class 1A championship game is scheduled for Thursday, November 21st, at 4 pm.

For Class 5A, Valley’s King Coleman started the trend of the upset with a 28-21 victory over Dowling Catholic. Coleman rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the win. In the final game of the day, Southeast Polk fell behind 14 to 0 against Iowa City Liberty after the first quarter, but battled back to win the game 38-35. Holden Hansen directed the Rams offense with 255 passing yards and five total touchdowns. Valley and Southeast Polk will compete on Friday, November 22nd, at 7 for the Class 5A championship.

Today, 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.

The Class A championship game between Tri-Center and West Hancock is scheduled for Thursday at 1 pm. 

Pella versus North Polk will decide who the Class 4A champion is on Thursday night at 7 pm.

High School Girls’ Basketball

Mt. Pleasant will host a scrimmage today with Central Lee and Davis County making the trip. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team will host Richard J. Daley College tonight at 7.

College Football

Iowa State will face off against Cincinnati tonight 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 exited the first half trailing, but the Hawkeye defense held Washington State to a 34% shooting clip in the second half to win 76-66. Owen Freeman, in a hometown trip, finished with a double-double, collecting 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawkeyes will host Rider on Tuesday, November 19th, at 7.

The #8 Iowa State women’s team 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 tomorrow, November 17th.

This Day in Sports History

1957 – Boston Celtics’ center Bill Russell sets a then-NBA record of 49 rebounds as Boston beats the Philadelphia Warriors, 111-89 at Boston Garden.

1957 – The University of Oklahoma Football’s win streak ends at 47 games after losing 7-0 to Notre Dame at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

2023 – MLB owners unanimously approve the Oakland A’s proposed move from California to Las Vegas, Nevada; it’s the franchise’s fourth home since being established in Philadelphia in 1901.