Postseason Volleyball
Class 5A officially got the 2024 state tournament rolling with #6 Waukee Northwest pulling off the only upset of the class. Pleasant Valley defeated Waukee in straight sets to advance to the semifinals, where the Spartans will take on Dowling Catholic after they defeated Indianola in four sets.
In the bottom half of the bracket, Waukee Northwest shocked Ankeny with a sweep, while Ankeny Centennial, led by Delaney Miller’s 24 kills defeated Cedar Falls in straight sets. The semifinals will commence tomorrow, November 6th, at 10 am.
Class 4A experienced the biggest upset of the day with #8 Sergeant Bluff-Luton winning 15-13 in the 5th set to knock out the top seed Xavier. Bre VanDenTop claimed 13 kills and five blocks in the win. They will face off against Pella in the semifinals as the Dutch downed Clear Creek Amana in five sets. Katie Scheckel collected 23 kills for the Dutch.
In the bottom half of the bracket, Bishop Heelan and North Scott each advanced to the semifinals with sweeps of their opponent. The semifinals will start tomorrow at noon.
Class 3A will start today with Mt. Vernon going against Mid-Prairie at 10 am. Wahlert Catholic versus Kuemper Catholic at noon. Western Christian will take on Sioux Center and West Delaware will face off against Assumption.
The state tournament matchups for Class 2A will be Denver versus Boyden-Hull, Dike-New Hartford will take on Aplington-Parkersburg, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont will compete against Regina Catholic, and Beckman Catholic will face off against South Hardin. The tournament will begin at 2 pm for Class 2A.
#3 Holy Trinity Catholic will take on #6 BCLUW in the first round of the state tournament tonight at 8:25. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 8:05 pm. Head coach Melissa Freesmeier believes her team has hit their stride at the right time,
“You know when you get there, everybody’s got that opportunity and that chance and it’s, you know, who’s hot and you know, right now we’re playing some pretty good volleyball and we’re going to go up there and work hard and give it our best shot.”
The other Class 1A matchups include: Ankeny Christian versus Don Bosco, Riverside will compete against North Tama, and Saint Ansgar will take on Janesville.
Postseason Football
In Class 2A, Mid-Prairie will take on PCM on Friday, November 8th, at 7 on the road.
In Class 3A, #5 Mt. Vernon will travel to take on Algona on Friday at 7 pm.
Postseason Football Awards
Eight-Player District Six released their All-District teams yesterday and Iowa Valley and WACO led the charge in First Team honorees. For the district MVPs, Iowa Valley’s Nolan Kriegel was named Offensive MVP for his 55 total touchdowns, while Louden Huisenga of WACO, with his 73 total tackles and an interception, was named Defensive MVP and Winfield-Mt. Union’s Cooper Buffington was named Lineman MVP for the second consecutive season.
WACO had Gage Samo and Owen Wolf make the First Team offense, while Adam Stafford, Clayton Miller, Joel Meyer and Isaac Rich claimed a spot on the First Team defense. For special teams, Niles Reichenbach was named First Team kicker and Hayden Shelman earned First Team Special Team/Returner.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s duo of quarterback Jake Edwards and running back Lane Genkinger earned First Team honors. Edwards was second in the district with 22 passing touchdowns, while Genkinger finished the season with 26 total touchdowns.
Max Edwards and Grant Anderson also made the First Team offense, while Nicholas Sparrow was Second Team utility.
Lastly, New London had London Franklin grab First Team running back honors with 985 total yards and 16 total touchdowns, while Nicholas Loyd was named First Team offensive utility. Gavin Menke-Bailey claimed First Team linebacker for his 62.5 total tackles, while Corbin Jacobs-Jewell took home Second Team linebacker for his three sacks.
Southeastern Community College
The volleyball team will face off against Des Moines Area Community College tomorrow, November 6th, in the Region 11 Quarterfinals at 7 pm.
College Football
Iowa will travel to UCLA on Friday, November 8th, at 8:05 pm. The offense will be led by Kaleb Johnson as he was named Big 10 offensive player of the week for his 135 yard and three rushing touchdown performance last week against Wisconsin. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.
#17 Iowa State will look to get back in the win column against Kansas on the road on Saturday, November 9th, at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.
College Basketball
The Iowa men’s team won their first game of the season with a dominating 89-67 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce last night. Payton Sandfort tallied a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Hawkeyes will stay at home to take on Southern on Thursday, November 7th, at 7 pm.
The #6 Iowa State men’s team nearly defeated Mississippi State by 40 points last night, winning 83-44. Keshon Gilbert led the team with 17 points. The Cyclones will face off against Kansas City at home on Monday, November 11th, at 7 pm.
The #8 Iowa State women’s team clobbered Chicago State 96-56 last night. Addy Brown picked up where she left off last season, scoring 20 points in the win. The Cyclones will host Indiana State on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
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.