High School Football
1,428 days had passed since Mt. Pleasant last celebrated a win at Bob Evans Field. The count officially ended last night as the Panthers beat Tipton into submission 33-24. The game did not start out in Mt. Pleasant’s favor as the Tigers got a defensive stop and drove down the field to put the first points on the board: a 37-yard field goal. However, an injury to starting quarterback Ayden Bosten disrupted the offense and ruined their momentum.
The Panthers offense found their stride with a streaky rushing attack and a passing attack that found some splash plays. Cooper Coleman found the endzone twice in the first half, Payton Walker swiped the Tigers in their own endzone for a safety, and Dylan White nailed his own field goal to take a 19 to 3 lead. But Tipton would not go out without a fight as Wyatt Ham returned a kick 80-yards for a score to cut the lead to 19 to 10 heading into halftime.
Backup quarterback Garret Fitch came out firing in the second half, finding Jacob Boedeker for a passing touchdown to cut the score to 19 to 17. Zach Newton, who finished with nearly 200 total yards, found Avin Troung for a 46-yard passing touchdown–both their first career passing and receiving touchdown–to reclaim a nine point lead, 26 to 17. Again, Fitch went through the air and found Jayson Johnson for a 23-yard touchdown, knocking the lead back down to two, 26 to 24.
That’s when head coach John Bowlin put the responsibility on the offensive line to win the game and a long, grueling drive, helped out by a 35-yard pass to Truong, was punctuated with a one-yard touchdown run by Payton Walker as the Panthers scored the final touchdown of the game, 33-24. Coach Bowlin talked about his offensive line after the game,
“We fought that fourth quarter, and we didn’t give up there. We started moving the line of scrimmage more and more. You know, I thought Nolan Frueh when you go behind that kid, he can move about anybody. He’s a big guy coming at you and he’ll move the whole line of scrimmage if he has to. So, I think these guys are just getting more confident in what they need to do and what our attack is.”
The defense stood their ground and finished their third game in-a-row in the positives in the turnover department. Coach Bowlin talked about the win after the game,
“You know, happy for those guys. They deserve it. You know, first win at home in a long time. So, they came out, you know, we made some mistakes, we came back. Our defense picked us up like they have been all year, and you know, we made some big plays there. I know Zach and Avin hooking up with a couple of big plays for us and then, you know, we found some run game that worked for us and we started hit some holes and just excited for these guys and, you know, got to build on it, keep working for working for next week, you know, move on and get another one.”
The Panthers will take on Burlington on the road on Friday, September 20th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.
West Burlington/Notre Dame scraped by with a win last night, defeating West Liberty 27-22. The Falcons will host Mid-Prairie at 7:30 pm on Friday.
WACO’s second half defense slammed the door on Winfield-Mt. Union as the Warriors celebrated homecoming in style 40-24. WACO will hit the road to face off against HLV on Friday at 7 pm.
Winfield-Mt. Union will square off against Montezuma on Friday at home at 7 pm.
New London fell to Iowa Valley last night 72-21. The Tigers will travel to Central City on Friday at 7 pm.
Washington needed a comeback, but the Demons kept their undefeated record intact, taking down Fairfield 34-26. Ethan Bisgard had a fine game for the Trojans, including a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Trojans will play Keokuk on Friday at 7:30 pm on the road.
Danville was demolished by Pekin last night 54-10 as dual threat quarterback Will Adam rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The Bears will take on Louisa-Muscatine on Friday at 7 pm on the road.
Van Buren County was shutout by Highland last night 13-0. The Warriors will look for their first victory against Wapello on Friday at 7 pm on the road.
Wapello picked up their first win of the season in dominant fashion last night, drubbing Louisa-Muscatine 38-0. Grant Wilson tallied 136 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in the win.
Central Lee has started 3-0 in back-to-back seasons after taking down Durant 21-7 last night with a rushing attack that culminated in 369 yards. Kayden Calfee led the team with 181 yards and a score, while Bo Herdrich had a pick-six. The Hawks will compete against Davis County on Friday at 7:30 pm on the road.
Mediapolis had Regina Catholic against the ropes but the Regals proved to be too much, winning 31-21 with Kyle Tracy notching 248 passing yards and three total scores. The Bulldogs will travel to Albia on Friday at 7:30 pm.
Columbus could not keep up with Lisbon last night, losing 49-6. The Wildcats will attempt to get back in the win column on Friday at 7 pm against Pekin.
In other games from around the way, Mt. Vernon snuck past Benton 15-13, Assumption was blanked by North Scott 35-0, Keokuk snubbed Burlington 45-7, and Fort Madison remained winless after losing 28-12 to Centerville.
High School Volleyball
Mediapolis and Mt. Pleasant will compete in a tournament at Wilton today.
Fairfield and West Burlington will compete in a tournament at Williamsburg today.
Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Wapello on Tuesday, September 17th, at 7:30 pm at home.
WACO will look to get back on track on Tuesday at 7:30 pm against Columbus at home.
Van Buren County will face off against West Burlington on Tuesday at 7:30 pm on the road.
Burlington Notre Dame will compete against Central Lee on the road at 7:30 pm on Tuesday.
Holy Trinity Catholic will look to continue their run on Tuesday at home against Mediapolis at 7 pm.
New London will square off against Holy Trinity Catholic on Thursday, September 19th, at 7:30 pm at home.
Danville will look to get back in the win column on Thursday against Burlington Notre Dame on the road at 7:30 pm.
High School Cross Country
Danville will run at Oskaloosa on Tuesday, September 17th.
Central Lee will host a meet on Tuesday with Winfield-Mt. Union and Van Buren County making the trip.
WACO and Wapello will run on Tuesday at Knoll Ridge Country Club at 5:40 pm.
Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis, Winfield-Mt. Union, Fairfield, New London, Van Buren County, Danville, Central Lee, and Holy Trinity Catholic will run at Rodeo Park Trail on Thursday, September 19th.
Southeastern Community College
The volleyball team competed at a triangular last night and was swept by John A. Logan College and Heartland Community College. The Blackhawks will host Northeast Community College on Wednesday, September 18th, at 7 pm.
College Football
Iowa will attempt to get back on track against Troy at home today with kickoff at 3 pm. The broadcast will be on KILJ 105.5 FM.
Iowa State is on a bye week.
This Day in Sports History
1975 – Milwaulkee Brewer Robin Yount breaks Mel Ott’s record, playing in 242 MLB games as a teen.
1978 – MLB Atlanta Brave Jim Bouton (38) beats the San Francisco Giants, his first win since 1970.
1991 – San Diego State freshman running back Marshall Faulk rushed for an NCAA record 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns as the Aztecs beat Pacific, 55-34.