The Northern Iowa men open the Missouri Valley race on Wednesday night at home against Belmont. The Panthers are 2-4 and after losses to North Carolina and Texas Tech closed the Battle 4 Atlantis with a lopsided win over Stanford.
That’s UNI Ben Jacobson who likes the progress his team made during the tournament.
Belmont enters the Valley race with a record of 4-3.
Jacobson says the Bruins are difficult to defend.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is not ready to insert any of the four freshman getting significant minutes into the starting lineup. The Hawkeyes take a 4-2 record into Wednesday night’s final preconference game at home against North Florida.
Owen Freeman, Brock Harding, Ladji Dembele and Pryce Sandfort have combined for about 19 points per game and Freeman is averaging better than nine points per contest.
McCaffery says the tournament in San Diego was a good test for the Hawkeyes. They followed a loss to Oklahoma with a win over Seton Hall.
North Florida is 4-3 after a 75-63 loss at LSU and will force the Hawkeyes to guard the three-point line.
Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly is preaching consistency to his team as the Cyclones get ready for Wednesday night’s game at St. Thomas of Minnesota. ISU is 2-3 after losses to Vanderbilt and Syracuse at a holiday tournament in Las Vegas.
Fennelly says it is also about being consistent away from the court.
Fennelly says the Cyclones need to do a better job of getting to the line.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Two University of Iowa football All-America candidates have been named finalists for national awards on Tuesday. Defensive back Cooper DeJean was named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, while punter Tory Taylor is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award. The Jim Thorpe Award is given to the nation’s top defensive back, while the Ray Guy Award is given to the best collegiate punter.
Joining DeJean as Jim Thorpe finalists are senior safety Trey Taylor (Air Force) and sophomore safety Malaki Starks (Georgia).
Joining Taylor as Ray Guy finalists are senior Matt Haybell (Vanderbilt) and redshirt junior Alex Mastromanno (Florida State).
Winners of both awards will be announced on Dec. 8, during the College Football Awards Show televised live on ESPN.
JIM THORPE AWARD
DeJean, a dynamic threat on defense and special teams, played 388 snaps in coverage this season without giving up a touchdown prior to suffering a season-ending injury on Nov. 15. He allowed only 22 completions for 209 yards, including just one completion greater than 15 yards all season. DeJean had a 70-yard game-deciding touchdown late in the fourth quarter versus Michigan State.
The Odebolt, Iowa, native ranks second on the Hawkeyes in interceptions (2), is third in pass break-ups (5) and 10th in tackles (41) this season. One of his two interceptions thwarted a scoring threat in the end zone against the Spartans. DeJean (6-foot-1, 209 pounds) and the Hawkeyes rank fourth in the country in scoring defense (12.2) and red zone defense (0.708), fourth in passing efficiency defense (99.46) and seventh in total defense (279.9). Iowa is the only team to allow two rushing touchdowns in the 2023 regular season.
DeJean, who is also a Bronko Nagurski finalist, is second in the Big Ten and ranks 14th nationally with an 11.5 punt return average and he is second nationally in punt return touchdowns.
He was a midseason first-team All-America selection by the Associated Press, The Athletic, ESPN and FOX.
Iowa’s Desmond King won the Thorpe Award in 2015 and was a semifinalist the following season. Josh Jackson was a finalist for the award in 2017, while Riley Moss was a semifinalist in 2021.
RAY GUY AWARD
Taylor becomes the first Hawkeye to be voted a Ray Guy Award finalist. He broke Iowa’s single season punting yardage record for a third consecutive season in 2023 and has punted more times than any other Hawkeye (281). Taylor has an NCAA-best 79 punts for 3,766 yards in 2023. He leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally with a 47.7-yard punting average as a senior.
Thirty-one of his punts have traveled 50+ yards (five punts of 60+), 26 have been fair caught and 29 downed inside the 20, 11 inside the 10 and six inside the 5. The native of Melbourne, Australia, only has five touchbacks and opponents average just 5.7 yards per return.
Taylor (6-foot-4, 232 pounds) was recognized as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week three times this year (Oct. 9; Oct. 16; Nov. 20) and the Ray Guy National Punter of the Week on Oct. 24.
Taylor, who was also a Ray Guy Award semifinalist in 2020 and 2021, was a first-team All-America honoree by six publications (Associated Press, ESPN, FOX, The Athletic, Sporting News, CBS).
The Hawkeyes return to action on Saturday, traveling to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game. Iowa will face No. 2 Michigan at 7:17 p.m. (CT) at Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FOX and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) issued reports on recent accidents. Authorities say at around 6:10-p.m. Monday (Nov. 27), a 2017 Ford Explorer driven by 72-year-old Kenneth Alan Bahrke, of Panora, struck a deer on eastbound Highway 44, causing $2,500 damage. Bahrke was not hurt.
A single-vehicle rollover accident took place Nov. 25th, in Guthrie County. Officials say a 2008 Ford F250 pickup driven by 31-year-old Jared Kopaska, of Guthrie Center, was traveling north on Highway 44 at around 7:15-p.m., when the vehicle crossed a small bridge that was slick due to the weather conditions (It was snowing at the time). The pickup went out of control after crossing the bridge, and entered the east ditch where it ended-up on its side. Kopaska failed to notify law enforcement about the accident until the next day. The vehicle was discovered by a citizen, who notified law enforcement. While investigating the scene, law enforcement removed for safe keeping, firearms from the vehicle that had been left behind. The pickup sustained $5,000 damage. Kopaska was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.
On the 24th,a 2022 GMC pickup driven by 56-year-old Michael Schwabe, of Breda, struck a deer on Highway 4. The vehicle sustained $6,000 damage, but was able to be driven from the scene. On Nov. 23rd, a 2023 Nissan Frontier pickup driven by 52-year-old Jason Plumb, of Harlan, struck a deer on Justice Road in Guthrie County. Plumb wasn’t hurt, but his pickup sustained $2,000 damage. The previous day (11/22), a 2020 GMC SUV driven by 32-year-old Kegan Schultz, of Panora, struck a deer on Highway 4 and 170th Street, causing $5,000 damage.
And, the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports that on Nov. 21st, a 2011 Chevy pickup driven by 53-year-old Jason Westfall, of Norwalk, was hit from behind by a 2001 Chevy truck driven by 17-year-old Carter Pugh, of Granger, at the intersection of Highway 4 and Chirma Road. The accident happened at around 8:43-a.m. Authorities say Westfall was at or near a stop, and about to turn left, when his vehicle was rear-ended. Pugh was cited for Failure to Stop in a safe and sure distance. Damage from the collision amounted to $6,000.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department reports slightly less than a dozen arrests took place from Nov. 17th through the 26th.
(Creston, Iowa) – Authorities in Creston say no injuries were reported following a collision early today (Tuesday), at the intersection of Townline Road (Hwy 25) and Lincoln Street. The accident happened a little after 8-a.m., as a 2022 Ford F-250 operated by 47-year-old Charles Edmund Baker, of Norwalk, was stopped at the red lights. A 2003 Honda Accord driven by 18-year-old Ruby Esmeralda Torres, of Palmview, TX, an unlicensed driver, approached the intersection.
Police say Torres mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal as she was slowing to a stop behind the pickup. Her car struck the pickup in the rear, causing a total of $3,500 damage. Torres was cited for failure to have a driver’s license.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Cass County met in a regular weekly session this (Tuesday) morning, at the courthouse in Atlantic. First-up, the Board received a presentation and $500 funding request from the Family Crisis Center’s Lindsay Wilson. She said their offices are in Council Bluffs. Wilson explained the services they provide to the County for victims of violent crimes, and the number of people served over the past year. She said the $500 was based on the services provided to each of the counties they serve. Her request was taken under advisement.
Supervisor Wendy Richter wanted to emphasis the funds are not for the Family Crisis Support Network, in Atlantic which she is a member of. The FCSN is a completely separate entity that serves victims of domestic violence. The Family Crisis Center is based in Sioux Center, and serves 12 area Counties in western Iowa. It serves victims of human trafficking, survivors of homicide and other violent crimes, provides housing and homeless services, and more.
The most recent addition to their programs includes Integrated Advocacy Services. The program offers support and advocacy in three separate medical clinics for 17 Iowa counties. Clients can seek support in ways that are discreet and confidential.
The Board then moved to approve the FY 2022-2023 Urban Renewal Report (as required under the Code of Iowa), and they acted to unanimously approve a Resolution “Allocating ARPA funds (in the amount of $47,932) to [the] Hitchcock House [near Lewis] for foundation repairs.” The funds are for completed repairs to the south wall of the historic building.
In other business, Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken provided the Board of Supervisors with a weekly update on Secondary Roads Department Maintenance and Activities. He said roads crews were out Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning clearing the roads following the recent snow storm.
He said also, Bridge #380 over by Anita is now open.
And, the Supervisors motioned to approve the appointment of Lorilyn Schules to the Cass County Board of Health, replacing Gary Dinkla. Her term is for three-yerars, beginning January 1, 2024.
(Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley says if Republicans in the U.S. Senate stick together, they may be able to force Democrats to put immigration policy changes in an aid package for Israel and Ukraine. “Making it more certain who can qualify for asylee,” Grassley says, “the ‘return to Mexico’ issue that Trump put in place — in other words, stay in Mexico while you’re making application to see if you can enter the U.S. legally and maybe some interior enforcement.”
President Biden has proposed security funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan along with targeted funding to address U.S. border security, fentanyl smuggling and help U-S cities struggling to accommodate migrants. Grassley says a bipartisan group of senators are discussing the addition of immigration policy changes that also would address border security. “As long as 41 Republicans stick together to do something at the border and the (Biden) administration wants money for Isreal and Ukraine like a lot of senators do, including this one, we might force our hand to do something significant on border security,” Grassley says.
Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed a bill to provide over $14 billion in aid to Israel and cut funding to the IRS, but the U.S. Senate’s Democratic leader says senators will consider a bipartisan package that aligns with President Biden’s request.
(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County met this (Tuesday) morning. During their session, the Board heard a regularly scheduled report from County Engineer Karen Albert.
The Supervisors in Montgomery County also received an update from Courthouse Maintenance Director, Dan Wright. Prior to hearing from Wright, the Board discussed some issues with the courthouse generator that occurred during a weekly test.
In his report, Dan Wright addressed the issue that resulted in a power outage. He said the issue was with an automatic switchover device that’s supposed to kick-in when primary power is restored.
Wright said he doesn’t think the switch will need to be replaced.
In other business, the Board set the first of FY24-25 Budget Workshops for Tuesday, January 9th (at the end of their regular meeting) & January 10th at 9-a.m., in order to give the Department Heads more time to get their budget projections together.
The Board also opened sealed bids related to forfeited property for the Sheriff’s Department.
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS