San Francisco tight end George Kittle says team chemistry has been a big factor in their run to the Super Bowl. The former Iowa star and his 49er teammates will play the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.

Kittle on being called the best tight end in the NFL by Kansas City star Travis Kelce.

Kittle says there are several former Hawkeye tight ends in the NFL because the position has become a weapon.

Kittle says a key this week will be keeping the routine as normal as possible.

Kittle says all the preparation in the offseason is designed for this game.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy says he has always believed in his ability to play at a high level. Less than two years after being the final pick in the NFL Draft the former Iowa State star will lead the 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas.

Purdy says he ended up at Iowa State because Cyclone coach Matt Campbell believed in him and he believed in coach Campbell.

He led the Cyclones to four bowl games, a trip to the Big 12 Championship game and a Fiesta Bowl victory.

Purdy has been to a Super Bowl as a spectator and is now experiencing it as a player.

Coon Rapids-Bayard 40, CAM 24
Coon Rapids-Bayard 48, West Harrison 24
West Harrison 27, CAM 24
Woodbine 42, Coon Rapids-Bayard 30
Woodbine 45, West Harrison 24
Woodbine 33, CAM 15

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Webster City 42, Woodward-Granger 36
Webster City 36, Greene County 35
Greene County 56, Woodward-Granger 21

Iowa State raced out to a 17-point halftime lead then held off a furious late rally by Texas as the 14th ranked Cyclones won in Austin 70-65. The Cyclones never trailed in moving to 6-3 in the Big 12.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones held on despite 22 second half points by Texas forward Dylan Disu.

Otzelberger says the Cyclones set the tone with defense.

Milan Momcilovic led the Cyclones with 13 points and Tamin Lipsey added 12.

The Atlantic basketball team shot cold from the field throughout their game against Harlan shooting below their average which gave the Cyclones a 53-33 win on Tuesday night in Harlan.

Atlantic led by three at the top of the first but watched a methodic Cyclones team continue to score inside the paint to take the lead at the end of the first 16-8. Harlan found consistent success in the strength of Franz Reisz who had 10 points through layups and close-range jump shots. Atlantic then went a bit cold from the field and Harlan charged up a 11-3 to end the second quarter.

In the third quarter the Cyclones focused on using zone defenses and that combined with Atlantic only scoring four points in the third seemed to damage the Trojans hopes of coming back. Harlan was up 44-22 by the end of third and the persistent cold shooting from Atlantic would cost them the game.

Head Coach Dalton Franken did note that while his team struggled to score, he was hopeful for Friday with the effort he saw from a few players.

Atlantic was led by 17 points Gavin McLaren and 6 from Nolan Waters. The Trojans fall to 5-14 on the season and will now prep for Lenox on Friday.

Coach Franken said that the rebounding must improve for Atlantic to get another win.

Harlan was led by 16 points from Franz Reisz and 12 from Will Arkfeld. The Cyclones improve to 11-6 on the season and head to Treynor on Thursday.

The (8-13) Atlantic Trojans Girls Basketball team failed to keep up with Harlan in the second half on Tuesday night which resulted in a 54-36 loss. The Trojans came out calm in the first quarter taking the lead early and battled against sharp perimeter shooting from the Cyclones with the game being tied three times. Atlantic was able to get the edge at the end of the first being up 10-9. At the start of the second quarter Harlan went on a 7-0 run with multiple Kenzley Bruck baskets in the low post to take the lead 16-10.

Towards the end of the second quarter Paytn Harter achieved her 1000th point as an Atlantic Trojan and the whole bench erupted. Atlantic went into the locker room down 25-20, but it seemed they were rejuvenated. In the second half of the game Harlan discovered that Atlantic had no answer for Erica Rust’s paint play as she went on to score 16 points in the last 16 minutes of play. Rust was a major part in a 10-0 run at the beginning of the fourth and the Trojans struggled to respond throughout the rest of the night.

Makenna Schroeder led the Trojans in scoring with 12 points and Paytn Harter chipped in 8. The Cyclones were led in scoring by Erica Rust with 20 and Aubrey Schwieso added 13.

An 18-point loss is always hard to acknowledge, but Head Coach Dan Vargason did like the difference in physicality his team showed up with in their second game against Harlan.

Recording 1000 points is a monumental moment and Coach Vargason was filled with pride for Paytn Harter.

The Cyclones improve to 16-3 with the win and host OABCIG on Saturday for the first round of the postseason. Atlantic drops to 8-13 and will travel up to Southeast Valley on Saturday for the start of their postseason.

Tim Lester plans an aggressive approach to fixing Iowa’s worst in the nation offense. The former head coach at Western Michigan was introduced as the Hawkeyes’ new offensive coordinator. He spent the past season as an analyst with the Green Bay Packers.

Lester’s offenses have featured a lot of run-pass-option which would be a new look for the Hawkeyes. His main goal is to develop an offense to fit the quarterback.

As Lester installs his offense, he will be waiting on starting quarterback Cade McNamara. He is recovering from an ACL injury suffered in a week five win over Michigan State and won’t be available for spring drills.

Lester knows all about Iowa’s history of developing outstanding tight ends and says his offense over the years has featured a lot of the two tight end sets that the Hawkeyes employ.

Lester plans to coach from the press box and will also serve as quarterbacks coach. He looks forward to working with McNamara.