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A nice crowd gathered on Friday morning in front of the Atlantic High School to send the Atlantic Cross Country teams off to the State Meet in Fort Dodge. You can check out video of the send off below. The 3A races are scheduled to run during the noon hour on Saturday at the State Meet.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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The first round of the Iowa High School Football Playoffs will be contested tonight. All games are set for 7:00pm kickoffs.

CLASS 4A:

Ankeny @ Valley, West Des Moines
Cedar Rapids, Kennedy @ Iowa City, West
Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines vs Fort Dodge (at Des Moines, East)
Indianola @ Cedar Falls
Pleasant Valley @ Bettendorf-Morningstar-Rivermont
Prairie, Cedar Rapids @ Johnston
Southeast Polk @ Ankeny Centennial
Urbandale @ Waukee

CLASS 3A:

Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City @ Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Carroll @ Lewis Central
Clear Creek-Amana @ Decorah
Epworth, Western Dubuque @ Solon
Harlan @ Oskaloosa
Pella @ Xavier, Cedar Rapids
Spencer @ Norwalk
Waverly-Shell Rock @ North Scott, Eldridge

CLASS 2A:

Algona @ Crestwood, Cresco
Chariton @ West Liberty
Greene County @ Benton Community
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll @ PCM, Monroe
OABCIG @ Southeast Valley
Spirit Lake @ Boyden-Hull/Rock VAlley
Union, La Porte City @ Waukon
West Marshall, State Center @ Williamsburg

CLASS 1A:

Sumner-Fredericksburg @ Van Meter
Mediapolis @ Bellevue
Mount Ayr @ Interstate 35, Truro
Pella Christian @ Wilton
South Hamilton, Jewell @ Dike-New Hartford
Treynor @ West Sioux, Hawarden
West Branch @ Osage
West Lyon, Inwood @ South Central Calhoun

CLASS A:

Akron-Westfield @ Westwood, Sloan
Alta/Aurelia @ AHSTW
B-G-M, Brooklyn @ Edgewood-Colesburg
Highland, Riverside @ Durant
Lynnville-Sully @ Hudson
North Tama, Traer @ Newman Catholic, Mason City
Wapsie Valley, Fairbank @ Bishop Garrigan, Algona
West Hancock, Britt @ Hinton

CLASS 8:

Central City @ Don Bosco, Gilbertville
Lenox @ Fremont-Mills, Tabor
Midland, Wyoming @ Iowa Valley, Marengo
New London @ Gladbrook-Reinbeck
Newell-Fonda @ Southeast Warren, Liberty Center
Northwood-Kensett @ Ar-We-Va, Westside
Rockford @ Turkey Valley, Jackson Junction
Stanton @ Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Just eight games into his professional career, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has already earned a reputation for being just as good outside the pocket as inside it. In fact, some of his biggest plays during the Chiefs’ win in Denver a few weeks ago came when Von Miller and Co. forced him to scramble.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will play a Bethune-Cookman team that has lost its last five games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents by an average of 32 points and has come no closer than three touchdowns in any of them. The game was scheduled on short notice as a replacement for the canceled opener against Akron. The party line in Lincoln this week is that the Cornhuskers aren’t good enough to go through the motions against any opponent.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Broncos did everything right for one half against Kansas City a few weeks ago. Now coach Vance Joseph and his team want another shot at slowing down the high-flying Chiefs for an entire game. If they pull it off Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, it just may turn around their season at the midway point.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self faces a potentially bumpy few months as the FBI’s investigation of corruption in college basketball continues to unwind. Self and the school have not been accused of any wrongdoing, though their names have surfaced in testimony, and that alone could be enough to hurt them on the recruiting trail and in the court of public perception.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Top-ranked Kansas will lean on a team full of newcomers when it begins the season against Michigan State on Nov. 6. The team is hardly inexperienced with transfers such as Dedric and K.J. Lawson finally eligible. The Jayhawks have more talent and depth than last year, when they reached the Final Four, and have every intention of going one step farther this season.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — No. 12 Kentucky has star running back Benny Snell Jr. and a stellar defense to thank for its success this season. The Wildcats take their ground-and-pound attack on the road to face an explosive Missouri team.

The fourth time was the charm for the ArWeVa Rockets. After three losses to the CAM Cougars during the regular season the Rockets picked up a win when it mattered most in the Class 1A Region 3 Semifinals in Audubon on Thursday night. The Rockets won 3-1 over the Cougars with set scores of 24-26, 25-18, 25-20, and 25-23.

Emilee Danner lead the way for the Rockets with a stellar night at the net. Danner finished with over 15 kills and multiple successful blocks to lead spark the team.

CAM looked strong early jumping out to an early 10-1 lead in the opening set. The Rockets were able to rally back though with three separate 4-point runs to grab their first lead at 18-17. The Rockets had two set points at 24-22 but the Cougars rallied to win the last four points and take the opener 26-24.

The Rockets would grab early leads though in the next three sets. An early 7-point run in the second set built them an insurmountable lead. The Rockets built a 15-7 lead in the third on their way to a win. Then in the Third the Rockets led 5-2 early. The Cougars would tie the fourth set up on a couple of occasions, including at 20-20. The Rockets had two set points to work with at the end and a return attempt by CAM on the second set point sailed left and the Rockets celebrated.

ArWeVa improved to 17-10 and advanced to the Regional Final in Boone next Tuesday night. The Rockets will face Gladbrook-Reinbeck, another team that avenged three regular season losses to their opponent North Tama in the semifinals with a 3-0 sweep.

CAM’s season ends with a record of 26-10. The Cougars say goodbye to a stellar senior class that made appearances in the Regional Semifinals the past two seasons.

Class 1A

Region 2

(3-0) East Mills 25-25-25, Stanton 23-20-19
(3-0) Fremont-Mills 25-25-25, Boyer Valley 19-13-20

Region 3

(3-0) Gladbrook-Reinbeck 25-25-25, North Tama 18-17-23
(3-1) Ar-We-Va 24-25-25-25, CAM 26-18-20-23 – ON KJAN

Class 2A

Region 3

(3-0) Treynor 25-25-25, Earlham 20-17-17
(3-0) St. Albert 25-25-25, West Monona 10-20-13

Region 4

(3-0) Tri-Center 25-25-25, AC/GC 17-17-11
(3-1) BCLUW 25-25-17-25, Woodward-Granger 23-23-25-22

Region 5

(3-0) Sidney 25-25-25, Central Decatur 14-10-15
(3-0) Pella Christian 25-25-27, Pleasantville 12-12-25

The Exira-EHK Spartans (8-1) are set to host the Stanton Vikings (7-2) in the first round of the Iowa High School Football Playoffs on Friday night and we’ll have coverage on KJAN. The Spartans have overcome a lot of adversity, especially late in the season, with a number of key injuries. Tyler Petersen has taken over the Quarterback role after Josh Pettepier went down in a loss to Woodbine and he has shown improvement in that role each week according to Head Coach Tom Petersen. Petersen believes the defense had their best second half effort of the year in last week’s win over Coon Rapids-Bayard. The Spartans will need more of that effort to slow down one of the top offensive players in the state, Stanton’s Drake Johnson. Johnson has racked up 663 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns and has also caught 41 passes for 1,065 yards and 20 more scores. Coach Petersen talked about trying to slow Johnson down.

The Spartans will counter with a dynamic player of their own in Cole Burmeister. He has rushed for 734 yards and 16 scores, along with 798 receiving yards and 10 more touchdowns. Stanton Head Coach Jeff Grebin said the Spartans execute their plays well and throw multiple looks at the defense.

Grebin said he hopes his team is ready to play sound assignment football on the defensive end in response to the Spartans multiple looks. Coach Grebin said the key to his team having success will come at the line of scrimmage.

Exira-EHK always has great fan support and Coach Petersen talked about what that atmosphere is like for his team to play in.

The Spartans and the Vikings are set for a 7:00pm kickoff on Friday night up on the hill in Exira. Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call on KJAN with pregame beginning at 6:30pm. Game coverage will begin right after our final weekly high school pick ’em show, Who’s Gonna Win?, of the 2018 season which will start at 6:00pm. Stay tuned after the game as well for The Iowa High School Scoreboard Show from 10:00pm-11:30pm which will bring you all the first round playoff scores around the state. Catch it all on-air, online, and on the web app.

Remaining Class 1A and 2A schools will compete in volleyball Regional Semifinals tonight around the state. Here is a look at area matches with first serve set for 7:00pm for all.

Class 1A

Region 2

Stanton @ East Mills
Fremont-Mills vs. Boyer Valley (@Woodbine)

Region 3

North Tama vs. Gladbrook-Reinbeck (@ Traer)
Ar-We-Va vs. CAM (@ Audubon) – ON KJAN

Class 2A

Region 3

Earlham @ Treynor
West Monona @ St. Albert

Region 4

AC/GC @ Tri-Center
BCLUW vs. Woodward-Granger (@ Jewell)

Region 5

Central Decatur @ Sidney
Pella Christian @ Pleasantville

An Iowa football player is tackling much more than X’s, O’s, and school work this season. Senior offensive lineman Dalton Furgeson and his girlfriend, Rachael, became parents to twin girls last month. Ella and Hazel were born five weeks premature. After spending a lot of time in the UI Children’s Hospital, Ferguson told KCRG-TV that his daughters are now at home – gaining weight and strength every day. “They’re doing really well. They’re gaining about one-and-a-half to two ounces a day, so they’re making good strides,” Ferguson said.

Dalton Ferguson

The girls were born on September 7. The next day, Ferguson was in the starting lineup as the Hawkeyes beat Iowa State. He took part in an emotional “wave” at the end of first quarter as Rachel, with their newborns, watched from the hospital overlooking Kinnick Stadium. Now, they’re at home with the babies, who are keeping their parents busy day and night. “No sleep, waking up in the middle of the night,” Ferguson said with a laugh, “but it’s all worth it.”

Ferguson, a native of Solon, joined the Iowa football team as a walk-on but was placed on scholarship this semester. He’s getting his first significant playing time this season after recovering from a pair of serious injuries. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz is impressed with what Ferguson is doing both on and off the field. “What a semester for him, on every front,” Ferentz said. “First of all, being a father and having them in the hospital for a while, being able to wave at them. Now, having them at home…anybody who’s a father understands that’s a big adjustment for the parents.”

Ferentz believes Ferguson has a shot at playing in the NFL. Ferguson, an education major at the UI, has said his long-range plan is to be a player development director for a college team.