After edging out Lynnville-Sully at home in round one, the Riverside Bulldogs Football Team are travelling to face the Tri-Center Trojans in Round two.  The Bulldogs are 7-2 and won their last two games of the regular season in convincing fashion. Facing a tough Lynnville-Sully team, the Bulldogs got behind early. However, their defense slammed the door picking up three interceptions and all allowing just six points in the second and third quarters.  Head Coach Darrell Frain was proud of the way his team made and responded to the needed adjustments.

As usual Jaxon Gordan was spectacular running for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Over the course of the season, he has racked up impressive 1861 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground. Frain understands the advantage that having a game-changer can have.

Round tow will be a different kind of challenge for the Bulldogs. Tri-Center has an extremely effective and balanced offense led by quarterback AJ Harder. Harder has thrown for over 2100 yards and 20 touchdowns. In addition, to the threat through the air, Tri-center (like Riverside) has a well know back. Carter Kunze has been a beast on the ground compiling 1629 yards and 25 touchdowns. Frain knows stopping this offense will be a tough challenge.

Although stopping the Tri-Center offense will be challenge, it’s not like the Riverside defense hasn’t seen a talented back. They see one every day at practice.

In a game that features a high-flying running backs and good offenses Frain says the key will be the defense.

Kickoff at Tri-Center will be at 7 pm.

The (9-0) Audubon Wheelers are hosting the second round of the 8-player playoffs after a solid 38-7 victory against East Mills last Friday. For Audubon head coach Sean Birks he was impressed with the explosive execution of his team in every facet of the game.

Audubon being undefeated is due in large part to the high amount of production from quarterback Carson Wessel and running back Aaron Olsen. Wessel has thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for 10, while collecting 733 rushing yards. Olsen has shown great patience in the backfield knowing the right time when to cut and that has helped him rush for over 1000 yards and 19 scores. The duo of Wessel and Olsen is strong both on and off the field.

The defensive secondary has also proven to be deadly as Audubon has picked off the ball 20 times this season. Olsen and Adam Obrecht each have six interceptions of their own.

Now the high caliber offense and secondary for Audubon will be tested against a Woodbine team that has played some tough football all year. The Tigers come into Friday’s matchup with an (8-1) record and a top ten ranking in class 8-player. Coach Birks is aware of the challenge presented to the Wheelers and how crucial controlling the line of scrimmage will be.

For the Wheelers to keep it close and play their best against, Coach Birk’s wants to see turnover and penalty free football tonight.

KJAN will have coverage for tonight’s coverage contest beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.

In the opening round of the class 3A playoffs perennial power Harlan is on the road to play sixth ranked Algona. Senior Jozef  Reisz is Harlan’s leading receiver with 44 catches.

The Cyclones have been in playoff mode since opening 2-3 after a 43-42 week five loss to Creston.

The (8-1) Woodbine Tigers football team are coming off a 50-14 first round win over the Collins-Maxwell Spartans last Friday. Woodbine had no issues taking control early on in the game as the Tigers led 44-0 at halftime, thanks in part to an impressive passing performance by junior quarterback Brody Pryor throwing three touchdowns and rushing for two. Woodbine head coach Dustin Crook was pleased with his team’s execution last week.

The Tiger defense has smothered opponents all year with 22 turnovers and the most points given up in a victory being at 20. Still, Woodbine’s lone loss on the year was a teaching moment as the Tigers slipped 46-30 against a talented Remsen St. Mary’s squad.

The response for Woodbine after that tough loss to the Hawks was double down on their offensive trio in Micah Moores, Brodie Ludwig, and Pryor.

Moores, Ludwig, and Pryor have all rushed for a combined 1,617 yards and 32 touchdowns. Woodbine will need all the offensive production they can get as they prepare to face an experienced and well coached undefeated (9-0) Audubon team. This is another matchup for coach Crook that he will not tell his team to take lightly.

A large focus for coach Crook heading into Friday will be the battle in the trenches between both sides. He knows that whichever team can control the line of scrimmage, will have the ultimate edge in such a physical matchup.

KJAN has the coverage for Friday’s contest beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.

A highly anticipated season is approaching for the Iowa State men’s basketball team. Ranked fifth in the AP preseason poll, the Cyclones open at home Monday night against Mississippi Valley State. ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger says the Cyclones are focused on what it takes to be successful on game day.

Otzelberger says a key for every team is how it handles success and deals with adversity.

Otzelberger says adversity is coming and how the Cyclones handle it will have a lot to say about their season.

The Cyclones have their top four scores back from last year’s team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Rylan Barnes bet on himself and it is paying off. The linebacker walked on at Iowa State after a standout career at West Hancock High School and is eighth on the team in tackles as a redshirt freshman.

Injuries forced Barnes into the lineup early this season and he has been a key part of Iowa State’s second 7-0 start in program history.

Barnes says coming into the season he did not expect to play such a pivotal role.

The 11th ranked Cyclones host Texas Tech Saturday afternoon.

First Team All-Conference
Gabi Jacobs*-Sidney-Junior
Lauren Johnson*-Stanton-Senior
Evelyn Stoakes*-East Mills-Senior
Addy Haning*-Sidney-Senior
Kyla Hart*-Stanton-Senior
Bella Gute-Fremont-Mills-Senior
Loycee Palmer-East Mills-Junior
Gabbie Greiman-Griswold-Senior

(* Denotes Unanimous Selection)

Second Team All-Conference
Carlie Chambers-Fremont-Mills-Senior
Addy Foster-Sidney-Sophomore
Marissa Askeland-Griswold-Senior
Ellie Hagen-East Mills-Freshman
Hayleigh Mattox-Fremont-Mills-Junior
Brooke Jones-East Mills-Junior
Venna Sayers-East Mills-Junior
Lana Alley-Fremont-Mills-Junior

Honorable Mention

Macy Musich-Bedford-Junior
Hilda Thompson-Hamburg-Junior
Kirsten Kalkas-Essex-Senior
Keyana Haggerty-Sidney-Freshman
Bree Mitchell-Stanton-Senior

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State will honor former Cyclone and Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrese Haliburton on Saturday, March 1, during Iowa State’s game against Arizona. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at sold-out Hilton Coliseum.

With Haliburton and his family in attendance, Iowa State will honor him with a halftime ceremony that will include his banner being dropped as an Olympic Gold Medalist. Haliburton is the eighth Cyclone to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics and the first in men’s basketball.

The first two-time NBA All-Star in Iowa State history, Haliburton was one of five Cyclones who played men’s basketball in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The five Cyclones playing in the Olympics was the second-most of any program in the country.

Haliburton and Team USA earned the eighth Gold Medal of the professional era for the United States, while it was the fifth-straight Olympic Games that Team USA brought home the gold.

Playing in just 22 games before suffering a season-ending injury in 2019-20, Haliburton earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors. He also earned all-district honors from USBWA and NABC, while being named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. When his season ended, he was sixth in the Big 12 in scoring (15.2), second in FG percentage (50.4), first in assists (6.5), first in steals (2.5), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), third in 3FG percentage (41.9) and 13th in rebounding (5.9).

Haliburton is in his fifth NBA season, including his third with the Indiana Pacers. He finished third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting in 2021 and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2024. He led the league in assists with 10.9 per game last season.

After a disappointing season a year ago, the Tri-Center Trojans Football Team has advanced to the second round of the playoffs and will host the Riverside Bulldogs this Friday night. Last season the Trojans finished the regular season with a 3-5 record and snuck into the postseason. However, they were eliminated in the first the first round by Akron-Westfield. However, after dropping the first game of the season to AHSTW, Tri-Center has not lost since. Last week they defeated South Central Calhoun 41-0. Head Coach Ryan Schroder says they didn’t change much.

Offensively the Trojans have been excellent this year scoring 35 or more points in six of their games this year. This in part due to the performance of sophomore quarterback AJ Harder. Harder has been phenomenal through the air throwing for 2120 yards and 23 touchdowns. Schroder credits his athleticism and vision for his success.

Another lethal weapon that the Trojans can bring to bear is their run game. Senior Carter Kunze has been just as effective on the ground rushing for 1629 yards and 25 touchdowns. His success is not surprise to Schroder and give a lot of balance to the Trojans attack.

Tri-Center also has a formidable defense. Since week two the Trojans have not allowed more than 16 points. The defense has 5 players with over 30 tackles led by senior Brenton Kramer who has 48.5.  However, they will be challenged this week by Riverside running back Jaxon Gordon. Gordan has run for over 1800 yards and has score 30 touchdowns this season. Schroder knows how talented Gordon is but has full confidence in what his team had done to this point.

Schroder also knows that having a talented back in Kunze has helped his defense prepare for the upcoming challenge.

Ultimately a balanced offensive attack and a physical defense have made Tri-Center a very tough team to beat this season. So don’t expect to see anything different from the Trojans.

Kickoff at Tri-Center is scheduled for 7 pm.

Drake controls its own destiny as the Bulldogs start the stretch run at home on Saturday against Marist. Drake is coming off a bye week and is 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the Pioneer Football League race.

That’s Drake coach Todd Stepsis who does not feel his team will get caught looking ahead to next week’s first place showdown at St. Thomas of Minnesota, especially after escaping a Marist upset bid in New York last season 10-3.

Stepsis hopes championship experience helps his team the final month. Drake has won 15 straight PFL games dating back to 2022.

With rain in the forecast Stepsis says the Bulldogs will practice with wet footballs this week as well as review their game operations.

Stepsis says the weather may force the Bulldogs to adjust their game plan.

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