The Atlantic Trojans football team opens up the season tonight at Saydel and the team is excited to get out there. The Trojans make the adjustment from Class 3A to 2A for this season and will open up against a 2A opponent with that experience behind them. Saydel made the jump from Class 3A to 2A in 2016 and Eagles Head Coach Justin Russell said it has been a very positive experience for his school.

Atlantic Head Coach Mike McDermott said he knows Saydel will be a tough opponent. He wants his kids to know that making a class change doesn’t automatically change anything on the football field.

Atlantic returns some great speed on offense and Coach McDermott said they will start simple with some guys in new roles and expand from there. Defensively the Trojans will be looking to build experience and depth as the season moves along. They have plenty of guys with experience but some position changes have been made and some guys will take on a much larger role this year so game experience is going to help them gel. The Trojans will face a number of looks from Saydel’s offense.

Coach Russell said the Eagles have focused on building individual skills leading into the season.

We’ll have coverage of the Eagles and Trojans on KJAN tonight with pregame at 6:30pm and kickoff at 7:00pm. Chris Parks and Seth Christensen will have the call for you on-air, online, on the mobile app, and live video through our facebook page. Hear a full rundown with Coach McDermott on Trojan Preview at 4:45pm Friday and catch our weekly pick ’em show Who’s Gonna Win? at 6:00pm. Stay tuned after the game as well as we will bring you postgame interviews followed by the Iowa High School Scoreboard Show from Radio Iowa which will bring you all the scores from around the state from 10:00pm-11:30pm on KJAN.

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

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals are on a remarkable run during the dog days of August. They swept the Dodgers to win their eighth consecutive series and have gone 17-4 so far this month to pull within 2 ½ games of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. St. Louis visits Colorado on Friday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs will remain without three defensive starters, including star safety Eric Berry, when they visit the Chicago Bears for their third preseason game this weekend. Berry is dealing with a heel injury, while defensive end Allen Bailey is out with a knee injury and cornerback Steven Nelson with a concussion.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A throwing error on Kevin Kiermaier’s bases-loaded grounder in the ninth inning helped the Tampa Bay Rays complete a four-game sweep by beating the Kansas City Royals 4-3. Tampa Bay improved to a season-high six games over .500 with its fifth consecutive victory. Kansas City, which has lost 17 of 21, fell 52 games under .500 and was eliminated from the playoff race.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Forward Cameron Lard is back with Iowa State’s basketball team. Lard enrolled at a wellness center in early June instead of joining his teammates for summer workouts. Coach Steve Prohm says Lard rejoined the Cyclones earlier this month after some off-court problems.

UNDATED (AP) — IndyCar drivers have been waiting patiently for updates on Canadian Robert Wickens since he suffered a spinal injury in a crash at Pocono Raceway. Wickens remains hospitalized in Pennsylvania and the series moves on to race Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. The drivers will push Wickens’ crash out of their minds as they focus on the racing.

(Radio Iowa) — College basketball may no longer be using a Ratings Percentage Index to help determine which teams make the NCAA Tournament but the R-P-I is coming to high school football and for the first time since district football was installed all nine games will count toward the playoffs. Todd Tharp of the Iowa High School Athletic Association says three factors will be considered. (Click on on the left side of the audio bar to listen to his comments)

Tharp says the R-P-I will be posted on the association’s website the week of September 10 and will be updated weekly.

The new system means non district games will be part of the equation and Tharp says teams will not be penalized for playing teams from smaller classes.

Tharp says the R-P-I will be used to determine at-large bids and winning or sharing a district title will get a team into the playoffs automatically.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Forward Cameron Lard is back in Iowa State’s good graces and coach Steve Prohm is hopeful things will stay that way. Prohm said Thursday that Lard, who enrolled at a wellness center in early June instead of joining his teammates for summer workouts, rejoined the Cyclones earlier this month.

Lard, who will be a sophomore this season, had a drug paraphernalia charge dismissed during a pretrial hearing in April. He was stopped by Ames police on Feb. 4 for speeding, and an officer smelled marijuana coming from the car. Lard pleaded guilty to speeding.

Lard, 20, was also cited for being underage at an Ames bar this offseason. Prohm said all the issues pushed Lard to spend time at a wellness center and away from Ames in an effort to make better decisions. Prohm met with Lard on Wednesday and said he was in “really good spirits.”

“He’s done some things that he doesn’t need to be doing. We handled that internally,” said Prohm, who met with reporters before a charity golf event outside of Des Moines. “My goal, and my prayer, is that he continues to grow and get better.”

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Lard didn’t arrive at Iowa State until midway through his freshman season, but he was considered so talented that there was talk that Lard might immediately join a team that went on to win the Big 12 Tournament. Prohm instead redshirted him. Last year, Lard showed in his first season that he has the potential to be one of the better big men in America.

Lard averaged 12.6 points and was fourth in the Big 12 with 8.1 rebounds per game in 2017-18, even though he made just 16 starts. Lard also ranked second in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at .601 and third in blocks per game at 2.2.

Lard was inconsistent as a freshman, but he also took games over more than once. He scored 22 points against Texas Tech on 10 of 11 shooting, had 21 points and 16 rebounds against Texas and scored 19 points with 17 boards in a win over Oklahoma. Lard has not spoken to the media since last season.

“If we can get (his habits) lined up with his abilities, I think he’s got a chance to be a terrific frontcourt player in (the Big 12),” Prohm said. “He really runs the floor well, really chases down on the offensive glass…and hopefully we can continue to develop his offensive, low-post game. But it’s about habits for him. And he knows that, and I think he took a big step this summer.”