Rivalries matter in football and a big one in class 2A will close the regular as second ranked Central Lyon-George/George-Little Rock hosts third rated West Lyon. Known as the “Beef Bowl”, the series dates back to 1964 and West Lyon coach Jay Rozeboom says it matters to both communities.

Rozeboom says the Lions cause a number of concerns.

The West Lyon website claims the outcome of the 1968 game in this series is unknown. Rozeboom was asked if anybody has come forward with the result from that year.

There is a chance of rain during the game and Rozeboom says both teams will need to adjust.

Both teams are headed to the playoffs and this could be the first of two meetings but Central Lyon/George Little Rock coach Curtis Eben says Friday’s outcome still matters.

Eben says the West Lyon defense will provide a number of looks and show both a three man and four man front.

Eben says he is not concerned about the possibility of rain.

Eben was asked why there is not a consensus on the score of the 1968 game.

He later sent a link to a page on the Central Lyon website that shows the final score of the 1968 game as Central Lyon 10, West Lyon 7.

It is a one-versus two clash in 5A Friday night when second ranked Dowling Catholic visits top ranked and two-time defending champion Southeast Polk. There could be a second meeting down the road but the winner of this one figures to be the top seed in the playoffs.

That’s Dowling coach Tom Wilson who says the Southeast Polk offense led by quarterback Connor Moberly will be tough to stop.

Rain is possible and both teams may need to deal with the elements.

Jackson Buchanan, Illinois

Jr. – Dacula, Ga. – Buford

• Carded three consecutive rounds in the 60s, including a closing 67 (-4) on Tuesday, to overcome a four-shot deficit in a come-from-behind co-medalist performance at the Purdue Fall Invitational
• Carded rounds of 68, 69, and 67 to finish more than five strokes below the course average of 73.17 for the week
• Recorded 46 of 54 holes at or below par, including a tournament-leading 17 birdies, to seal his second collegiate victory
• The Academic All-Big Ten honoree earns his third career Golfer of the Week honor
• Last Illinois Golfer of the Week: Max Herendeen (Sept. 14, 2023)

2023-24 Big Ten Men’s Golfers of the Week

Sept. 7: Hunter Thomson, Jr., MICH

Sept. 14: Max Herendeen, Fr., ILL/Mac McClear, Gr., IOWA

Sept. 20: Daniel Aas, Sr., WIS

Sept. 27: Herman Sekne, Sr., PUR

Oct. 4: Ethan Tseng, So., NU

Oct. 12: Jackson Buchanan, Jr., ILL

Kansas senior Hunter Dickinson is the first student-athlete to garner both Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Player and Newcomer of the Year to highlight the 2023-24 awards and team as voted on by the league’s head coaches. Dickinson is the 11th Jayhawk to collect the player award and the fifth to earn newcomer. Ja’Kobe Walter picked up Baylor’s third consecutive Preseason Freshman of the Year recognition.

Dickinson was joined on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team by his teammate Dajuan Harris Jr., Houston’s L.J. Cryer, TCU’s Emanuel Miller and Texas’ Max Abmas.

A fourth-year transfer from Michigan, Dickinson earned many national and conference honors with the Wolverines, including Consensus All-America Second Team in 2021. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection with first team honors in 2022 and 2023. The 7-2 center averaged 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for his career and led Michigan in points and rebounds each of the last three seasons. Dickinson has compiled career statistics of 1,617 points, 787 rebounds and 149 blocked shots. The general studies major was named to the All-Big Ten Academic Team in 2022 and 2023.

Walter played his senior season of high school at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, helping the team to a 24-1 record in 2022-23. He was a McDonald’s All-America selection and ESPN’s No. 17-rated player. Originally from McKinney, Texas, Walter led MHS to its first state championship game, where he scored a team-high 23 points against Duncanville. He averaged 23.3 points and 7.6 rebounds during his junior year and was 5-6A Offensive Player of the Year. Walter also earned a spot on the 2021-22 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State Team and the 6A All-State Tournament Team.

The Big 12 Preseason Poll will be announced Friday.

Preseason Player of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas, C, 7-2, Sr., Alexandria, Va./Michigan
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas, C, 7-2, Sr., Alexandria, Va./Michigan
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor, F, 6-5, McKinney, Texas/Link Academy (Mo.)

Preseason All-Big 12 Team

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically by school):
Jalen Bridges (Baylor), RayJ Dennis (Baylor), Ja’Kobe Walter (Baylor), Jamal Shead (Houston), Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Tylor Perry (Kansas State), Dylan Disu (Texas), Tyrese Hunter (Texas), Dillon Mitchell (Texas), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia).

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa swimming and diving head coach Nathan Mundt announced the promotion of Associate Head Coach Mona Groteguth on Thursday.

“We’re excited to announce the promotion of Mona Groteguth to Associate Head Coach,” Mundt said. “Mona is a tremendous asset for our program and has earned this distinction. I look forward to continuing to help her grow in the coaching profession, while also having her mentor our student-athletes at Iowa.”

Groteguth is in her third season with the University of Iowa women’s swimming & diving program.

In her two seasons as an assistant coach, Groteguth helped begin rebuilding the program as the Hawkeyes competed with a roster of 13 student-athletes in her first season. At the 2022 Big Ten Championships, Iowa had seven scoring performances and eight student-athletes garnered Academic All-Big Ten honors. In 2023, nine Hawkeyes earned points towards the team’s Big Ten Championship score and six were named to the Academic All-Big Ten list.

Groteguth joined the program after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons at TCU. While with the Horned Frogs, she helped the men’s and women’s team to back-to-back third-place Big 12 Conference finishes – the best for the program since 2012-13.

During her two seasons in Fort Worth, the Frogs set 22 school records and the team had 11 student-athletes post NCAA “B” qualifying standards. TCU received the CSCAA Scholar All-America team award both seasons (all four semesters), 51 athletes were Academic All-Big 12 selections and she coached nine CSCAA Scholar All-Americans.

Prior to joining the TCU staff, Groteguth coached at the University of Indianapolis from 2017-19. The men’s team won two GLVC Conference Championships (2018, 2019) and posted two third place finishes at the NCAA DII Championships (2018,2019). The women also had a pair of team runner-up showings in the GLVC in 2018 and 2019.

Groteguth also instructed a kinesiology undergraduate course at the University of Indianapolis.

As a competitor, Groteguth swam at North Texas from 2011-15, where she was a team captain her senior year. In 2008 and 2012, Groteguth was an Olympic Trials qualifier and in 2012, she was a “B” finalist in the 100 and 200 backstroke.

After graduating, Groteguth began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

Groteguth graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Texas in 2015 before completing her master’s degree in organizational leadership from Lewis University in 2017.

Two of the three unbeatens in the Pioneer Football League race collide in Des Moines on Saturday when St. Thomas of Minnesota visits Drake. The Bulldogs are 2-0 in the league race after wins over Morehead State of Kentucky and Valparaiso.

That’s Drake coach Todd Stepsis. As he said in the previous cut the Bulldogs have won five straight league games dating back to last season.

St. Thomas is 3-0 in the PFL and the defense came up big the past two weeks in wins over Dayton and Butler.

Iowa State bids for its first road win of the season with a visit to Cincinnati in Big-12 player. The Cyclones stood 1-2 after a loss at Ohio but have bounced back to win two of their last three.

That is Cyclone tight end Easton Dean who says they remain focused on improvement even though they have been playing better the last few weeks.

Though more confident after a win over TCU Dean says the Cyclones must remain hungry.

Dean says he was confident the offense would improve after struggling early in the season.