The Audubon Wheelers avenged their only loss of the regular season with a 38-29 win over Remsen, St. Mary’s in the 8-Man Semifinals on Thursday. The Wheelers lost a 25-26 battle against the Hawks in Week 1, but a strong ground attack gave the Wheelers the victory this time.

The Wheelers scored on their first possession of the game and a back and forth battle ensued for a good chunk of the first half. Blaine Harpenau’s third touchdown run of the first half put the Hawks ahead 22-20 with 9:37 left in the half. The Wheelers answered with a 5 play 63 yard drive, capped off by a Skyler Schultes 29-yard touchdown run to put the Wheelers ahead 26-22 and that was the score at the half.

The Wheelers then took control in the second half. They forced a punt on Remsen’s first possession, gave it back on a fumble 3 plays later.  A fourth down pass attempt for the Hawks was ruled knocked away by Gavin Smith in the end zone. Two plays later Skyler Schultes ripped off a 55 yard touchdown run. The Wheelers would score again after a Kaiden Smith interception to lead 39-22. The Hawks got one more score before the Wheelers ground out the clock.

Skyler Schultes ran for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Wheelers. Audubon outgained Remsen, St. Mary’s 357 to 284 in total offense.

Audubon improves to 12-1 on the season and will play for the 8-Man State Championship next Thursday against Don Bosco. The Dons won the first Semifinal game on Thursday 50-6 over Turkey Valley.

Listen to the full postgame interviews with Audubon Head Coach Sean Birks and Quarterback Skyler Schultes below.

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The 8:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Liam Robbins had a career-high 23 points as Drake beat UMKC 76-58 on Wednesday night. Robbins hit 8 of 10 shots and had five blocks. Anthony Murphy had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Drake (2-1). Garrett Sturtz added 11 points and seven rebounds and Roman Penn had eight rebounds and eight assists.

Jordan Giles had 15 points for the Roos (1-2). Javan White added 11 points and five steals and Brandon McKissic had 10 points. Drake faces Simpson at home on Sunday. Kansas City faces Milwaukee on the road on Friday.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Spencer Haldeman scored 15 points as Northern Iowa defeated Cal State Bakersfield 67-55 on Wednesday night. AJ Green had 14 points for Northern Iowa (3-0). Trae Berhow added 14 points. Isaiah Brown had 11 points and seven rebounds for the hosts. Cameron Allen had 16 points for the Roadrunners (1-2).

Northern Iowa plays Northern Colorado at home on Saturday. Cal State Bakersfield matches up against Life Pacific at home on Friday.

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

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Spencer Haldeman posted 15 points as Northern Iowa defeated Cal State Bakersfield 67-55. AJ Green had 14 points for Northern Iowa.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Nico Carvacho had 21 points and 19 rebounds as Colorado State beat Nebraska Omaha 80-65. Adam Thistlewood had 19 points and seven rebounds for Colorado State (2-1). Kendle Moore added 16 points. Isaiah Stevens had 11 points and five assists for the home team.

MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Xavier Sneed had 15 points and six rebounds and led Kansas State to a 73-54 win over Monmouth. Monmouth held a nine-point halftime lead but was stifled offensively in the second half _ only scoring six points in the first 15 minutes. Kansas State’s defense forced 25 turnovers scoring 21 points off those mistakes and outscored the Hawks 38-20 in the paint.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs believes the NFL must “seriously consider” reducing the preseason and expanding the regular season to 17 games, giving the league additional inventory that would allow for more games internationally. Clark Hunt spoke about the future schedule during a wide-ranging availability ahead of the Chiefs’ trip to Mexico City to face the Chargers on Monday night.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright is guaranteed $5 million in his one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and can earn up to $5 million in performance bonuses, which allows the pitcher to match his 2019 earnings. That is up from a $2 million guarantee in his 2019 deal, in which he earned an additional $8 million based on starts. Wainwright’s contract calls for $1.5 million each for 20 and 25 starts, and $2 million for 28.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With no game on the schedule the week before Minnesota played Penn State, most of the Gophers coaches hit the road for recruiting. Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca hung back and crafted the game plan to beat a Nittany Lions defense that entered with the second-fewest points allowed in the FBS. The Gophers won 31-26 and rose this week to seventh in the AP rankings. With Ciarrocca directing the show, they’re second in the Big Ten with an average of 37.6 points per game.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas defensive back Jalen Green has apologized for a hit on Kansas State wide receiver Wykeen Gill last week. Gill was knocked out of the game and Green was ejected. Green leveled Gill with a helmet-to-helmet hit near the Kansas State sideline in the fourth quarter of Texas’ 27-24 victory. Kansas State coach Chris Klieman has said Gill may miss the Wildcats’ game this week at West Virginia. Green’s apology said he wasn’t trying to hurt Gill.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake University in Des Moines has announced it’s partnering with Des Moines Public Schools to develop a new community sports stadium in the city.

The university said in a news release Wednesday that the 4,000-seat stadium will be located on the Drake campus and serve as the venue for the public school district’s high school and middle school football and soccer games. It will also serve as the home field for the Drake Bulldogs’ soccer teams.

Construction of new stadium is estimated to cost $19.5 million. It will be funded in part by Des Moines Public Schools, which has budgeted $15 million in sales tax revenue for the project. Drake University will donate the land and manage the stadium. Drake will also be conducting a fundraising effort in support of the stadium.

Preliminary plans call for the stadium to open by the summer of 2021.

Thursday, November 14

Eight-Player

9:00—#2 Turkey Valley vs. #3 Don Bosco, Gilbertville

12:00—#1 Audubon vs. #4 St. Mary’s, Remsen – ON KJAN Pregame 11:00am

Class 3A

5:30—#2 Epworth, Western Dubuque vs. #3 Lewis Central

8:30—#1 Solon vs. #4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton

The Audubon Wheelers (11-1) are ready for the trip to the UNI-Dome for the 8-MAN Football Semifinals on Thursday to face the Remsen, St. Mary’s Hawks (11-0). The Wheelers have fought through an extraordinarily tough schedule to reach this spot, facing 5 playoff teams throughout the season and one of those teams twice. After edging out the CAM Cougars for the second time this year in the Quarterfinals, the Wheelers will now get the chance to avenge their lone loss on the season which was a week one 26-25 game against the Hawks. Audubon Head Coach Sean Birks said he’s really proud of what his squad has accomplished.

The Wheelers are a very veteran group that includes a lot of playmakers. Skyler Schultes led the way during the season on the ground with 1,584 yards and 25 touchdowns. Gavin Smith has thrown for 825 yards and 14 scores. Kaiden Smith has come on strong, accounting for 9 touchdowns in their two playoff wins. Remsen, St. Mary’s Head Coach Zach Arnold said the Wheelers are tough to defend because of their versatility.

The Hawks have been able to achieve some good balance on offense through the year. Quarterback Blaine Harpenau has thrown for 1,300 yards and 26 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions. Running Back Jeremy Koenck has racked up 1,005 yards and 13 scores and is complemented in the running game by Harpenau’s 833 yards and 21 more scores. Audubon Head Coach Sean Birks said the Wheelers can’t sell out too much one way or the other against this Hawks team.

These two teams have become very familiar with each other over the past few seasons. The Hawks knocked Audubon out in the Quarterfinal round in 2017 on their way to a Runner-Up finish. Coach Arnold expects this one to be a battle once again and with the two teams knowing each other fairly well it’s about which team will go out and execute.

We’ll have coverage of the Semifinal tilt on KJAN with pregame at 11:00am and kickoff set for Noon at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Chris Parks and Matt Mullenix will have the call on AM 1220, FM 101.1, and online at kjan.com.

Individual Awards

MVP: Caleb Swalla, SR Earlham 

Offensive MVP: Caleb Swalla, SR Earlham
Austin Kremkoski, SO Riverside 

Defensive MVP: Grant Carter, SR Earlham 

Coach of the Year: Chris Caskey, Earlham 

Assist. Coach of the Year: Brian Sheffield, Earlham
Allen Naugle, Southwest Valley 

First Team Offense
QB Austin Kremkoski, SO Riverside
RB Caleb Swalla, SR Earlham
RB Connor Cerny, JR Saint Albert
RB Brendan Knapp, SO Southwest Valley
WR Joey Goins, SR AHSTW
WR Sam Rallis, JR Saint Albert
WR Brogan Allensworth, JR Riverside
OL Cael McLaren, JR Saint Albert
OL Kaiden Hendricks, JR Riverside
OL Sam Kasap, SR Earlham
OL Randall Nodaway Valley
OL Seth Kiesel, SR AHSTW
K Sam Wilber, JR Saint Albert

First Team Defense
DB Lance Wright, SR Saint Albert
DB Jackson Vandever, JR Earlham
DB Raydden Groebe, SO AHSTW
DB Caelen DeVault, SO Nodaway Valley
LB Grant Carter, SR Earlham
LB Tallen Meyers, JR Southwest Valley
LB Bennett Gronstall, JR Saint Albert
LB Joel Henningson, SR Riverside
DL Derrin Sesker, SR Earlham
DL Jeffrey Miller, JR Saint Albert
DL Eddie Vlcek, JR Riverside
DL Gavyn Fisher, SR AHSTW
P Tucker Tepoel, JR Southwest Valley
Specialist Michael Shiffer, SR AHSTW 

Second Team Offense
QB Alex Caskey, SR Earlham
RB Cy Pattersen, JR Saint Albert
RB Mason Bivens, SR Riverside
RB Jacob Ridgely, SR Earlham
WR Rhett Bentley, SO Riverside
WR Hunter Ernst, SR Nodaway Valley
WR Aiden Antisdel, SR Saint Albert
OL Chris Hipsley, SR Earlham
OL Greg Fagen, JR Saint Albert
OL Jacob Erickson, SR Riverside
OL Brady Canada, SR AHSTW
OL Kaden Jacobs, JR SWV
K Cameron Terry, SR Earlham 

Second Team Defense
DB Clay Hohertz, SR Nodaway Valley
DB Max Vandever, SO Earlham
DB Drake Wood, JR Riverside
DB Blake Thomas, SO SWV
LB Slater Goff, SR Earlham
LB Adam Ayase, SO Nodaway Valley
LB Denver Pauley, SO AHSTW
LB Tyler Pearson, SR SWV
DL Trey Bond, JR Earlham
DL Taten Williams, SR Riverside
DL Hunter Crill, SO SWV
DL Drew Gronstall, SR Saint Albert
P Colby Harris, SR Nodaway Valley
Specialist Tony Ayase, JR Nodaway Valley 

Honorable Mention Gabe Legrand, SR Earlham. Joel Smith, SO Earlham. Nathan Russell Nodaway Valley. Austin Wilson Nodaway Valley. Ben O’Neill Saint Albert. Dan McGrath Saint Albert. Blaine Venteicher SWV. Tyler Pearson SWV. Brayden Lund AHSTW. Blake Holst AHSTW. Mike Husz Riverside. Wyatt Hough Riverside.

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

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