Top ranked Winfield-Mount Union opens the 8-Player playoffs at home on Friday mnight against Belle Plaine. Winfield-Mount Union senior star Cam Buffington has combined for more than 14 hundred yards of rushing and receiving and says as the top ranked team the Wolves know they have a target on their back.

Buffington says they are focused on tonight and not their long-term goal.

In the class 1A playoffs fourth ranked MFL-MarMac is at home against Hudson. The Bulldogs won the title in a loaded district three and coach Dan Anderson says a tough regular season schedule has them ready.

Anderson says Hudson is a tough first round draw.

Hudson has been competitive against some quality foes.

An automatic playoff bid in at stake in Class 3A, District 2 as #8 Webster City hosts Humboldt at Lynx Field. The Lynx beat Algona 47-0 last week in a game where Webster City coach Bob Howard says the conditions were perfect for his team’s style.

Howard says the strength of this Humboldt team is in its skill position players.

Humboldt is coming off their own marquee with a 34-0 shutout over previously undefeated Clear Lake, a performance Coach Derrick Elman called gritty.

After a 2-2 start, the gelling of a young offensive line and the return of running back Lance Coon has brought success in district play.

A Great Plains Athletic Conference showdown in Orange city on Saturday finds top ranked Northwestern hosting 22nd ranked Dordt. Northwestern coach Matt McCarty says it is a big game for both teams.

Dordt leads the league in rushing at more than 240 yards per game and McCarty says the Red Raiders will need to control the line of scrimmage.

McCarty says the turnover battle will be big.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa Moon Family head football coach Kirk Ferentz is one of 20 head coaches named to the 2023 Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List. The announcement was made Thursday by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc.

The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity — the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.

The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., taking into consideration each program’s graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, on-field success thus far for the 2023 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Ferentz is in his 25th season as Iowa’s head coach, the longest tenured head coach in college football. Ferentz has coached 13 individual national award winners and 85 NFL Draft selections during his tenure. He became Iowa’s winningest head coach on Sept. 1, 2018, and earned his 200th victory as a college head coach at Iowa State earlier this season.

Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes to 20 bowl invitations, including 12 January bowl game appearances. Iowa is bowl eligible once again in 2023, having won six of its first seven games to start the season. The Hawkeyes have won 10 or more games seven times under his direction and have been ranked in the final Top 25 rankings four of the previous five seasons.

Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes to a 192-116 overall record, including a 118-84 Big Ten Conference record. Ferentz is third in the Big Ten Conference for league wins and ranks fourth in total victories.

Ferentz was named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2015. He has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2004, 2009, 2015) and was named the Woody Hayes and Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year in 2015, as well.

The 20 coaches joining Ferentz on the midseason list represent Air Force, Alabama, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, James Madison, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Texas, Tulane, USC, Utah and Washington.

No. 24 Iowa (6-1, 3-1) will host Minnesota (3-3, 1-2) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City (2:33 p.m. CT, NBC).

This Friday the (5-3) Exira-EHK Spartans are at home against the (6-2) Glidden-Ralston Wildcats for the first round of 8-Player playoff football. This first year of coaching for Exira-EHK Head Coach Drew Buckholdt has had its ups and downs. He’s learned a lot about his team and noticed their resiliency in one particular game this season. The hard fought 28-22 win against Fremont-Mills.

The offensive has been clicking for Exira-EHK in their last three games, riding a three-game winning streak and scoring 134 points. Quarterback Jameson Kilworth has seemed to find a rhythm throwing for 823 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground his numbers are nearly identical scrambling for 842 yards and 12 scores.

Kilworth has been helped out by running back Alex Hansen with close to 500 yards rushing and 11 scores. His favorite target on the year has been Cash Emgarten with 26 grabs, 412 yards, and 6 touchdowns. But if you ask Coach Buckholdt the unspoken reason for his offensive success is the effort from the offensive line.

The offensive line will have their work cut out for them with a tough nosed Glidden-Ralston team on Friday. The Wildcats defense has forced 11 interceptions and amassed 65 tackles for loss on the year.

On the other side of the ball the Glidden-Ralston offense loves to pound the rock. They have accumulated over 2000 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Quarterback Colby Wallace has over 1000 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns.

Coach Buckholdt knows about the tenacity Glidden-Ralston brings.

The game plan for Friday is to be ready for intense physical play that the Wildcats are known for and to control the line of scrimmage.

The game will be covered on KJAN and the pregame starts at 6:30pm.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa defensive end Broderick Binns will serve as honorary captain when the Hawkeyes host Minnesota on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:33 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised on NBC.

Binns played in 50 games for the Hawkeyes from 2008-11. A three-year member of the Iowa Leadership Group, Binns amassed 179 tackles, 13 sacks, 25.5 tackles for loss, 21 pass break-ups, four recovered fumbles and three forced fumbles as a Hawkeye.

Iowa won 35 games from 2008-11, including a 3-1 record in bowl games. Iowa posted an 11-2 record in 2009, placing second in the Big Ten before defeating ACC champion Georgia Tech in the 2010 Orange Bowl. The Hawkeyes also defeated South Carolina in the 2009 Outback Bowl and Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl.

Binns was recognized as second-team All-Big Ten and earned the Roy J. Carver Most Valuable Player Award for defense as a senior after totaling 60 tackles, eight pass break-ups, 12 tackles for loss and five QB sacks. He registered 36 tackles and a pick-six at Arizona as a junior. Binns was honorable mention All-Big Ten and earned the Coaches Appreciation Award for defense in 2009 as a sophomore. He was tabbed ESPN Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s win at fourth-ranked Penn State. As a redshirt freshman in 2008, he totaled 20 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, and two pass break-ups.

Following graduating, Binns served in a leadership role with the football team and UI Athletics. He served as the team’s director of player of development and worked closely with Athletics Student Services for four years (2016-20). Binns was named the executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2020 and then was elevated to assistant athletic director for diversity, equity, and inclusion and serving as the Iowa Varsity Club Director in 2021. Binns currently is the diversity and inclusion coordinator for GreenState Credit Union.

The Minnesota native earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2012 and master’s degree in sport and fitness administration/management in 2018.

Binns will accompany the Iowa captains to midfield for Saturday’s pregame coin toss. He will also be with the Hawkeyes in the locker room before and after the game.

(Minneapolis, MN) — The University of Minnesota football team visits the University of Iowa on Saturday in a key rivalry game in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers are coming off of a bye week and sit at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. Second-ranked Michigan beat Minnesota two weeks ago 52-10. The host Hawkeyes are 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten after winning at Wisconsin last week 15-6. Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis says they have to limit the number of times they go three-and-out and put some long drives together. He says they are embracing the challenge of playing on the road in a hostile environment. The Gophers have not won in Iowa City since 1999. Saturday’s game kicks off at 2:30 P-M.

1) Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis says he used the bye week to work on throwing mechanics to be more accurate in his throws

2) Kaliakmanis says this is a typical Iowa football team

3) Kaliakmanis says he is embracing the challenge of playing at Kinnick Stadium

4) Kaliakmanis says the Hawkeyes are a tough challenge

5) Kaliakmanis says they need to be better on offense to win this game

6) Kaliakmanis says this is a big game, like most every Big Ten game they play in

7) Kaliakmanis says playing on the road is tough, but he has had some success on the road

8) Kaliakmanis says they have prepared for the noise at Kinnick Stadium by blasting crowd noise over speakers during practice this week