The Audubon Wheelers (12-1) will face the Don Bosco Dons (12-0) for the 8-Player State Football Championship on Thursday morning at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The Wheelers came out with a strong performance in their first trip to the Dome since 1977 last week with a Semifinal win over Remsen, St. Mary’s 39-28. Now the Wheelers get a shot at their first State Championship this week against another strong opponent. Don Bosco rolled to a 50-6 win over Turkey Valley in the Semifinals last week. Audubon Head Coach Sean Birks was really proud of the way his team played in the Semis.

The Dons have rolled through their schedule this season with the closest game of the year for them coming in a 39-point Quarterfinal round win over Easton Valley. The Dons have been on this stage many times before as well, notching State Championships in 2013, 2016, and 2017. Coach Birks said they have a lot of respect for the Don Bosco program.

Don Bosco is led on Offense by junior Quarterback Cael Frost and senior Running Back Thomas Even. Frost has thrown for 1,269 yards and 30 touchdowns with just 1 interception and has also run for 1,147 yards and 19 more scores. Even is pushing up on a 2,000 yard rushing season with 1,940 yards and 25 touchdowns so far this year. Coach Birks said the Wheelers will need to be tough up the middle to slow down the Dons attack.

Audubon counters with a number of offensive weapons. Senior Quarterback Skyler Schultes has rushed for 1,789 yards and 28 touchdowns, while also passing for 678 yards and 10 more scores. Gavin Smith has been strong in the passing game as well with 834 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air as the change of pace QB. Kaiden Smith has been a strong weapon out of the backfield with 637 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns to go along with 361 yards receiving and 7 more scores. Coach Birks said they will need to be ready to attack in multiple ways and take care of the ball to have success in this one.

The Wheelers and the Dons are set for a 10:00am kickoff at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Chris Parks and CAM Head Coach Joe Wollum will have the call on KJAN with pregame starting at 9:00am. Tune in on AM1220, FM101.1, and online at kjan.com.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Despite some continued struggles from 3-point range, Iowa State had no trouble blowing past Southern Miss.

The stakes get much higher next week, starting in eight days against Michigan in the Bahamas.

Solomon Young scored 14 points, Prentiss Nixon added 13 and Iowa State thumped Southern Miss 73-45 on Tuesday for its second straight win.

Tyrese Haliburton had 12 points with nine assists and three steals for the Cyclones (3-1), who used a 15-2 run to close the first half as they pulled away.

But things won’t be so easy at the upcoming Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. After facing the Wolverines, Iowa State will get either Alabama or North Carolina the following day, followed by an undetermined opponent next Friday.

“It was ugly games at times. It was a physical game at times. I’m proud of the way we closed the first half,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. “Some things we’ve got to get better at from an offensive standpoint…it’s early, we’ve got to continue to grow. We’ve got a great test ahead of us next week with Michigan and a host of really good teams.”

After a sluggish start, Iowa State held the Golden Eagles scoreless for nearly five minutes in building a 33-20 halftime lead. The Cyclones then reeled off 11 points in a row to make it a 60-34 game midway through the second half.

Iowa State once again struggled from beyond the arc though. After going just 3 of 25 in a win over Northern Illinois its last time out, Iowa State was 5 of 22 against the Eagles.

“I don’t think they’re bad looks,” Haliburton said. “We just shot the ball rough.”

George Conditt had nine points, six rebounds and four blocks off the bench for the Cyclones.

Boban Jacdonmi scored 10 points for the Golden Eagles (1-3). Southern Miss went 0 of 16 from the 3-point line and didn’t shoot its first free throw until there was 2:47 left.

UP NEXT

Iowa State plays Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas on Nov. 27

AMES, Iowa – Sophomore Ashley Joens put up the first 30-point, 20-rebound performance in school history on Tuesday to lead Iowa State (2-1) to a 79-59 victory over Texas Southern (1-2) at Hilton Coliseum. Joens’ 20 rebounds are tied for the third-most in a single game in program history, and her 16 made free throws tied the single-game program mark, set by Angie Welle (vs. Nebraska, ’02).

How It Happened
The Cyclones got off to a slow start offensively on Tuesday morning, plagued by a 1-9 start from the field that had them playing from behind for much of the first stanza. The scrappy Tiger defense allowed TSU to lead 12-11 after 10 minutes of action, holding Iowa State to 3-18 from the field in the first quarter.

Joens went to work and flipped the script, hitting consecutive triples to open the second quarter. Iowa State surged with Joens, as the sophomore tallied 11 points in the period after being held scoreless in the first, and also had 10 boards to secure her third career double-double before halftime.

Iowa State continued to pull away after the intermission, led by Joens’ outburst. With the Tigers unable to contain her off the dribble, the native of Iowa City, Iowa, earned trip after trip to the free throw stripe in the second half, and made the most of it. Joens connected on 15-of-16 from the charity stripe after intermission.

The Cyclones would outscore TSU 29-16 in the fourth quarter, shooting 8-13 from the field, including 2-2 from beyond the arc in the final stanza to put the game away.

Up Next
The Cyclones head north to Fargo, N.D., to take on North Dakota State on Friday at 7 p.m. Mediacom will carry a live telecast of the game on its local TV channel, MC22.