FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS INCLUDE NINE AREA TEAMS

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Rick Watts

The football season flew by and it was extremely interesting in our listening area. Nine teams qualified in five of the six classes.

In Class 3A, Oskaloosa grabbed one of the two wild card slots and will play on the road at Cedar Rapids Xavier. Xavier is ranked #1 in the Radio Iowa poll and have been one of the highest ranked teams around the state all season. Osky will be a big underdog, but Head Coach Jake Jenkins has a team that went 4-1 on the road this season.

You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 PM for the 7 PM kickoff.

Pella has won seven straight games after their long winning streak was snapped. The Dutch will start the defense of their three consecutive state championships at home against Webster City in a rematch of last year’s state title game.

PCM made the Class 2A playoffs after dominating in District 6. The Mustangs will host Williamsburg, who grabbed one of the 2A wild cards.

In Class 1A, Pella Christian ran the table in the regular season for the second straight year. The Eagles will also host Sigourney/Keota for the second straight year to start the playoffs. S/K fell in a win-and-in game against Wilton, but the Cobras landed a wild card spot. You can hear that game on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app. Pregame show will start at 6:30 PM for the 7 PM kickoff.

Also in Class 1A, Pleasantville backed into the #2 seed in District 5 with two district losses. The Trojans won the three-way tiebreaker including Woodward-Granger and Interstate 35. Pleasantville will be on the road to face West Branch in the first round.

Class A District 6 produced two playoff teams from the listening area. Lynnville-Sully is ranked #1 in the Radio Iowa poll after an unbeaten regular season. The Hawks will host district foe New London, who snagged a wild card. L-S beat New London in their meeting earlier this year in New London, 20-14.

Pekin finished in second in the district and they will be on the road at Hudson. Hudson had a great season, going undefeated and have been ranked in the top five for the last half of the year.

Finally, Moravia survived a potential circus in 8-Player District 5, finishing in second with their only loss to district champs HLV. The Mohawks will go on the road in the first round to face perennial powerhouse Don Bosco.

After the games go final, you can also check out a postseason edition of Scores and More Presented By Bubbl’r. Taylor Howard will be running through all of the playoff scores around the state and go through the matchups in the quarterfinal rounds.

Large Schools Look for Momentum Heading Into Volleyball Playoffs

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Rick Watts

We are within a week of every school beginning their trek to the Volleyball State Tournament at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. The schools in Class 3A, Class 4A, and Class 5A will not have it easy to get there.

All first round games in these classes will be on Wednesday, October 18^th at 7 PM.

In Class 3A Region 6, PCM (9-16) will have to go on the road to face West Marshall (27-10). The bracket is fairly loaded, so if PCM finds a way to get past West Marshall in the quarterfinals, #12 Iowa Falls-Alden could be awaiting them.

Staying in Class 3A, Region 8 involves four South Central Conference teams in the bottom half of the bracket. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (19-13) get Albia (10-19), a team they just beat in four sets on Tuesday night. Winner of that matchup will see either Davis County or Centerville. EBF has not lost to any of those teams all season.

Class 4A Region 4 is loaded with four area teams of the six in the bracket. Oskaloosa (11-17) will have to go on the road to play Knoxville (14-19). The Indians have made a habit out of winning road games in the playoffs. The two teams have not seen each other this season. You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN and radiokmzn.com.

Awaiting them is #4 Pella (28-5) for the semifinals on Tuesday, October 24^th. Pella hasn’t dropped a set in two matches with Knoxville this season and swept Oskaloosa in the only meeting between those two teams so far this year.

On the other side of the bracket, Newton (3-20) will be a big underdog on the road against Carlisle (12-13) in the first round. Bondurant-Farrar (17-10) awaits the winner in the second round. B-F is one of the few teams to beat Pella this year which could be a factor if those two teams hold serve and meet in the regional final.

Region 6 in Class 4A has Grinnell (8-19) on the road to face Clear Creek-Amana (19-16) as an underdog. Winner of that match will get #7 Center Point-Urbana (30-9) in the semifinals.

Finally, Ottumwa is our lone Class 5A school and they are in the Region 5 bracket. The Bulldogs (13-16) will host Des Moines North (0-19) in a fairly easy matchup. Should they take care of business there, they will go on the road to face #12 Waukee in the semifinals (23-18). #5 Linn-Mar and #15 Cedar Rapids Prairie are in the other semifinal in a loaded bracket.

The trek to state all begins with the first round, which will take place on Wednesday, October 18^th at 7 PM. We will have continuing coverage of the brackets on the No Coast Network.

Several Area Football Teams Still Have Playoff Pulse Heading Into Stretch Run

Posted on October 9, 2017October 9, 2017 by Rick Watts

The football season is winding down with just two weeks of the regular season remaining. Even though there’s just two games left for most teams, there’s dozens of playoff implications that can come into play for several teams still hanging around for a postseason berth.

In Class 4A District 4, the Newton Cardinals improbably started their season 6-0. But a loss to Southeast Polk last week has put them in a dire position, needing to win both of their remaining games to squeak into the playoffs. With powerhouse West Des Moines Valley on deck, it would be a monumental feat for the Cardinals to be playing postseason football.

The same cannot be said for the Oskaloosa Indians, who will be looking to cinch up a playoff spot out of Class 3A District 5 in Washington this week. Osky has a very easy road map: beat Washington and you’re in, lose to Washington and you need to hope to get a wild card. A Week 9 matchup with West Burlington/Notre Dame should not deter the Indians should they get past the Demons.

Also in Class 3A, Pella is well on their way to another district title after holding off Norwalk last week. The Dutch are the only unbeaten team left in District 6 and have favorable matchups at North Polk and at home to Nevada to wrap up their season.

In Class 2A District 6, PCM is rolling through their schedule. After a tough non-district loss to undefeated Pella Christian in the season opener, the Mustangs have won six straight and are big favorites against Davis County and Clarke as they wind down a season where they’ll be named District 6 Champions.

Class 1A District 4 is pretty self-explanatory for Sigourney/Keota. There’s one open playoff spot after Iowa City Regina and the Cobras need to beat Wilton and Wapello the last two weeks of the season to clinch it. A win over Wapello this week would effectively eliminate them from the race and leave it between S/K and Wilton, and they will meet in Wilton to decide the automatic berth in Week 9.

District 5 in Class 1A is monopolized by a couple of area teams. Pella Christian is still undefeated after they knocked off Pleasantville on the road last week. PC should waltz to the district title. Pleasantville has to beat Woodward-Granger this week to clinch their spot in the playoffs.

Class A District 6 has been a fun one to follow all year and Lynnville-Sully is on their way to winning the district title. The Hawks started 8-0 last year before losing in Week 9 to Montezuma. Now, after gutsy wins over Pekin and New London, L-S gets a bye before seeing the Braves again looking for retribution on their way to the playoffs and a first round home game. Pekin faces off with New London this week to determine the #2 seed out of this district, while the loser hopes to get one of the wild cards.

Finally, 8-Player District 5 is chaotic. All we know is that HLV is sitting pretty at 5-0 in the district after a big win over Colo-Nesco. HLV faces Melcher-Dallas this week. If M-D were to drop this home game, they will likely fall out of the playoff race. Moravia is also hanging around. Their matchup this week with Colo-Nesco will factor heavily into that #2 seed. A Melcher-Dallas win this week would create even more chaos, however, as all four teams could end the week with hopes of the playoffs going into Week 9. There are no wild cards in 8-Player football so these matchups are huge for these schools.

We’ll be following the action closely the last two weeks of the season, so be sure to join us for Scores and More Presented By Bubbl’r after the games go final Friday night on 104.9 FM KBOE, 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, kboeradio.com and radiokmzn.com.

Several Area Schools In Good Playoff Position at Midway Point of Football Season

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Rick Watts

Five weeks of high school football are in the books and we are starting to learn who the contenders are in every district in the state.

For our listening area, there are several teams who seem to be look to push towards the playoffs.

Oskaloosa (3-2) made the playoffs in 2016 after a great 7-2 regular season after a couple of down years. They are looking to repeat the dose here in 2017, and their road map is identical. Wins in their last four games will clinch the #2 spot in Class 3A District 5 and send Osky to the postseason. Their biggest challenge will be in Week 8 against Washington, who sits at 4-1 on the year.

Pella (4-1) also sits pretty as one of the top teams in Class 3A District 6 along with Norwalk (4-1). Those teams will battle for what will likely be the District 6 Championship in Week 7.

In Class 2A, PCM (4-1) should run away with the District 6 Title once again, following up a dominant run in 2016. District 6 is fairly weak after the Mustangs which has to door wide open for someone to grab that second spot. After EBF’s (3-3) tough loss to Albia last Friday, Central Lee seems to be in the best shape to snag that #2 slot and an automatic playoff berth. Do not rule out a wild card team either, as Centerville (2-3) snuck into the playoffs last year after having a high district point differential.

In Class 1A District 4, Sigourney/Keota (2-3) is looking to bounce back after a couple of tough weeks to start the year. Their playoff aspirations likely rest on their Week 9 matchup on the road at Wilton (5-0) as Iowa City Regina (3-2) will run away with the district. Don’t sleep on Louisa-Muscatine (2-3), as they still have a road to the playoffs they can follow as well.

Class 1A District 5 seems to be locked up for Pella Christian (5-0) and Pleasantville (5-0) to make it back to the playoffs. They will meet in Pleasantville in Week 7 to likely determine the district champion and who will get home field in the first round.

Chaos is the name of the game in Class A District 6, as Lynnville-Sully (5-0), Pekin (6-0), and New London (4-0) are all rolling so far this year. A huge matchup will be featured in our Game of the Week on 104.9 FM KBOE and kboeradio.com this Friday, as Lynnville-Sully hosts Pekin. Winner of that matchup sets themselves up nicely to get into the playoffs and potentially win the district while the loser will need to win out. New London gets their crack at the top when they host Lynnville-Sully in Week 7 and travel to face Pekin in Week 8.

In 8-Player District 5, Moravia (5-1) seemed to have the best chance to make the playoffs, but a slip up last week at HLV (4-2) has the Mohawks desperate. A Week 8 duel at Colo-Nesco (4-1) will in all likelihood decide who gets the only other playoff berth at stake barring any upsets to HLV. Melcher-Dallas (4-1) has played well this season and have a route to the playoffs, but will be a solid underdog in their matchups with HLV and Moravia in Weeks 8 and 9.

Newton (5-0) has looked great in Class 4A so far this year, but the Cardinals have benefitted from the weakest schedule in the state’s largest class. They have two top teams in Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Valley in as opponents in District 4 and will need to beat at least one of them to have a chance at the postseason. That doesn’t include tough matchups against Indianola and Fort Dodge that the Cardinals will be also find themselves as underdogs.

The playoffs begin October 27^th, but we will be able to track every single movement of our area teams between now and then. Check kboeradio.com or radiokmzn.com for weekly looks at the area playoff picture.

Oskaloosa, PCM Have Strong Nights in Volleyball

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Rick Watts

It was a busy night in high school volleyball Tuesday night.

The Oskaloosa Indians had a good night with wins over Carlisle and Colfax-Mingo at home. The Indians beat Carlisle in three sets and swept Colfax-Mingo in two straight sets.

Another team who had a great night was PCM. The Mustangs cruised through the Newton Invitational, winning all three of their matches. They swept Des Moines Hoover in two straight sets and beat Saydel and the hosts from Newton in three sets.

It was a rough night for BGM, as they were swept in all four of their matches in Lisbon. They fell to East Buchanan, Alburnett, Tipton, and the hosts from Lisbon on the night.

Finally, Pella got their season off to a strong start, beating Ballard on the road in four sets.

Our first volleyball game on our airwaves will be next Tuesday, August 29^th, as Oskaloosa travels to face Pella Christian to open up Little Hawkeye Conference play. The first serve of that game will be around 7 PM with the pregame at 6:45. You can hear all the action live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app.

Five Schools Start the Year In Radio Iowa Football Rankings

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Rick Watts

The Radio Iowa High School Football Poll has been released for Week 1 and it favors the reigning state champions at the top of the list.

In Class 3A, Pella starts the year ranked #1. The Dutch have won 41 straight games and are 51-1 in the last four seasons. They have won the last three Class 3A state titles. They will open their season up on Friday night against Oskaloosa at the Lacey Recreation Complex. You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, and watch a live video stream on radiokmzn.com and the KMZN mobile app. The pregame show starts at 7 PM for the 7:30 PM kickoff.

West Delaware, Sioux City Heelan, Norwalk, and Cedar Rapids Xavier round out the Class 3A top 5. Solon is ranked #9 and should be the preseason favorites in Oskaloosa’s district.

In Class 2A, PCM is looking to build off a great season and they start the year ranked #5. Williamsburg is #1, followed by Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, Carroll Kuemper, and Union ahead of the Mustangs.

Sigourney/Keota has been a very successful team under Jared Jensen the last few years and they start the year ranked #8 in the Class 1A poll. Pleasantville will start their second season in Class 1A and they are ranked tenth the start the season. Perennial powerhouse Iowa City Regina is ranked #1, followed by West Lyon, Western Christian, Denver, and Van Meter to round out the top five.

Class A football has been very exciting in our listening area recently, and Lynnville-Sully has been near the top of the state in the playoff hunt the last couple of seasons. The Hawks will start as the #3 team in the state. Defending champs Gladbrook-Reinbeck, who eliminated both Lynnville-Sully and Montezuma on their way through the playoffs, start the year ranked #1. Council Bluffs St. Albert is ranked second, followed by Lynnville-Sully, West Sioux, and Lisbon in the top five.

There are no area teams ranked in the top ten in either Class 4A or 8-Player football.

In Class 4A, Dowling Catholic is #1, followed by Ankeny Centennial, Iowa City West, West Des Moines Valley, and Cedar Rapids Washington. In 8-Player football, the top five features #1 Harris-Lake Park, #2 Don Bosco, #3 Audubon, #4 Fremont-Mills, and #5 Newell-Fonda.

No Coast Network Announces the Game of the Week Football Schedule for 2017

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Rick Watts

With football season right around the corner, it’s time to announce the 2017 Game of the Week schedule, presented by the No Coast Network.

All of the Game of the Week broadcasts can be heard Friday nights on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app with Kiley Broadway on the call.

The season gets going on August 25^th as Newton faces Ottumwa in a battle of the two Class 4A teams in the listening area. Schaffer Stadium has undergone massive renovations, and the No Coast Network will be on the call as the Bulldogs open up their season on the new turf field.

In Week 2, Sigourney/Keota travels to face a young Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont team.

To kick off district play in Week 3, it’s a battle in Class 2A District 6 between PCM and Albia. The Mustangs ran away with the district title last year, but Albia is hoping to be a factor in their first year without Head Coach Jerry Staton, who retired in the offseason.

Week 4 will be a look at a couple of 8-Player teams in the area in Thornburg, as Tri-County hosts Twin Cedars in a district matchup.

Week 5 is the longest trip of the season, as North Mahaska ventures over an hour-and-a-half away to face a solid New London team who just missed out on the playoffs last year.

We’ll stay in Class A District 6 for a Week 6 battle between Pekin and Lynnville-Sully. The Hawks are looking to build off their 8-2 season last year in this home game against a solid Panther team.

The final three weeks of the season will feature more Class A District 6 action and will highlight 2016 District 6 Champion Montezuma.

Week 7 sees the Braves hosting North Mahaska, while in Week 8, Monte travels to Eldon to face Cardinal. Finally, in Week 9, it is a huge matchup between archrivals Lynnville-Sully and Montezuma on the Braves’s home field.

The Game of the Week broadcast will begin at 6:30 PM every Friday night with kickoff at 7 PM except Week 1 and Week 3. Those two weeks will feature a 7 PM start time for the broadcast with a 7:30 PM kickoff.

Albia, PCM Represented on All-State Softball Teams in Class 3A

Posted on August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 by Rick Watts

Today, we’ll take a look at the Class 3A All-State Softball Teams.

Albia was a big surprise, upsetting their way to the Class 3A State Championship Game in Fort Dodge. Two of their players made First Team All-State.

Lead-off batter Hannah Isley had a great junior year, and that was rewarded with a First Team nomination. Pitcher Jena Lawrence progressed quickly as a freshman, and she also found herself on the top squad.

Isley batted .466 and hit 11 home runs this year. Lawrence was lights out in the pitching circle, striking out 253 batters in just 143 innings of work. She also hit over .400 at the plate and walked more times than she struck out.

Joining the two Lady Dees on the First Team was PCM senior Jayci Vos, who led the Mustangs in most offensive categories, including hitting near .500.

On the Second Team, Albia freshman Alex Beard and PCM senior Kayla Jennings were honored. Beard had a phenomenal season, leading the Lady Dees with 17 doubles and 39 RBI. Jennings was the second best hitter for the Mustangs and was the ace pitcher for a team who fell just shy of a regional final.

There were no area players listed on the Third Team.

We’ll dig into the Class 1A and 2A All-State lists later this week as we move forward with our wrap up of the summer sports season.

Several Area Baseball Players Honored on Class 1A and 2A All-District Teams

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Rick Watts

Today, it’s time to take a look at who excelled on the baseball diamond in Class 1A and 2A and earned All-District nominations from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

In Class 1A, all of our honorees fell into the Southeast District.

On the First Team, Twin Cedars senior pitcher Trace Embray made the team after going 7-2 in 2017. Embray wraps up an impressive career that began as an important piece to an undefeated championship team in 2014.

Joining him on the First Team is a pair of Moravia Mohawks, also out of the Bluegrass Conference. Junior Tucker Babbitt batted .419 and was named as the First Team 3^rd baseman, while Mateo Varese hit .403, went 5-2 on the mound, and was listed as a utility player on the top squad.

To wrap up our area players on the First Team, three players representing three different schools out of the South Iowa Cedar League were honored. Sigourney’s Avery Moore and BGM’s Keegan James were both outstanding this season and both were listed in outfield spots, while Lynnville-Sully’s Tyler Van Zante had a good all-around year at the plate and on the mound en route to being named to a utility player spot.

On the Second Team, there is a huge chunk of players from the area.

Pekin leads the way with four honorees. Senior pitcher Garrett Greiner, sophomore shortstop Tanner Bainbridge, senior outfielder Jake Huff, and junior utility player Torell Washington all were named to the Second Team for the Panthers.

Moravia, Sigourney, BGM, and Lynnville-Sully had more honorees on the Second Team as well.

Moravia’s junior pitcher Griffin Cosgrove went 5-0 on the mound and was nominated to the second squad.

The Sigourney duo of sophomore catcher Carson Crawford and sophomore outfielder Mac Conrad also made the cut for the Savages who reached a district final.

BGM had a trio of nominations. Senior catcher Dylan Shafbuch, senior 3^rd baseman Eric Weiss, and junior utility player Kyle Doty all made the second team.

Rounding out our listening area athletes in Class 1A is a tandem of Lynnville-Sully upperclassmen. Senior outfielder Caden Dunsbergen and junior utility player Elijah Collins have starred in multiple sports for the Hawks and that continued on the diamond with Second Team All-Southeast District honors in 2017.

In Class 2A, only three area players made lists, and all three were listed in different districts.

The lone First Team honoree is Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont junior KJ McCrea, who was listed as the Southeast District shortstop after batting .436 this season.

In the Central District, PCM junior pitcher Noah Henkenius went 6-1 and was named to the Second Team, while Pleasantville’s sophomore catcher Cael Lester hit .429 en route to being named to the Second Team of the Southwest District.

It was an extremely successful baseball season for our listening area, and that was directly reflected by the amount of players that were named by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association as All-District athletes.

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