IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa junior tight end Noah Fant is leaving school early to enter the NFL draft. Fant announced on his Instagram page on Friday that he intends to skip his final season of eligibility to turn pro. Fant, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, will not play in Iowa’s upcoming bowl game
“We are disappointed Noah will not be finishing the season with his teammates,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He is a tremendous athlete and we wish him the best as he pursues his goal of playing in the NFL.”

Fant caught 39 passes for 519 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns this season. Fant earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and could be selected in the first round next spring. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Fant caught 78 passes in three seasons with the Hawkeyes, including 19 for touchdowns — a school record for a tight end.

“Thank you, coach Ferentz and (strength and conditioning) coach (Chris) Doyle for the opportunity and honor to represent the black and gold (and) for helping me grow physically and mentally more than I thought possible,” Fant said.

Iowa (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) will learn its bowl destination on Sunday.

Catch a live broadcast of the basketball doubleheader between the CAM Cougars and Boyer Valley Bulldogs tonight on the CAM Cougar Channel. The CAM Cougar Channel is a new cooperative effort between KJAN and CAM High School to help provide students experience in media. Students, with assistance from KJAN staff, will be providing live coverage of CAM Cougar sports and activities. From live play-by-play of Cougar sports, locally-produced specials, school and community activities. Tune in tonight as Eyon Steffensen and Tanner Williamson bring you Cougar basketball. You can watch live through the player on the CAM Cougar Channel page here.

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

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

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden knows he sometimes had gone over the top in his praise of quarterbacks during his time as an ESPN analyst. But he says Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is on a whole different level. Gruden calls Mahomes’ skill set ‘sickening’ ahead of the Chiefs game against the Raiders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes had five turnovers in a shootout loss to the Rams, a number that would probably send a lot of first-year quarterbacks into a morose tailspin. That’s hardly the case for the Chiefs’ burgeoning star. He spent the bye week learning from his mistakes, and vowed that he won’t have another performance like that on Sunday in Oakland.

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Raiders punter Johnny Townsend is thankful he doesn’t have to cover Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill as a defender. Dealing with Hill on special teams is challenging enough, even if it is for only two or three plays a game. Hill has given opponents fits since entering the league as an unheralded fifth-round draft pick in 2016. He’s been voted to the Pro Bowl as a returner in each of his first two seasons in the league and is likely to make it three for three this year.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points and her fellow starters all finished in double figures as No. 1 Notre Dame routed 14th-ranked Iowa 105-71. The game was the final tuneup for the Irish (7-0) before their showdown with No. 2 UConn on Sunday afternoon.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Asia Durr scored 25 points to lead No. 5 Louisville to an 85-68 victory over visiting Nebraska in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Playing a team that has four starters returning from an NCAA Tournament trip last season, the Cardinals (7-0) never really dominated in the first three quarters, but they weren’t really threatened either.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals signed infielder Cheslor Cuthbert, left-hander Brian Flynn and right-hander Jesse Hahn to one-year contracts for next season ahead of baseball’s non-tender deadline. Cuthbert will earn $850,000 while Flynn and Hahn will make $800,000. Cuthbert and Hahn could also earn a $50,000 bonus if they are selected to the All-Star Game.

The Stanton Viqueens and Vikings were both victorious in a basketball doubleheader against Riverside on Thursday night in Stanton.

The Viqueens won the girls game 39-27 behind the trio of Hope Ogletree, Kami Tibben, and Shelby Brockshus who all finished with 9 points on the night. Stanton opened up an early 15-4 lead and held a ten point lead, 22-12, at halftime. The lead would grow to as much as 16 by early in the fourth quarter.

The Viqueens improved to 1-1 on the early season and will next host Sidney on Friday night. Riverside was led by 14 points from Jadyn Achenbach. The Bulldogs are now 0-2 on the season and will host Underwood on Friday.

The boys game was dominated by the Vikings in a 74-34 win. The Vikings jumped out to a 25-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and pushed the advantage to 49-11 by halftime. The second half passed quickly with the running clock rule in place. The Vikings used their up-tempo pace to turn a host of Bulldog turnovers into points on the other side.

Drake Johnson led the way with 22 points for the Vikings. Donnie Weis finished with 19 as Stanton wins their season opener. They host Sidney on Friday.

Riverside got 16 points from Damian Foutch despite him sitting a good portion of the first half with foul trouble. The Bulldogs are 0-2 and host Underwood on Friday.

Atlantic/CAM 66 Audubon 10
Atlantic/CAM 51 Clarinda 30
Atlantic/CAM 66 Griswold 16
Clarinda 48 Griswold 9
Clarinda 51 Audubon 18
Audubon 25 Griswold 24
Winterset 35 Carroll 33
Logan-Magnolia 59 AHSTW 18
Logan-Magnolia 74 Woodbine 6
AHSTW 42 Woodbine 39
Glenwood 48 Riverside 30
Underwood 53 Riverside 27
East Mills 54 Mt Ayr 24
East Mills 40 Clarke 36
Clarke 48 Shenandoah 24
Clarke 42 Southwest Valley 22
Clarke 46 Mt Ayr 24
Mt Ayr 36 Shenandoah 30
Wayne54 Central Decatur 24
ACGC 43 West Central Valley 34
ACGC 45 East Union 24
ACGC 55 Nodaway Valley 18
West Central Valley 58 East Union 24
West Central Valley 52 Nodaway Valley 30
Nodaway Valley 54 East Union 21
Missouri Valley 72 Denison/Schleswig 6
Missouri Valley 64 Tri-Center 16
Missouri Valley 72 West Harrison 6
Denison-Schleswig 66 West Harrison 12
Denison-Schleswig 42 Tri-Center 36
Tri-Center 60 West Harrison 12

The Atlantic/CAM wrestling team opened up the 2018-19 season with three dual wins in Audubon on Thursday night.

The Trojans beat host Audubon 66-10, Clarinda 51-30, and Griswold 66-16. Clarinda picked up two wins, beating Audubon 51-18 and Griswold 48-9. Audubon was a 25-24 winner over Griswold.

Jaxson Bell was the only three-time winner and Steele McLaren was the only two-time winner in matches that were actually contested. A number of Trojans only wrestled one match on the night due to forfeits at their weight class.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Johnson-Brock, Neb. 56, Sidney 40
Stanton 74, Riverside 34
Storm Lake 78, Denison-Schleswig 66
Tri-Center 62, West Harrison 24
Woodbine 89, Whiting 33

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bedford 49, Murray 45
Bishop Heelan Catholic 54, Spirit Lake 41
Denison-Schleswig 59, Storm Lake 33
Sidney 56, Johnson-Brock, Neb. 43
Stanton 39, Riverside 27
Woodbine 67, Whiting 51

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — After routing Iowa, Arike Ogunbowale and No. 1 Notre Dame can now turn their attention to their showdown Sunday with No. 2 UConn.

“It’s one of the best rivalries in college basketball,” said Ogunbowale after she scored 30 points and her fellow starters all finished in double figures as the Irish routed 14th-ranked Hawkeyes 105-71 on Thursday night.

It was Ogunbowale’s long jumper in overtime during the NCAA Women’s Final Four that helped the Irish eliminate the Huskies last season . She then beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer two nights later to provide Notre Dame with a 61-58 victory over Mississippi State and coach Muffet McGraw’s second national title at the school

“When we play like that and play together, we’re really unstoppable,” Ogunbowale said after shooting 13-of-21 from the field against the Hawkeyes.

Brianna Turner added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Marina Mabrey had 18 points in her second game after missing the first five contests with a quad injury.

“It was probably one of our better games of the season,” McGraw said. “I think we still have a lot of work to do defensively. But I was really excited about the assist-to-turnover ratio. That’s the thing that has been missing.”

The Irish had 21 assists on their 40 baskets and committed just nine turnovers as McGraw rested her regulars for most of the final quarter during which the lead reached 39 points.

“Offensively, they are just a juggernaut — there are so many weapons and so many people you have to guard on that team,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “It was their offense which took us out of our game.”
Megan Gustafson scored 26 points with 10 rebounds, Tania Davis had 15 points and Hannah Stewart added 12 for Iowa (4-2), which was outrebounded 49-36 by Notre Dame and committed 18 turnovers.

“(Megan) gave us fits inside,” McGraw said. “It was a tough matchup for us. We really struggled to guard her.”

For most of the game, McGraw employed a 2-3 zone, trying to front Gustafson with the 6-foot-3 Turner with the 6-4 Shepard behind her. It was Turner’s block of Gustafson early in the third quarter that ended the Iowa center’s 14-for-14 effort over a game and a half and got the Irish rolling.

The Irish never trailed and were up 11 after the first quarter and at halftime. A 20-3 start to the third quarter made it a rout as Notre Dame led 79-48 heading into the final period.

UP NEXT
Iowa: Sunday vs. Robert Morris.
Notre Dame: Sunday vs. No. 2 Connecticut in the Jimmy V Classic.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa sophomore tight end T.J. Hockensonhas been named the Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year in the Big Ten Conference. Junior tight end Noah Fant shares first-team All-Big Ten honors as well, as Fant was named to the first unit by league coaches and Hockenson is the first-team selection by conference media. The offensive honorees were determined by a vote of league coaches and media and announced by the Big Ten on Wednesday.

“The tight end position has been a real strength for our team this year,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “To see both T.J. and Noah recognized is a credit to their performances throughout the season.

“Overall, we had a number of players gain well-deserved recognition over the past two days. To have three players named as the best at their position in a strong football conference speaks to their hard work, sacrifice, and determination.”

Hockenson leads the Hawkeyes with 46 receptions for 717 yards. The Chariton, Iowa, native has six touchdown receptions and one rushing touchdown. He is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in the nation.

Fant is a native of Omaha, Nebraska, who was a semifinalist for the Mackey Award. He totaled 39 receptions for 519 yards in 2018 while leading the team with seven touchdown receptions.

Fant and Hockenson both have more than 1,000 career receiving yards, with Fant totaling 1,083 yards and Hockenson 1,037. The tandem combined for 90 receptions, 1,107 yards, and 13 touchdowns in 2018. Fant has 19 career touchdown receptions, most by an Iowa tight end and third best all-time among Big Ten tight ends. Hockenson has nine career scoring catches.

In addition to Fant and Hockenson, sophomore wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette and four members of the offensive line earned recognition. Smith-Marsette, who was named the Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, earned honorable mention recognition from the media for his play at wide receiver to go with first-team honors as a return specialist. Smith-Marsette recorded 19 receptions for 332 yards and two touchdowns. His 17.5 average per catch ranks first among Iowa’s primary receivers.

Sophomore left tackle Alaric Jackson, a native of Detroit, was named second-team All-Big Ten by coaches and media. Jackson started all 12 games and has started 23 games over the past two seasons. Senior Ross Reynolds, a native of Waukee, Iowa, who started all 12 games at left guard, was named second-team by league coaches and third team by media.

Senior Keegan Render earned third-team honors by media and honorable mention from coaches. Render started all 12 games at center in 2018. He has played in 51 career games and has 32 starts. He has played both guard and center and has seen action in every game over the past four seasons. Render is a native of Indianola, Iowa.

Sophomore Tristan Wirfs earned honorable mention honors from coaches and media. The Mount Vernon, Iowa, native started 11 games at right tackle and has 19 career starts in his two seasons.

2018-All-Big-Ten Honors