AMES, Iowa (AP) — Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and 25th-ranked Iowa State upset fourth-ranked TCU 14-7 on Saturday, handing the Horned Frogs their first defeat and leaving the Big 12 without an unbeaten team. Marcel Spears intercepted a Kenny Hill pass with 1:16 left to seal it for the Cyclones (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), who forced a pair of turnovers in the red zone in the second half in winning their fourth straight game. Kempt put Iowa State ahead 14-0 at the break with touchdown passes to Matt Eaton (17 yards) and Hakeem Butler (4 yards).

TCU (7-1, 4-1) answered to open the second half on a 94-yard kickoff return by KaVontae Turpin. But Brian Peavy intercepted Hill in the end zone in the third quarter and brought it back 70 yards, and Willie Harvey caused Hill to fumble a ball recovered by Iowa State at its own 15-yard line with 7:11 to go. Hill had his worst game of the season, finishing 12 of 25 passing for 135 yards and those two very costly interceptions. The Horned Frogs also committed 11 penalties.

Cyclone fans storm the field after Saturday’s win against TCU (Learfield Sports)

The Horned Frogs can still make an argument for a playoff spot — if they win out. But that’ll be a tall order with a trip to Oklahoma on tap for Nov. 11 after next week’s home game against a dangerous Texas team. As for Iowa State, it’s time to stop asking if the Cyclones are for real and start asking who can stop them in the Big 12. Iowa State’s defense is allowing less than 14 points a game in league games, and it bailed out an offense that couldn’t find its footing in the second half.

UP NEXT: Iowa State travels to face West Virginia next Saturday. The Mountaineers lost at home to Oklahoma State 50-39 on Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Will Warner returned an interception for a touchdown in Drake’s 17-12 win over Davidson on Saturday. Warner, making his third interception of the season, picked off Stockton McGuire at the Davidson 38 and raced down the right side for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

Brock Reichardt, who finished with 106 yards rushing, ran 20 yards for Drake’s first score while Danny Donley kicked a 41-yard field goal with 11 minutes left in the game for a 17-6 lead. McGuire threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to William Wicks in the final minute but the Bulldogs recovered the onside kick.

The Bulldogs (5-3, 4-1) remain a game back of Pioneer Football League leader San Diego (5-0). The Wildcats (2-6, 0-5) lost their fifth straight game and their 13th consecutive league contest.

Drake’s Sam Hefner made his first start at quarterback in place of Grant Kraemer, who dressed but was held out while recovering from a calf injury. Hefner threw for 94 yards and was intercepted twice, Davidson’s first picks of the season.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Ric Hanson.

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Iowa’s pheasant season opens this (Saturday) morning and 50-to-60-thousand hunters are expected to be in the fields statewide. Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says a good season is expected, despite predictions of falling number of pheasants.

“Our counts indicated the population was down about 30% but we’re not sure that’s completely accurate just because it was so dry in August when we did the count,” Bogenschutz says. “We don’t get the best counts when that occurs.” There’s optimism, he says, for healthy populations of game birds.

“We’re probably down a little bit but we don’t think we’re down 30%,” he says. “Hunters should see good numbers as far as pheasants. It may be a year fairly similar to last year. As far as quail in southern Iowa, it looks like quail are in abundance and quail hunting is going to be as good as last year and maybe a little better.”

Bogenschutz says weather is always a factor that can impact opening weekend, especially if the weather is effecting Iowa’s harvest season. “When we started the season this month, it looked like crop harvest was going to be well along and then we got a bunch of rain and slowed it down, so standing crops could be an issue in portions of the state,” he says. “I know parts of the state are moving right along and other parts don’t have much out at all yet.”

There are no major rule changes for hunters this year. One of the primary rules remains, hunters are required to wear at least one item of clothing that’s at least 50% blaze orange. They’re also reminded to get permission if they plan to hunt on private property.

The hours for hunting daily are from 8 A-M to 4:30 P-M and the season runs through January 10th. Learn more at www.iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs could have starting offensive linemen Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and cornerback Steven Nelson back from injury this week. Morse has been out with a foot injury and Duvernay-Tardif has been sidelined by a knee injury. Nelson has been on injured reserve with a core muscle injury since training camp.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jets linebacker Darron Lee was fined $36,464 by the NFL for a roughing the passer penalty and another $9,115 for a facemask call in New York’s loss at Miami last Sunday. Lee, in his second season, has been fined four times this year for a total of $72,925. Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict added to his lengthy list of infractions, receiving a fine of $12,154 for kicking at Pittsburgh fullback Roosevelt Nix.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Broncos figure they can turn around their fortunes if they can get their quarterback to get rid of the ball faster and force opposing quarterbacks to hold onto it a little longer. The Broncos have been mired in a monthlong slump in large part because they’ve had a dozen turnovers and just four takeaways. Up next are the Chiefs. They have just one turnover so far.

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. (AP) — The NAIA has agreed to move its Division II men’s basketball tournament from a private Missouri college because of the school’s stance on the national anthem. The College of the Ozarks asked for the tournament to be moved because the NAIA had refused its request to require players to stand during the national anthem and would not plan a forum to discuss the issue before the tournament began.

DALLAS (AP) — Rob Gronkowski of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots has been voted the top tight end in the NFL by an Associated Press panel. The three-time All-Pro received 10 of 11 first-place votes and 109 of a possible 110 points. The voting was done by Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton and 10 AP football writers. Kansas City’s Travis Kelce was second on eight of the ballots and got the other first-place tally while finishing with 98 points.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State’s program reboot a few years ago left a trio of juniors to provide the foundation this season. Barry Brown, Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes should have plenty of help, with holdovers such as Xavier Sneed and newcomers such as Mawdo Sallah in the mix. The goal is to build on last year’s NCAA Tournament appearance.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is eyeing its 14th consecutive Big 12 title and another NCAA Tournament run with a new cast of characters. The Jayhawks have to replace national player of the year Frank Mason III and fourth-overall draft pick Josh Jackson. Veterans such as Devonte Graham and Lagerald Vick should combine with newcomer Malik Newman and freshman Billy Preston to form a group that is once again favored to win the league.

Atlantic Basketball Alum Ryan Hawkins scored his first career points on Friday night for Northwest Missouri State. His first bucket…a three from the corner at Cameron Indoor against the Duke Blue Devils in an exhibition game.

Northwest Missouri State traveled to Durham,  NC for the game and came out on the short end of a 93-60 final score.

Hawkins lead the team with 14 points on 5-7 shooting, including 4-6 from three point range. Hawkins red-shirted  last season during the Bearcats Division II National Championship run.

The Audubon Wheelers and Newell-Fonda Mustangs slugged it out in the first round of the 8-Man Football Playoffs on Friday night. The Wheelers won by decision 45-33 after it was all said and done. Audubon fought their way to a one point halftime lead 13-12 as Tyler Reibhoff scored on a 1 yard run with 1:45 left in the half.  The two teams would then combine for a whopping 36 points in the third quarter.

The Mustangs got the wild quarter started with a 78 yard kickoff return touchdown from Austin Gerdes to open the second half. Bryce Coppock then hit a 66 yard connection to Nate Pedersen  to put Newell-Fonda up 25-13. The Wheelers then cut the lead to 5 with a Nolan Smith 15 yard touchdown run. Gerdes then answered with a 56-yard touchdown run and the Mustangs tacked on a two point conversion to make it 33-20 with 3:16 left in the quarter. Audubon answered back with a 31-yard Smith touchdown run and then he hit Tyler Reibhoff on a fake PAT for 2 to make it 33-28.

Then in the final period Audubon failed to score after recovering a Newell-Fonda Fumble at the Mustang 14. But on their next possession the Wheelers cut the lead to 2 with a 33 yard field goal from Roope Niskanen. After another Mustang fumble the Wheelers would drive in from the 15. Tyler Reibhoff grabbed the lead for Audubon with a 1 yard touchdown plunge followed by a 2 point conversion pass to

Audubon QB Tyler Reibhoff

Josh Lange to make it 39-33 Audubon with 1:54 left. After a turnover on downs Audubon got another touchdown run from 5 yards out from Reibhoff to secure the win. The Wheelers led 45-33 at that point with 1:02 left. Newell-Fonda ran the clock out on their last possession.

Newell-Fonda sees their season end at 8-2 with their losses coming to Remsen St. Mary’s and Audubon.

The Wheelers get the monkey off their back with a playoff win after being knocked out in the first round the last 3 seasons. The Wheelers improve to 10-0 and will now play host to another top 5 team next Friday night in Remsen St. Mary’s. The Hawks beat Boyer Valley in the first round 58-13. That quarterfinal game will kickoff at 7:00pm at Chis Jones Field in Audubon and we’ll have it on KJAN with a pregame starting at 6:00pm.

Re-listen to our full coverage below.

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Friday (10/27/2017)

CLASS 4A:

Ankeny Centennial 31, Waukee 21
Bettendorf-Morningstar-Rivermont 28, Pleasant Valley 14
Cedar Falls 28, Prairie, Cedar Rapids 7
Dowling Catholic High School 45, Urbandale 3
Iowa City, West 49, Cedar Rapids, Washington 7
Johnston 14, Southeast Polk 7
Lewis Central 21, Valley, West Des Moines 14 (OT)
North Scott, Eldridge 50, Davenport, Central 0

CLASS 3A:

Assumption, Davenport 45, Washington 28
Dallas Center-Grimes 41, Carlisle 22
Harlan 42, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 7
Pella 27, Webster City 7
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 47, Glenwood 25
Solon 34, Decorah 2
West Delaware, Manchester 20, Waverly-Shell Rock 13
Xavier, Cedar Rapids 43, Oskaloosa 10

CLASS 2A:

Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 37, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 14
Cascade, Western Dubuque 49, West Liberty 21
Mount Vernon 42, Centerville 10
New Hampton 21, Dike-New Hartford 14
South Central Calhoun 37, Sioux Center 7
Union, La Porte City 42, Aplington-Parkersburg 0
Waukon 46, Clear Lake 16
Williamsburg 18, PCM, Monroe 17

CLASS 1A:

Denver 28, South Hamilton, Jewell 6
Pella Christian 53, Sigourney-Keota 21
Pleasantville 32, West Branch 13
Regina, Iowa City 27, South Winneshiek, Calmar 21 ( 2 OT)
Van Meter 24, Belmond-Klemme 6
West Lyon, Inwood 35, IKM-Manning 0
Western Christian, Hull 28, AHSTW 18
Wilton 28, Bellevue 14

CLASS A:

Gehlen Catholic, LeMars 34, Southwest Valley 14
Gladbrook-Reinbeck 14, Wapsie Valley, Fairbank 0
Hudson 35, Pekin 0
Lynnville-Sully 28, New London 0
Saint Ansgar 33, East Buchanan, Winthrop 17
St. Albert, Council Bluffs 27, Westwood, Sloan 0
West Hancock, Britt 26, Bishop Garrigan, Algona 12
West Sioux, Hawarden 63, Sioux Central, Sioux Rapids 6

CLASS 8-Man:

Audubon 45, Newell-Fonda 33
Don Bosco, Gilbertville 62, Moravia 0
Fremont-Mills, Tabor 63, Stanton 0
H-L-V, Victor 59, Lone Tree 22
Midland, Wyoming 42, Janesville 7
Sidney 50, Lenox 12
St. Mary’s, Remsen 58, Boyer Valley, Dunlap 13
Tripoli 28, Riceville 18

The Audubon Wheelers (9-0, 7-0) play host to the Newell-Fonda Mustangs (8-1, 6-1) in the first round of the 8-Man Football Playoffs on Friday night.  It’s a showdown of top 5 rated teams in the opening round and will draw a lot of attention from around the state.

Audubon has mostly breezed through their regular season schedule, allowing an average of just 8.8pts per game to their opponents.  Along with the stellar defense, there has also been productive offense for the Wheelers. Quarterback Tyler Reibhoff has thrown for 806 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,015 yards and 24 more scores. Running back Nolan Smith has racked up 779 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, while also catching 12 passes for 264 yards and hitting pay-dirt 3 more times.  Newell-Fonda Head Coach Brian Wilken says the balance that Audubon possesses on offense makes them tough to defend.

Newell-Fonda has done their offensive damage on the ground. Jesse Haack leads a talented backfield with 955 yards and 15 scores. Austin Gerdes has piled up 794 yards and 10 scores and is averaging 10.9 yards per carry. Coach Wilken talked about his team’s emphasis on the ground game.

Audubon Co-Head Coach Sean Birks said his team has played great defense all season long and they know that has to continue to have success in the postseason. Coach Birks thinks the Mustangs will provide a tough challenge up front.

Coach Birks hopes that their offensive balance with Tyler Reibhoff at the helm can help them gain an advantage.

The Wheelers have bowed out of the playoffs in the first round the past three seasons so they certainly want to change that script this season. The Mustangs were also knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last year with a loss to Ar-We-Va, so both teams will be hungry for a playoff win.

We’ll have coverage of the Wheelers and the Mustangs on KJAN Friday night. Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call from Audubon with pregame at 6:20pm and kickoff at 7:00pm. You can find the game on AM1220, FM101.1, online at kjan.com, and on the KJAN mobile app. You can also catch our final pick ’em show of the season Who’s Gonna Win? at 5:45pm to get the night started.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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