With starting running back Kamari Moulton sidelined with an injury Xavier Williams is expected to be the feature running back for the Iowa Hawkeyes when they visit 16th ranked Iowa State. Williams rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown in a season opening win over Albany and this will be his first test on the road.

As a native of Indiana Williams is still new to the Cy-Hawk series.

Sophomore Trevor Lauck made hs first start at left tackle last week and is also a native of Indiana.

The Hawkeyes rushed for 310 yards in a win over Albany but Lauck says this week will offer a new challenge.

Right tackle Gennings Dunker says despite the gaudy rushing stats there is plenty for the offensive line to improve upon.

Dunker on the challenge of going up against Iowa State’s 3-3-5 defense.

Ranked ninth in the D3football-dot-com top 25, Wartburg opens the season at home on Saturday night against Monmouth of Illinois. The Knights will be in search of their fourth straight American Rivers Conference championship.

That’s Wartburg coach Chris Winter who likes the potential of this team.

The majority of the players on the roster are Iowa natives and Winter says that won’t be changing.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser announced the addition of two wrestlers to the roster on Thursday. Caden Horwath, a 125-pounder from Michigan, and Carson Floyd, a 197-pounder from App State, are officially Cyclones.

“We’re excited that Caden and Carson are Cyclones,” Dresser said. “Both of these guys have experience in Division I wrestling rooms and will raise the level of competition inside of our room. I’m looking forward to helping them grow as wrestlers and watching them chase down their goals.”

Caden Horwath
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Davison, Mich.
High School/Previous School: Davison/Michigan
Weight Class: 125
A blue chip recruit out of Davison High School, Horwath redshirted the 2023-24 season at Michigan where he tallied a 5-6 record competing in mainly open tournaments before taking a gap year in 2024-25.

Horwath, the No. 30 overall recruit in his class by FloWrestling, was a four-time Michigan state champion with a 122-3 prep record. He was a 2020 Super 32 champion and a two-time Fargo freestyle finalist (2019, ’22).

Carson Floyd
Year: Senior
Hometown: Mooresville, N.C.
High School/Previous School: Lake Norman/App State
Weight Class: 197

A three-year starter and 2025 NCAA Qualifier for App State, Floyd will be another experienced presence in the room for Iowa State’s upper weights. Floyd owns a 66-27 career record, including a 27-9 mark in duals.

The Mooresville, N.C. native posted a 28-10 record last season and earned an at-large bid to the national tournament after a third-place SoCon finish. He recorded 14 pins on the season, tied for the third-most nationally.

Floyd went 14-8 as a sophomore and 24-9 as a freshman, earning SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. He was a North Carolina high school state heavyweight champion and a two-time finalist.

The Denison-Schleswig Monarchs will be look to rebound in their home opener Friday as they host the Atlantic Trojans. The Monarchs dropped their season opener to Storm Lake last week 39-13. However, head coach Willie Baughman said it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

Much like Atlantic, Denison-Schleswig is a run first team that is propelled by strong running backs. After leading the Monarchs in rushing a season ago, Cole Kastner had a strong opening week. Kastner averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 14 attempts and added a touchdown. Baughman describes him as one of the tough ones.

Although the Trojans and Monarchs are familiar opponents in every other sport, the two have not played each other since 2017. Despite the teams not seeing each other in eight years, the coaches are very familiar with each other and bring similar styles to the table.

Needless to say, a sizeable portion of the game will be dedicated to the run game. The Monarchs put up 186 rushing yards in the season opener and Baughman says staying on schedule and controlling the turnover margin will be key.

Kickoff is schedule for 7 pm and you can catch all the action on KJANTV with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 pm.

The Riverside Boys Cross Country team had a hardworking summer to prepare for the season opener Saturday in the eyes of Head Coach Alex Oliver. The Bulldogs ran before 7 A.M. each morning during the summer months and Oliver loved the dedication.

The Bulldogs finished in fifth place at last year’s state meet in Fort Dodge and won the Western Iowa Conference Meet. The expectations are just as high in 2025.

A roster that is still fairly young features just two seniors and is led by 2024 state medalist Dawson Henderson. Alongside, Henderson in the varsity lineup is many of the athletes from last season too.

The Bulldogs have the luxury of hosting the conference meet this year but begin their season Saturday at the Lynx Cross Country Invitational.

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team is set to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to compete in the Visit Knoxville Collegiate Sept. 5-7 at Tennessee National Golf Course.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The 54-hole tournament tees off on Friday and concludes Sunday, with 18 holes to be played each day.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
You can follow this week’s action by visiting scoreboard.clippd.com for live scoring. Links can be found on the men’s golf schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

THE FIELD
Seventeen schools will be competing in this year’s Visit Knoxville Collegiate: Ole Miss, LSU, ETSU, Toledo, Virginia Tech, College of Charleston, Chattanooga, Iowa, North Florida, LMU, Kentucky, Tennessee, Augusta, Florida State, UNC Charlotte, NC State, and Georgia Tech.
– Five participating schools finished last season ranked in the top 25: Ole Miss (#4), LSU (#8), Florida State (#10), Georgia Tech (#23), and Tennessee (#25).

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Visit Knoxville Collegiate is in its third year and is played at Tennessee National Golf Club.
– LSU captured the 2024 title at 23-under and returns this year to defend its crown.
– Tennessee won the inaugural 2023 event with a 25-under team score, placing five players inside the top 25.

THE LINEUP
1. Grant Gudgel
2. Gage Messingham
3. Bennett Warren
4. Max Tjoa
5. Chance Rinkol

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski will need to make major progress heading into Saturday’s 72nd meeting with Iowa State in Jack Trice Stadium. The South Dakota State transfer was only 8-of-15 through the air with 44 yards in a 34-7 win over Albany.

Gronowski on preparing for ISU’s 3-3-5 defense.

Gronowski misfired on some wide open throws, including a potential touchdown to receiver Sam Phillips on the first drive of the game.

Phillips says the offense has been preparing for the crowd noise they will need to contend with.

Rocco Becht will try to become the first Iowa State quarterback to beat Iowa twice since Steele Jantz on Saturday when the 16th ranked Cyclones host the 72nd meeting in the series. Jantz posted wins over Iowa in 2011 and 2012. Becht feels he is a much different quarterback than his first start against Hawkeyes two years ago in Ames.

Becht says while Iowa’s defense is not complicated it is always good and this season is no different.

Becht on what makes the Iowa defense such a challenge.