The Audubon Wheelers lost a hard fought game in the 8-Player Football Championship on Thursday to Don Bosco 35-19. The Wheelers end an incredible season at 12-2 and their first State Championship appearance since 1977.

The game started off strong for both teams with opening possession scores. Kaiden Smith hooked up with Ethan Klocke on a 7-yard scoring strike to open the game up. Don Bosco would answer with a Thomas Even 6 yard TD run.

After three straight possession that ended with turnover on downs, the Dons grabbed the lead with a 7-play 43 yard drive that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Cael Frost to Thomas Havel. After forcing a punt and getting a short field Don Bosco scored again with another Even run to take a 20-6 lead.

Audubon would get within a score before the half. Tanner Petersen blocked a punt to set the Wheelers up at the Dons 14-yard line. Two plays later Skyler Schultes hit Joel Klocke for a score to make it 20-13 at half.

Don Bosco opened up the second half with a 7-play, 54 yard drive to push ahead 27-13. After a couple of punts the Wheelers climbed back within a score on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Kaiden Smith, making the score 27-19.

Audubon forced a punt by the Dons and then built some momentum with a big play on the next drive. The Wheelers went for it on 4th and 2 on their own 15-yard line. Kaiden Smith hit Ethan Klocke on a pass to midfield to convert. Unfortunately the drive halted on the next play with the first of back to back interceptions by Dillon Welter for the Dons.

In between those two picks the Dons pushed the game back to two possessions with a big 9-play, 64 yard drive capped off by Thomas Even’s 4th touchdown run of the game. Even grabbed an interception of his own later in the 4th to help seal the win.

Don Bosco outgained Audubon 284-195 in the contest. Thomas Even ran for 62 yards and 4 scores, putting him at 2,002 yards on the year. Cael Frost threw for 124 yards and 1 score and and for 97 yards. Audubon was led by Skyler Schultes with 105 yards and 1 score passing to go with 31 yards on the ground. Ethan Klocke finished with 6 catches for 53 yards and 1 score.

After the game Audubon Head Coach Sean Birks talked about the standard this Wheeler team set for the program.

Coach Birks is proud of the team-first mentality this team showed all year long.

Tanner Petersen also gushed with pride when talking about the bond the team shared this year.

Skyler Schultes was grateful for the journey this season.

A huge turnout of Wheeler red was in the stands on Thursday morning at the UNI-Dome to support their team, and they can all be very proud of a Wheeler squad to remember.

(Radio Iowa) — The state Board of Education is seeking input on a rule that would end so-called double jeopardy for students who fail a class. Board lawyer Nicole Proesch, says students playing sports must sit out 30 days when the get a failing grade. “We have rules for sports — but our sports rules don’t apply to choir and they don’t apply to speech and they don’t apply to cheerleading, and they don’t apply to all those other extra-curricular activities,” Proesch explains.

She says the Board of Ed can dictate the rules for sports, but not for other activities. “So what happens is a student will sit in a sport, and then they also have to sit in speech — because the speech rules mirror our rules. And so, they end up serving two periods of ineligibility in two different activities. It’s really been a concern for legislators because they think student is being double punished,” according to Proesch. Lawmakers attempted to change the rules in February of this year — but they bill did not pass. Proesch says the revised rules for sports would not require the double sit out periods. “Whatever thing you sit in first is the one thing that you’re going to sit our for,” Proesch says. “And then if something comes later — like three weeks later you are in another sport or activity — you are not going to sit another 30 days in that. If that makes sense.”

Boardmember Mike May of Spirit Lake asked about students trying to get around the suspension in a sport by joining an activity. May asked if he could join the dance team and serve his ineligibility that way. Proesch joked that May probably wouldn’t make the dance team. But went on to say that people are already trying to get around the rules.  She says it seems more important to not double punish a student who had a bad grade. “Parents will tell you people play games with the rules all the time. So, trying to make it so kids aren’t double punished — I guess I would tell you to try and think about the effort of that rule and why we are doing it — and try not to worry about the few people who are trying to skirt around the rule,” Proesch says.

The rules would also create a dead period of 14 days for school sports. “This was brought to our attention by the athletic associations,” Proesch says. “They’ve had lots of conversations with athletic directors around the state and lots of discussions about wanting to have a dead period during the summer, so that students have a time period during the summer where they are not required to do anything for sports.” Proesch says the discussion has centered on what is best for the students. “We’ve heard some concerns that this is going to allow club sports to try and fill in the gap. But we also are trying to make it easy for parents to take their kids on vacation and to have a period where they know they are not going to be missing things or it’s going to be held against them if they’re not at sports practice during the summer times,” according to Proesch.

The Board of Education will take public comments and then hold a hearing on the proposals on January 7th.

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

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The Iowa Hawkeye basketball team plays host to North Florida tonight (Thursday night). The Hawkeyes are 2-1 while North Florida is 4-1 and made 21 three pointers in its last game. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says he would like to see sophomore Joe Weiskamp get in going offensively. Weiskamp is averaging just over 10 points per game and is just three of 11 from three point range.

Listen for the action on KJAN beginning at 5-p.m. with the pre-game show, with the tip-off from Carver Hawkeye Arena at 6-p.m.

(Radio Iowa) — Kathleen Doyle scored 21 points and the Iowa Hawkeye women erased a 13 point deficit to edge Princeton 77-75 in overtime Wednesday night, in Iowa City. Iowa is 3-1 and heads to the Puerto Rico Classic next week.

(Radio Iowa) — Ranked fourth in the final NAIA Poll Grand View opens the national playoffs at home on Saturday against Concordia of Michigan. The Vikings closed out the season with a record of 11-0. Concordia finished 8-2 as a member of the Mid-States Football Association. Grand View was a member of the Mid-States before moving to the Heart of America Conference.

Vikings Coach Joe Woodley says home field does not guarantee anything in the playoffs but it is an advantage.

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

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Trae Berhow had 20 points as Northern Iowa rolled past Cornell College 88-66 on Wednesday night. James Betz had 16 points for Northern Iowa which earned its sixth consecutive victory to open the season.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Strong defense and 21 points from Mark Smith gave Missouri the edge over Morehead State 70-52. Missouri jumped out to a 14-4 lead and kept Morehead State scoreless for a five-minute stretch.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Oskar Sundqvist and David Perron scored to lead the St. Louis Blues past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1, spoiling Pat Maroon’s much-anticipated return after helping his hometown team to a Stanley Cup title last season. Maroon, a St. Louis native, made his first trip back to the city since signing a one-year contract with the Lightning in the offseason.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Gibson Jimerson had 25 points as Saint Louis defeated High Point 67-55. Jordan Goodwin had 19 points and eight rebounds for Saint Louis (4-1). Hasahn French added nine points and nine rebounds. Yuri Collins had seven assists for the hosts.

The Atlantic City Council kicked-off their meeting Wednesday evening by recognizing the achievements of the Atlantic High School Swim Team. Members of the team, including Senior Anna Lowery, Freshman Alexis Reynolds, Senior Claire Christensen, Junior Dazia Sorensen, and Sophmore Aza Bruckner represented the team.

Swim team members (Left-to-right) Senior Anna Lowery, Freshman Alexis Reynolds, Senior Claire Christensen, Junior Dazia Sorensen, and Sophmore Aza Bruckner. (Ric Hanson photo)

Coach Dean Junker couldn’t make it to the meeting because he was with the “Flying Sharks” swim team, but Lowery read from a statement saying the team went to State in six out of 11 events, including four different individuals. Both of the Freestyle Relays participants made it, and there was a total of 10 on the team. Junker stressed how hard the team was working over the summer, and he was really happy how the season ended and they all swam faster at State, and he “Was quite proud.”

Lowery said the team scored points in four out of the six events, and most of the schools that beat Atlantic’s team were Class 4-A or 5-A Schools. The State meet was held at the Marshalltown YMCA.

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