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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hunter Dozier homered before driving in the go-ahead run, Ryan O’Hearn also went deep, and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Oakland Athletics 6-4. Tim Hill tossed two perfect innings to earn the win in relief, and Ian Kennedy survived a shaky ninth to earn his 23rd save. Blake Treinen took the loss after facing four batters and failing to record an out in the seventh inning for Oakland.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Keston Hiura homered and drove in three runs, Jordan Lyles turned in another strong start and the Milwaukee Brewers snapped the St. Louis Cardinals’ six-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory. The NL Central-leading Cardinals had won 15 of 18 and were trying for a three-game sweep. The Brewers ended a three-game skid. Milwaukee got off to a fast start against Jack Flaherty, who had given up a total of just one run in his previous five starts.

UNDATED (AP) — It seems no one’s talking about Northwestern even though it won the Big Ten West last year. The chatter surely will start if the Wildcats beat the Cardinal on the road Saturday. Purdue’s defense will get a good test in a road game against Nevada. Illinois is on upset alert when it hosts an Akron team that beat Northwestern last year. Jonathan Taylor begins defense of his national rushing title when Wisconsin takes on South Florida.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — No. 24 Nebraska has suspended wide receiver Andre Hunt and tight end Katerian Legrone indefinitely. Offensive coordinator Troy Walters announced Hunt and Legrone are being held out of all team activities. Walters declined to comment on the reason for the suspensions. The Cornhuskers open the season Saturday against South Alabama.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Michigan transfer receiver Oliver Martin has been cleared to play this season for Iowa, starting with Saturday’s opener against Miami (Ohio). The 20th-ranked Hawkeyes say Martin has been approved for immediate eligibility by the NCAA and the Big Ten. Martin, a graduate of Iowa City West High, caught 11 passes for the Wolverines in 2018.

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings defensive end Karter Schult is among the dozens of fringe players on NFL teams this month who have appreciated the training camp grind as much as ever, given their setback this spring when the Alliance of American Football suddenly folded. The league was eight weeks into a 10-game schedule when the plug was pulled. Though the AAF has joined several predecessors on the scrap heap of alternatives to the NFL, the experience for Schult and his peers was not for naught.

UNDATED (AP) _ The Milwaukee Brewers have ended the St. Louis Cardinals’ six-game winning streak this afternoon, giving the Chicago Cubs a chance to cut into the Redbirds’ lead in the NL Central.

Keston Hiura homered and drove in two runs as the Brewers knocked off the Cards, 4-1 to avoid a three-game sweep. The Milwaukee second baseman hit a solo homer in the fourth and an RBI double in the eighth to help his team get within 5 ½ games of the division lead.

Jordan Lyles outdueled Jack Flaherty by holding the Cardinals to a run and six hits while striking out nine over 5 1/3 innings. Lyles blanked the Cards until Kolten Wong homered in the sixth. Flaherty was reached for two runs and five hits over six innings after allowing only one run over his previous five starts.

The Cubs will pull within two games of the Cardinals if Chicago beats the Mets in New York today.

The Atlantic Trojan football team will open up their 2019 season on Friday night against Saydel. Not only will it be the final season before changes are made to the Trojan Bowl, it will also be the start of the 125th season of Trojan football. The team plans on commemorating the milestone throughout the season with tributes to players, coaches, and fans that have contributed to the Trojan football tradition.

The Trojans first took the field on November 20, 1894 in a game against Red Oak. That game was played in Griswold on a cool Saturday afternoon. The game was played in Griswold due to it’s central location between the two towns and each team arrived by train.  Riding the train to games was a tradition that would continue through the twenties for players and fans. Not much is known about that first contest other than the Trojans reportedly suffered a 42-0 loss.

Prior to the 1930’s, the local high school team in Atlantic was simply known as the “Black and Gold”. In 1932 the Trojans moniker was adopted with continued usage of black and gold colors, the only exception was the usage of green jerseys in the 1940’s. Atlantic’s early games were played at Sunnyside Field at the current Sunnyside Park. The field was one of Iowa’s first lighted football fields and the lights got moved to the Trojan Bowl upon it’s completion in 1932.  The name “Trojan Bowl” first appeared in the Atlantic News Telegraph, in an article by longtime writer Phil Chintz.

Throughout the history of the program Atlantic has captured 19 Hawkeye 6, Hawkeye 8, and District Championships. The Trojans participated in the Iowa Football Playoffs during the following years: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984, 2002, 2008, and 2011. The Trojans played in the 1974, 1980, and 2002 State Championship games, winning the title in 2002. Atlantic went undefeated in the 1903, 1946, 1947, and 2002 seasons. The Trojans had 24-straight wins from 1945-1948 and 28-straight wins or ties from 1962-1965.

The Atlantic football team would like to thank the community for their support and looks forward to another 125 years of football tradition.

From Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School

Karissa Niehoff, NFHS

Tom Keating, IHSAA

Associations and Tom Keating, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Inappropriate adult behaviors at high school athletic events across the country have reached epidemic proportion.

When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3 percent said it was, “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.”

And the men and women who referee or umpire those contests agree. In fact, almost 60% of new officials registered in Iowa in 2016-17 did not return to officiate in 2017-18, and unruly parents are often cited as a major reason why. As a result, there is a growing shortage of high school officials here in Iowa, and in baseball, football, track and field, and wrestling, the IHSAA is seeing record lows. No officials means no games.

If you are a parent attending a high school athletic event this fall, you can help by following these six guidelines:

1.Act your age. You are, after all, an adult. Act in a way that makes your family and school proud.

2. Don’t live vicariously through your children.High school sports are for them, not you. Your family’s reputation is not determined by how well your children perform on the field of play.

3. Let your children talk to the coach instead of doing it for them. High school athletes learn how to become more confident, independent and capable—but only when their parents don’t jump in and solve their problems for them.

4. Stay in your own lane.No coaching or officiating from the sidelines. Your role is to be a responsible, supportive parent, not a coach or official.

5. Remember:Participating in a high school sport is not about a college scholarship.According to the NCAA, only about 2% of all high school athletes are awarded a sports scholarship, and the average total value of that scholarship is only around$18,000.

6. Make sure your children know you love watching them play.Do not critique your child’s performance on the car ride home. Participating in high school sports is about character development, learning and having fun—not winning and losing.

Purchasing a ticket to a high school sporting event does not give you the right to be rude, disrespectful, or verbally abusive. Cheer loud and be proud, but please also be responsible and considerate as a spectator.

The future of high school sports in Iowa is dependent on you.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – – University of Iowa sophomore wide receiver Oliver Martin has been approved for immediate eligibility by the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference. Martin, a native of Coralville, Iowa and a graduate of Iowa City West High School, transferred to the Hawkeye football program this summer.

Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said, “We are pleased that the NCAA and Big Ten Conference have approved Oliver’s waiver to play this season. Oliver is a tremendous young man who has been working hard since the day he set foot on our campus this summer. His teammates are excited to have him on the practice field and in the weight room, and we look forward to Oliver being able to contribute to our team.”

Martin had this comment after receiving word of the approval, “I am ecstatic that the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference have approved our waiver request. I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for their help as I work to get ready. I have been dreaming of running out of the tunnel wearing the black and gold ever since I decided to join the program. I can’t wait to contribute to this team on the field.”

Iowa opens the 2019 season Saturday, Aug. 31, hosting Miami, Ohio (6:40 p.m. CT, FS1). We’ll have coverage of the game on the Hawkeye Radio Network here on KJAN. Pregame will start at 4:30pm.

Essex Triangular

(2-0) Bedford 25-25 Essex 9-20
(2-0) Riverside 25-25 Essex 21-12
(2-1) Riverside 25-23-15 Bedford 21-25-7

Logan-Magnolia Triangular 

(2-0) Logan-Magnolia 25-25 Heartland Christian 14-17
(2-0) Logan-Magnolia 25-25 West Harrison 18-13
(2-0) West Harrison 25-25 Heartland Christian 15-21

Other Scores

(3-0) East Union 25-25-25 Twin Cedars 15-13-17
(2-1) Greene County 25-16-15 Glidden-Ralston 21-25-12
(2-0) Glidden-Ralston 25-25 Collins-Maxwell 19-13
(3-0) Lynnville-Sully 25-25-25 Martensdale-St. Marys 21-17-9
(3-0) Nodaway Valley 25-25-25 Audubon 11-17-17
(3-1) Stanton 25-21-25-25 Lenox 10-25-11-13

The Shenandoah Early Bird Cross Country Meet was held on Tuesday night. Tri-Center’s Peyton Pogge and Sidney’s Noah Jorgensen were the individual champions here is a look at the top finishers.

Girls Individual Top Ten

Girls Team Scores

Boys Individual Top Ten

Full meet results HERE.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — The results of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources survey show there will be plenty of pheasants available when the season opens in October. D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz, oversees the survey and says the numbers didn’t crater despite some rough winter and spring weather. “Yeah they are down a little — but I think it could have been a lot worse. I think we even had a couple regions that showed a slight uptick,” Bogenschutz says.

The August roadside survey showed an average of 17 pheasants per 30 mile route, down from 21 per route last year. But he says two areas caused the overall average to drop. “The south-central and south-east had a lot of ice down there last year and of course they had an abundance of rain in May. So the counts are way down in those two regions — 40 to 50 percent — and that kind of drove our overall statewide number,” Bogenschutz says. “The rest of the numbers are up a little, down a little, none of them significant.”

The west-central region saw an 18 percent increase in pheasants and the north-central region saw a 14 percent increase. He says seeing the roadside count numbers close to last year is a win for hunters. “Last year was our best year in ten years — so that’s pretty good I think,” Bogenschutz says. The pheasant numbers have been building back up after several years of decline brought on by bad weather. While the birds will be available, he says the hunting conditions are going to make it more difficult to find them. “Because crop planting was so late this year there it’s probably a high likelihood on our opener that most of the crops are going to be standing. And that’s going to make for a tougher opener because bills will have a lot of cropland they will be able to move off to and basically you won’t be able to hunt them,” Bogenschutz explains.

He says acres of standing corn make a great place for birds to hide. “All the birds — especially when the season opens at the end of October — I mean they are using the crop fields as things are maturing they are starting to use them as a food source and are in them anyway. And a little bit of hunting pressure and they are going to figure out quick that’s the place to be so they won’t be bothered,” Bogenschutz says. “I fully expect because of how far behind the planting season was this year we’re going to have a lot of crops the opener.”

He expects hunters to take around 200-thousand roosters again this year — but says that could be much higher if more hunters went out. “Fifteen years ago we had 100-thousand hunters and last year we barely broke 50 (thousand). Our harvest is partly driven by how many guys get out there and chase them. Our hunter numbers have been slowly creeping back up, they had gotten down into the 40-thousand range,” Bogenschutz says. He says the number of birds taken could more than double if more hunters hit the fields. “If we had the hunters we had 15 years ago I think our harvest last year would have been half a million. I think the birds were there,” Bogenschutz says.

The pheasant season will open up on October 26th.