PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ slowly improving run defense will face a stiff test on Sunday against Kansas City. Pittsburgh is 11th in the league against the run and has given up less than 100 yards on the ground in five of its last seven games. The Steelers won each of those contests, one of the big reasons they can clinch a playoff berth with a victory over the Chiefs (8-6).

Kansas City counters with running backs Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis, who have combined for nearly 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns. Pittsburgh linebacker Arthur Moats says the injury problems that bothered the Steelers early in the season are paying off now because so many players have gained valuable experience

AMES, Iowa (AP) – The national junior college defensive player of the year from 2013 highlights the latest list of football recruits signed by Iowa State. Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads announced three signings on Wednesday, including defensive lineman Demond Tucker. The 285-pound Mississippi native was named the NJCAA defensive player of the year two years ago for Copiah-Lincoln Community College. He had 9.5 sacks last season.

Iowa State also signed junior college defensive back Jomal Wiltz, who Rhoads says is capable of playing corner back, safety and returning kicks, along with offensive lineman Patrick Scoggins. Scoggins, a transfer from Long Beach Community College in California, could either fill in for departed center Tom Farniok or play guard.

All three players have signed letters of intent and will enroll at Iowa State next semester.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The annual basketball doubleheader featuring Iowa’s four Division I teams has been extended through 2017. The athletic directors at Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Drake announced Wednesday that the Big Four Classic will be held in Iowa’s capital of Des Moines for two more years.

The Big Four Classic replaced the home-and-home series that Iowa and Iowa State had with their Missouri Valley Conference counterparts in 2012.  This year’s doubleheader, which will feature No. 13 Iowa State against Drake and Northern Iowa against the Hawkeyes, is set for Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. This year’s event is a sellout, with a crowd of just over 15,000 expected.

Jim Field and Chris Parks have the call of the games played at Atlantic High School.

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The shotgun deer season is well underway and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is again monitoring for signs of Chronic Wasting Disease in the animals taken by hunters. D-N-R wildlife research supervisor, Willy Suchy, says they’ve been testing for C-W-D since 2002. “We’ve had a couple of positives now, one in a wild herd and a couple in captive situations, so we are doing enhanced surveillance in those areas to see if there’s anything on the landscape that we need to look for,” Suchy says.

The main effort will concentrate on portions of northeast and eastern Iowa near Wisconsin and Illinois, south-central Iowa near Missouri, as well as in Pottawattamie, Cerro Gordo and Buchanan counties. The one positive in the wild population came in Allamakee County in 2013.  “The good news is that we’ve sampled up there for 12 years and this is the first positive. We’ve had over thousand samples within five miles of where this deer was detected, and when we look at the genetics — Iowa State examined it — and it looks likely, you can’t say 100 percent for sure, but it looks likely that it was a Wisconsin deer that actually emigrated into Iowa,” according to Suchy. While C-W-D is fatal to deer, Suchy says it is not a concern for hunters.

“If a deer tests positive, the C-D-C does encourage people to not eat those deer, but there is no proven health risk,” Suchy says. The C-W-D sampling involves removing and testing the brain stem and lymph nodes of the deer. Hunters willing to provide samples may contact a D-N-R regional office to arrange collection. For more information, check the Iowa D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

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

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• Atlantic 55, Shenandoah 15
• Atlantic 56, Kuemper Catholic 12
• Kuemper Catholic 42, Shenandoah 36

• Creston/O-M 48, Glenwood 26
• Glenwood 66, Denison-Schleswig 12
• Creston/O-M 72, Denison-Schleswig 6

• Red Oak 48, Clarinda Academy 24
• Riverside 40, Red Oak 37

• A-H-S-T-W 48, Southwest Iowa 30
• A-H-S-T-W 54, St. Albert 20
• St. Albert 42, Southwest Iowa 36

• Logan-Magnolia 81, Treynor 0
• Exira/EHK 38, Treynor 36
• Logan-Magnolia 54, Exira/EHK 13

• Griswold 36, Nodaway Valley 12
• Missouri Valley 54, Nodaway Valley 23
• Missouri Valley 48, Griswold 28

• Audubon 66, East Sac County 0
• South Central Calhoun 43, Audubon 27
• South Central Calhoun 66, East Sac County 12

Hawkeye 10:

• Glenwood 69, Atlantic 38
• Clarinda 58, St. Albert 52
• Harlan 53, Creston 34
• Lewis Central 48, Shenandoah 33
• Red Oak 52, Denison-Schleswig 37

Western Iowa:

• Audubon 53, Tri-Center 41
• IKM-Manning 78, Griswold 34
• Logan-Magnolia 71, Underwood 41
• Treynor 62, Riverside 17

Rolling Valley:

• Charter Oak-Ute 53, CAM 40
• Coon Rapids-Bayard 55, Paton-Churdan 54
• Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 68, Ar-We-Va 19
• Woodbine 80, West Harrison 30
• Glidden-Ralston 40, Boyer Valley 37

Corner:

• Fremont Mills 51, Essex 16
• Nishnabotna 48, South Page 25
• Sidney 49, Heartland Christian 12
• Stanton 58, Clarinda Academy 10

Others:

• Nodaway Valley 60, Mount Ayr 54
• Orient-Macksburg 43, Iowa Christian Academy 41 (OT)
• Panorama 74, Madrid 32
• Sioux City North 55, CB Abraham Lincoln 44
• Sioux City West 73, CB Thomas Jefferson 35
• South Central Calhoun 72, Carroll 24
• Southwest Valley 53, Lenox 25

Hawkeye 10:

• Atlantic 59, Glenwood 51
• Denison-Schleswig 74, Red Oak 40
• Harlan 59, Creston 57
• St. Albert 67, Clarinda 31

Western Iowa:

• IKM-Manning 61, Griswold 28
• Treynor 67, Riverside 35
• Tri-Center 69, Audubon 35
• Underwood 66, Logan-Magnolia 57

Rolling Valley:

• Boyer Valley 71, Glidden-Ralston 47
• Paton-Churdan 46, Coon Rapids-Bayard 39 (2OT)
• Woodbine 73, West Harrison 62

Corner:

• Fremont Mills 60, Essex 42
• Clarinda Academy 50, Stanton 40
• Nishnabotna 84, South Page 42
• Sidney 46, Heartland Christian 38

Others:

• Bedford 81, East Union 50
• Carroll 82, South Central Calhoun 45
• Iowa Christian Academy 62, Orient-Macksburg 55
• Lenox 69, Southwest Valley 39
• Nodaway Valley 64, Mount Ayr 35
• Panorama 61, Madrid 41
• Sioux City North 87, CB Abraham Lincoln 75
• Sioux City West 72, CB Thomas Jefferson 45
• Woodward Academy 66, Guthrie Center 31

With Jim Field.

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