Due to the potential for severe thunderstorms later Friday evening, Atlantic is moving up the times of the high school football scrimmages vs Carroll.  9th grade will begin at 5 p.m. followed by Varsity at 6 P. M. Both will be played at the Trojan Bowl.

An experienced Drake football team looks to contend for the Pioneer Football League championship this fall. The Bulldogs return the entire roster from a team that finished 2-3 during an abbreviated spring season. Drake coach Todd Stepsis.

The defense gave up less than 13 points and 77 yards of rushing per game in the spring but the Bulldogs need improvement from an offense that averaged only 18 points per contest.

Stepsis says the spring season was a benefit for his team.

Stepsis says after having last fall canceled everyone is excited for the new season.

Running back Cross Robinson returns for a fifth season and says after last year everyone has been excited during fall camp.

Robinson believes the offense will show major improvement this season.

The Bulldogs open at home on Thursday night, September second against West Virginia Wesleyan.

(Radio Iowa) The IndyCar Series is returning to the Iowa Speedway. Hy-Vee will sponsor a doubleheader at the Speedway next July 23rd and 24th. The series had raced in Newton ever year since 2007 but skipped this year leaving the future of the speedway in doubt.

That’s Newton Mayor Michael Hansen who says it is a huge plus for the facility.

Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker (ee-duh-ker).

(Radio Iowa) Iowa State running back Breece Hall says individual awards follow team success. Hall was an All American and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Cyclones to a 9-3 record in 2020. He begins this season as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Hall says it is about reaching potential and feels the Cyclones came close last season after falling to Louisiana in their opener.

Hall says improvement begins in practice.

Hall says whether it is team or individual expectations it is not something they pay attention to.

The seventh ranked Cyclones open at home against UNI on September fourth.

The Iowa Association of Track Coaches has released the pre-season cross country individual rankings.

Here are some of the local runners in the list:

Class 1-A

Girls
4. Courtney Sporrer, Logan-Mangolia
11 Reese Duncan, St. Albert
12. Grace Slater, Audubon

Boys
6. Doug Berg, Nodaway Valley
10. Trevin Suhr, ACGC
12. Collin Lillie, St. Albert
19. Justin Reinhart, ACGC
24. Cody Gilpin, Missouri Valley
25. Kaden Thompson, ACGC
27. Landon Bendgen, Woodbine

Class 2-A

Boys
14. Cole Dolley, Treynor
16. Baylor Bergren, Red Oak
18. Gable Porter, Underwood
23. Cody Gilpin, Missouri Valley

Class 3-A

Girls
17. Kaia Bieker, Harlan

Boys
9. Andrew Smith, Glenwood
30. Zane Berg, Atlantic

CLICK HERE for the complete run down.

Atlantic’s Joaquin Wailes and Corning’s Joe Oathoudt have earned a trip to compete in Bass Cat Big Bass Zone Junior Championship, presented by Bassmasters, a national fishing competition in Branson, MO on Lake Taneycomo. Both anglers won a state title to advance, Wailes a freshman at Atlantic High School will represent the state of Iowa and Oathoudt a senior at Southwest Valley will represent Nebraska during the national tournament held Saturday, Oct 30th. The event features 52 anglers from across the country one from every state plus a few top second-place finishers. and competitors will be paired up two to a boat, though it’s still a solo competition. While he’ll be fishing uncharted waters, Oathoudt said he’s going into it with a positive attitude.

They will compete against 52-state championships caliber anglers in the competition for the biggest bass, with the top prize being a Bass Cat boat and scholarships.

The state and national bass fishing competitions are organized differently. For the state competition, the brothers fished on their own, and then submitted proof of their catch to an online Fishing Chaos app with measurements of the fish’s length, width, and girth. Based on that, the organizers calculated the fish’s weight, and Wailes and Oathoudt were declared the winner.

Wailes attempted to qualify for the tournament last year but missed qualifying by a quarter of pound. ‘I was motivated this year to make the tournament, because I love fishing, and this is an amazing opportunity for me to compete at the national level for the first time,” Wailes said. ‘Plus, there’s so much more to the Big Bass Zone tournament, I am a better angler by studying water conditions, learning different fishing techniques, reading contour maps, understanding fish habitats and now getting sponsors and learning business relationships.”

For the national competition, Wailes and Oathoudt will be paired up two competitors to a boat, though it’s still a solo competition. While he’ll be fishing unchartered waters, Oathoudt said he’s going into it with a positive attitude. The competitors will spend the day fishing, and they take turns deciding where the boat goes, with one competitor steering it in the morning, and the other angler steering it in the afternoon. They will be laying it all out there for a chance to win over $300,000 in prizes and scholarships including a new Basscat bass boat.

““It will be a great experience and I feel honored to go and represent Nebraska at this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Oathoudt said. “I found my passion, and fish as often as I can with my brothers, cousins and his buddies from school. I want to thank Bill Siemantel with the BBZ, my grandpa for finding this opportunity and all of the sponsors that helped to support the tournament.”

Both anglers are members of the newly formed Southwest Iowa Fishing Team where they fished with other area student anglers. “I am so excited for the boys they definitely put in the work and time to earn their spot in the BBZJC,” Bob Harris the coach of SWIFT said. In our first year as a fishing team, we have had great success with a two SWFT high school teams placing 20th at the TBF/SAF World Championships and 50th in the National Championships, and our junior fishing 4th at the Junior World Championships. We have some great student anglers in Iowa, and I would also like to congratulate Jake Oathoudt and Owen Hoover who also competed hard in the BBZJC tournament but didn’t qualify.”

“It’s quite a thrill,” explained Wailes. “This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever qualified for and it’s a lot different than the local tournaments I’ve been in. It’s a new experience and I will do everything he can to make Iowa, his sponsors, and his parents proud. I’m going to be nervous, but it’s a great opportunity.”

Over the next month Wailes and Oathoudt will be studying contour maps, connecting with area adult anglers who may have fished on Lake Taneycomo and making a special trip in September to pre-fish the lake, so that when they arrive on the water, he already knows where to go. The boys will be searching for sponsors to help offset travel expenses and fishing supplies as the focus on competing hard for the Bass Cat Big Bass Zone Junior Championship, presented by Bassmasters. The boys are ready and excited to take on this challenge competing against teams from across the US.

Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts confirmed the NCAA is investigating the Husker football program. A report says the Huskers improperly used analysts and consultants and moved workouts off campus when such activities were banned during the pandemic.

Alberts says Nebraska is cooperating with the investigation.

Husker coach Scott Frost was asked about the report of illegal workouts.

Frost does not believe it will be a distraction for the players. The Huskers open the season August 28th at Illinois.

Former Iowa standout A.J. Epenesa feels much more confident heading into his second season with the Buffalo Bills. Because of the pandemic, Epenesa had limited work heading into his rookie campaign and finished with one sack in 14 games.

Epenesa stayed in Buffalo to train in the offseason.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins says former Iowa standout Ihmir Smith-Marsette could be a playmaker for the Vikings. Smith-Marsette had two receptions in the Vikings’ opening preseason game against Denver.

Cousins says Smith-Marsette’s personality is a great fit.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., August 18, 2021 – The St. Louis Cardinals, in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s league-wide release, today announced their 2022 Spring Training schedule.  The team’s 30-game Grapefruit League slate is set to begin on Saturday, February 26 when the Cardinals travel to take on the Houston Astros.  The club’s first home game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium is scheduled for Sunday, February 27, versus the Washington Nationals.

The Cardinals 2022 Spring schedule features 15 home dates and 15 road games, including three games as the visiting team against stadium co-tenants Miami Marlins (March 2, 11, & 18), giving them 18 total games at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.  The Cardinals and Marlins will play a total of seven games next spring.

The Cardinals will host six different Grapefruit League opponents in 2022, including home games against the Detroit Tigers (March 3) and New York Yankees (March 19).  The club will also host the Marlins (four games), Astros (three games), Nationals (three games), and New York Mets (three games).

The Redbirds will travel to Tampa to face the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Saturday, March 5, followed by a game against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on Sunday, March 6.

The Cardinals will play at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on five weekend dates (Feb. 27, March 12-13, 19 & 27).  Additionally, the team’s spring schedule features two split-squad dates featuring home and away games on Monday, February 28 (vs. Miami & at NY Mets) and Saturday, March 12 (vs. NY Mets & at Washington).

The Cardinals will break camp on Sunday, March 27, following their home game against Houston and will open their regular season schedule on Thursday, March 31, at Pittsburgh.  The 2022 spring slate will mark the 25th year that the Cardinals will train at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.

The Cardinals will make future announcements regarding 2022 Spring Training game times, ticket availability and player report dates at a later time.  The complete 2022 Cardinals Spring Training scheduled can be viewed at cardinals.com and follows below.