On Friday night, the Kuemper Catholic football team will travel to Avoca to face the 2-0 AHSTW Vikings in AHSTW’s second consecutive home game. The Vikings are also coming off their second straight come-from-behind win as they shut out Riverside in the fourth quarter scoring 16 unanswered points. AHSTW put up 564 yards of total offense including 262 passing yards from senior quarterback Camden Soukup and 213 rushing yards from senior back Luke Sternberg. Although he knows his team will need a good start against the Knights, Head Coach Grant Harris likes his team’s ability to battle back.

Sternberg is poised to be one of the Vikings’ biggest offensive weapons on Friday. Through two games Sternberg has compiled 427 all-purpose yards which is second in the Western Iowa Conference while his 224 rushing yards rank sixth. Harris believes that his versatility and football IQ have led to Sternberg’s on-field success.

In addition to Sternberg, AHSTW has a lethal duo with Soukup and senior receiver Zeb Hall. Soukup and Hall connected for four touchdowns last week in the 42-22 win over Riverside. Hall’s 225 receiving yards leads the WIC while ranking third in receptions. On the flip side Soukup ranks second in the conference in touchdowns and passing yards, third in passing touchdowns, completions, and yards per completion.

On Defensive the Vikings are led by senior linebacker Blake Akers. Akers is off to a fast start to the season leading the WIC in both total and solo tackles. Akers will look to replicate last week’s 12 tackle performance and Harris knows that his intensity will be an important factor against the Knights.

Kuemper Catholic will be a tough test for this Vikings team. The offense is led by junior quarterback Brock Badding who has thrown 359 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior receiver Carson Kanne is off to a good start with 163 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Jarin Hoffman has 163 yards on the ground. It’s an offense that Harris sees as one to come out swinging.

The defense brings senior Tate Bieret to the table compiling 18 tackles and four tackles for loss in the knights’ two games. Harris is expecting a tough and hard-hitting game from the Kuemper Catholic defense.

Coach Harris’ keys: Balance and physicality.

The 1-1 Greene County Rams have seen improvement heading into a week 3 matchup against the 3-0 Atlantic Trojans. The Rams last game was a 36-7 victory against Perry that showed a Greene County offense which saw more success in their ground game compared to their week one 34-21 loss to Carroll. When recapping last Friday’s win against the Blue Jays Greene County head coach Caden Duncan pointed out that his team vastly improved in one week.

That success and improvement on the ground game was largely contributed by senior running back Nick Stream who has rushed for 285 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season. Coach Duncan had nothing but praise for Stream’s consistent energy and leadership for the Rams.

Coach Duncan had also seen a surge in defensive production by junior linebacker Christopher Daughtery who leads the team in tackles with 25.5. Daughtery is a perfect with the defensive scheme that the Rams like to run.

This Friday’s match for Greene County on the road against the Trojans will be a tough one. When watching film on the run heavy Atlantic team, coach Duncan knows his team has to bring a gritty and physical mindset.

Atlantic has been stellar with their run game eclipsing the 1000-yard rushing mark last week in their win against Glenwood. Part of that sharp run game for Atlantic is the acceleration of senior running back Tyson O’Brien who has collected 534 yards of rushing on the year. Coach Duncan want’s his team to score quickly and minimize penalties and turnovers.

KJANTV is covering Friday’s matchup with the pregame show beginning at 6:30pm and kickoff is set for 7:00pm.

Two of the top teams in Eight-Player collide in district eight as third ranked Lenox hosts number two Bedford. Both teams are 2-0. Lenox co-head coach Cole Bonde.

Bedford has only attempted three passes in two games but Bonde says the threat is always there.

Bonde says the key will be which team can limit mistakes.

Bonde says the atmosphere will be fun.

Bedford coach Jeremy Nally says the Bulldogs have not needed to pass in the first two games but eventually they will need to.

Nally says it is a big early season test for his team.

Nally says a key for the Bulldogs will be taking away the cut back lanes in the Lenox run game.

The 2-0 Audubon Wheeler football team has been off to a strong start for the year winning matchups against CAM 38-20 and Colo-Nesco 44-8. The most recent win for Audubon against the Royals had a slow start, seeing the Wheelers only score 8 points in the first quarter. Still, Audubon head coach Sean Birks was pleased with the way his team responded throughout the rest of the game.

A large part of the Wheelers early success on the season has been from the effort and growth of junior quarterback Carson Wessel. Wessel has thrown for 252 yards and rushed for 6 touchdowns through two games. That tenacity to run through contact and absorb the playbook has impressed coach Birks.

On the other side of the ball Audubon’s defense has been stout so far in 2024 with 5 interceptions and 76 total tackles. One key factor of that determined Wheeler defense is junior Austin Christensen who leads the team in tackles with 15.5 and is tied for interception leader at two. Christensen’s commitment to the Audubon football program has gained him a lot of respect from his coaches.

The Wheelers next opponent is the 1-1 Exira-EHK Spartans who are coming off a 30-22 win against Stanton that included a 16-point comeback. Exira-EHK’s leading rusher in their win against Stanton was junior quarterback Bryce Brabham who rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Audubon head coach Sean Birks is aware that an emotional comeback win can ignite any team to make them a tough opponent, and coach Birks will make sure that his team knows it.

One of coach Birks’s expectations for Friday’s matchup against the Spartans is to have his team get off to a fast start and score. Audubon is 0 for 2 on opening drive scores and that is a stat he is looking to change.

KJAN will bring you the coverage for Friday’s matchup starting with the pregame show at 6:30 PM.

Iowa receiver Jacob Gill believes the Hawkeye passing game will make strides as they get set to host Troy on Saturday. Quarterback Cade McNamara was only 13-of-29 for 99 yards in a 20-19 loss to Iowa State.

Gill says Troy is a program that is used to success.

Gill says the pass game will benefit from a ground game that has made major strides with junior running back Kaleb Johnson.

Iowa tight end Addison Ostrenga on the Troy defense.

The Hawkeyes are 1-1 and the Trojans are 0-2.

Grand View is on the road for an early Heart of America Conference showdown on Saturday with a visit to Benedictine of Kansas. Grand View is ranked fourth in the NAIA Poll after a 54-6 season opening win over William Woods but coach Joe Woodley says they will need a much better effort against a Ravens team that is ranked 12th.

Grand View is the favorite in the North Division race. Benedictine is favored in the South Division.

Grand View Vikings logo

Benedictine is off to a 2-0 start.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa standout kickoff returner Jordan Cotton will serve as honorary captain when the Hawkeyes host Troy in their nonconference finale Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3:05 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised on FS1.

Cotton, a two-year letterwinner, was a member of the program from 2009-13, where he was a part of four bowl teams — 2010 Orange, 2010 Insight, 2011 Insight, 2014 Outback. Iowa won both the Orange and 2010 Insight bowls.

The Mount Pleasant, Iowa, native led the Big Ten and ranked 14th nationally in kickoff returns in 2012 with 19 returns for 536 yards (28.2 average). He was fourth in the league and 26th nationally (29 returns, 730 yards, 25.2 average) during his senior season in 2013.

Cotton had a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown — still the 13th longest in program history — against Penn State in 2012. He had a 96-yard kickoff return to the 4-yard line in the 2014 Outback Bowl against LSU.

His 42.7 kickoff return average on three attempts broke the Outback Bowl record for kickoff return yard average. Cotton also finished his career with 15 receptions for 234 yards and one touchdown.

Cotton is currently in his first season as an assistant football coach at Durant (Iowa) High School.

Cotton will accompany the Iowa captains to midfield for Saturday’s pregame coin toss. He will also be with the Hawkeyes in the locker room before and after the game.

The Exira-EHK Football Team will travel to Audubon to take on Carson Wessel and the Wheelers this Friday. The contest will mark the third of the season for both programs. Exira-EHK is coming off a 30-20 victory over Stanton to pull their record to 1-1, while Audubon is rolling at 2-0 after their blowout win against Colo-Nesco.

The Spartans will have their hands full with the Wheelers’ speedy junior quarterback Carson Wessel and the offense.  Heading into Friday, Wessel leads the Western Iowa Conference in touchdowns (9), rushing yards (374), offensive touchdowns (9), offensive yards (626), yards per completion (21.0), and quarterback rating (217.1).  Wheelers’ senior running back Aaron Olsen is also a big part of the offense. He is coming off a fantastic game last week where he ran for 127 yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry. Exira-EHK head coach Drew Buckholdt knows his defense will need to keep the Audubon offense behind the sticks.

The Spartan defense is led by senior linebacker Alex Hansen. Hansen leads the team with 16.5 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. Coming into Friday’s game he ranks in the top 10 in the Rolling Valley Conference in total tackles, solo tackles, and tackles for loss.  He is also a contributor on the offensive side of the ball. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry and 2 touchdowns this season. Hansen also holds the 4th longest run for a touchdown in the conference to date.

Offensively the Spartans’ run game will be a key factor in the ball game. Starting a young quarterback making just his second varsity start, it is likely that coach Buckholdt will rely on his running game which made a big jump from week 1 to week 2. In their week 1 loss to Ar-We-Va the Spartans compiled 149 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per carry. However, last week those numbers improved as Hansen ran 114 yards and junior Bryce Brabham ran for 117 yards. Despite the improvement in the run game Buckholdt is hoping for an even bigger improvement against Audubon.

Running the ball won’t be easy for Exira-EHK as they will have to contend with a Wheelers’ defense led by linebacker #81 Austin Christensen and Cornerback Adam Obrecht. Christensen is tied for fourth in the WIC with 15.5 tackles. Obrecht is not far behind with 13 and both of them share the conference lead with two interceptions.  Buckholdt knows that assignment football will be important.

Catch all the action on KJAN Radio with kickoff at 7pm.

There will be plenty of family ties this weekend when the Northern Iowa volleyball team takes part in a tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. The Panthers will play ninth ranked Creighton on Friday and fourth ranked Louisville on Saturday. UNI coach Bobbi Peterson’s daughter, Payton, is a freshman on the Louisville squad.

UNI is 4-2 and Peterson says this tournament is part of a demanding nonconference schedule.

Peterson says the Panthers are still working to build an identity.

The Panthers close the tournament by playing Rice on Sunday.