A fourth quarter score and a red zone stop helped Atlantic gut out a 21-17 win over Greene County on Friday night at the Trojan Bowl. Atlantic moves to 4-0 to start the season; the first time that’s happened in decades.

The game started a little rough for Atlantic with an opening drive interception on a fourth-down play. That set Greene County up at the Trojan 20-yard line, and they eventually got a 32-yard field goal to open the scoring. The two teams then traded punts and Atlantic was able to change momentum when the Rams booted it away. Ethan McNeal caught it on the run and bolted to a 50-yard punt return touchdown to put Atlantic on top. Two drives later Atlantic capped a long drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Gavin McLaren. The Trojans would take that 14-3 lead to the half.

Greene County then struck back when Trevon Keely took the 2nd half kickoff back 80-yards for a touchdown. The point after attempt failed making it a 14-9 score. Four possessions later the Rams hit on two big pass plays to Keely to take the lead. Crew Conner hit Keely on a 14-yard pass to score. The Rams then ended up going for 2 and after initially being ruled short, the officials changed the call to deem the try good, putting Atlantic down 3.

The Trojans wasted no time in responding. Two big runs from Tyson O’Brien put Atlantic back on top. The second run being a 45-yard score. The point after try was good and Atlantic was back in front 21-17. Greene County drove all the way to the Trojan ten, but back-to-back incompletions would end the Rams chances. Atlantic got the ball back on down with 2:24 to go and grinded the clock down to :38 left. After a timeout the Trojans brought the offense out on 4th down and successfully got the Rams to jump offsides with a hard count to seal the game.

Listen to the postgame interview with Atlantic Head Coach Joe Brummer:

Atlantic will take their 4-0 mark on the road to Winterset next week. We’ll have coverage on KJAN. Watch the full replay of the game HERE.

The Griswold Tigers Volleyball team is hosting a 6-team tournament on Saturday at Griswold High School. In addition to the Tigers, ACGC, AHSTW, Denison-Schleswig, Riverside Southwest Valley will all be in action Saturday.

On Tuesday, Griswold played two matches in Hamburg against the Wildcats and #9 East Mills.  After sweeping the three sets versus Hamburg, they played a spirited match versus East Mills but came up short. However, Head Coach Jody Rossell loved how her team competed.

Griswold comes into to season with a veteran group of players. The tigers roster features nine seniors. With a large number of seniors, you will usually have some depth to work with. And although depth helps, it the leadership that the seniors provide that can be just as important.

In that group of senior leaders Gabbie Grieman is having a great season. Through 12 games she leads the Griswold offense with 79 kills and a kill efficiency of .295. Defensively she also leads the team with 15 blocks. Rossell knows that her dedication and versatility have contributed to her success on the court.

In addition to the seniors, there are a few standout young guns patrolling the court for the Tigers. Sophomore Carsyn Adams leads the team with 66 digs and sophomore Amanda Houser is fifth on the team with 29. This has Rossell not only exited for the present, but also the future of Griswold Volleyball.

The tournament will kick off at 9am at Griswold High School. The tigers will look to improve on their 6-6 record. Rossel is looking forward to the opportunity of seeing some new opponents and continued growth from her squad.

The Audubon Wheeler football team had a dominant win against the Exira-EHK Spartans on Friday night scoring 72 points on the evening. Right from the start Audubon looked control as the Wheelers scored in under a minute at the top of the first quarter thanks to an Aaron Olsen 45-yard touchdown run putting them up 8-0. Exira-EHK was then forced to punt on the following drive giving Audubon the ball back and the Wheelers looked to Olsen again as quarterback Carson Wessel threw a sharp pass to Olsen who dashed his way for 50 yards back into the endzone making it 16-0. On the following drive the Audubon defense held firm forcing another punt and giving their offense one more chance to score before the end of the first quarter. Wessel would once again find Olsen for another touchdown pass near the sideline adding on to their 24-0 score.

The second quarter saw no improvement for the Spartan offense as Exira-EHK quarterback Bryce Brabham threw an interception in the Audubon redzone to Olsen. The Wheelers did take advantage of the turnover as Wessel had a dime pass to Austin Christensen for 39 yards and a touchdown. The game fully tilted in Audubon’s favor as they now led 30-0. The momentum swing did not stop there as midway through the second quarter the Spartans had a punt tipped giving it an awkward trajectory that turned into a 35-yard touchdown return by Jack Stanerson creating a 36-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter the Wheelers committed to keeping their foot on the gas and had an 18-yard touchdown reception by freshman Jorgen Nowatzke to put them up 44-0. The Spartans did force a turnover of their own as Owen Juhl picked off freshman quarterback Aiden Kjergaard getting the ball close to midfield for Exira-EHK. The result of their next drive was a turnover on downs and Kjergaard had a designed quarterback run go 33-yards for a score seeing a 50-0 Audubon lead grow. The fourth quarter saw Audubon seal the game with 3 touchdown scores on the ground one a Colin Hartl 4-yard sprint near the goal line, the next a 25-yard scramble by Kjergaard, and Mason Kasperbauer plunging his way through the maroon defense for 27 yards. The final score would be 72-0.

Wheelers head coach Sean Birks was proud of the way his team maintained their intensity throughout all four quarters.

Birks also noted that one of the strengths his Audubon team possess is the ability to be selfless and not focus on stats. Players like Aaron Olsen exemplify this demeanor to coach Birks.

The Wheelers turn their record into 3-0 with a win and face a talented St. Edmond team on the road next Friday. Coach Birks does not plan on underestimating the Gaels.

The Spartans drop to 1-2 with their loss and head back home to face Sidney next Friday.

Iowa looks to bounce back from a loss to Iowa State by hosting Troy. Under first year coach Gerad Parker the Trojans have a bunch of new players and are 0-2 after losses to Nevada and Memphis.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who says Troy is used to success after posting 11 wins last season.

Ferentz says Parker was forced to rebuild the roster.

Kick-off from Iowa City is at 3-p.m. Pre-game coverage on KJAN starts at 1-p.m., Saturday.

Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley says the Panthers face a much improved Nebraska team on Saturday night. Under second year coach Matt Rhule the Huskers are 2-0 and ranked 23rd in the AP Poll.

Farley says the Huskers have game breaking speed on offense.

Farley does not expect a letdown by Nebraska after an impressive win over Colorado.

UNI is averaging nearly 300 yards on the ground but Farley says the passing of Aidan Dunne needs to become more of a factor.

Kick-off in Lincoln, NE is at 6:30-p.m.

Riverside 3, AHSTW 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-5)

Coon Rapids Bayard 3, Exira EHK 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-12)

Tri Center 3, Audubon 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-19)

Underwood 3, IKM Manning 1 (25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20)

Lewis Central 3, Harlan 0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17)

Glenwood 3, Red Oak 0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-11)

Woodbine 3, West Harrison 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-15)

Boyer Valley 3, Ar-We-Va 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-11)

Fremont Mills 3, St. Albert 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-16)

Le Mars 3, CBTJ 0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-22)

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.