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ACGC takes on Mount Ayr in Class A Second Round tonight

Oct 31, 2025 | Sports

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The ACGC football team (9-0) hosts Mount Ayr (6-3) in the Class A Second Round tonight, Friday, Oct. 31. Mount Ayr gave ACGC its toughest game of the season in a 28-20 win for the Chargers in mid-September. ACGC only had a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Neither team has lost since then. Mount Ayr had only allowed 18 points in the next four games after its loss to ACGC until its slugfest with St. Albert in the first round, when the Raiders won, 55-47.

Trick-or-Treat in Guthrie Center

Oct 31, 2025 | News

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Due to the ACGC playoff football game on Friday night, trick-or-treating was held on Thursday in Guthrie Center. Downtown businesses and individuals welcomed monsters and ghouls of all shapes and sizes along the business district. Students in the ACGC Leo Club served as crossing guards to assure all the little creatures stayed safe.

Chargers in the postseason, and the sports equinox

Oct 31, 2025 | Cyote's Den

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

Chargers in the postseason

The ACGC Chargers have two teams remaining in the postseason for fall sports. The football team has a chance to make it into the quarterfinals tonight, Friday, Oct. 31, when they face the Mount Ayr Raiders in the Class A second round. Then, on Saturday, Nov. 1, the duo of Preston Kent and Cadence Petersen don the black and gold to represent ACGC at the 1A state cross country meet.

Several storylines are in play for the Chargers game against Mount Ayr. ACGC is once again a dominant 9-0 team heading into this stage of the season, and one of those nine wins came against Mount Ayr. It also happened to be ACGC’s closest game this season, a 28-20 win, thanks to a fourth-quarter TD to give the Chargers some extra breathing room. After that result, Mount Ayr fell to 1-3. Since then, the Raiders have sailed the seas and pillaging as they please with 64-6, 32-6, 47-6, and 43-0 wins to their name immediately following the loss. A 55-47 shootout win in the first round of the playoffs brought them back to shore, it seems. For a team whose three losses have only come against playoff teams, this will still be a tough test for Cody Matthewson and his squad.

On the home teams’ hand, ACGC has once again been an unstoppable storm during the regular season with dominant win after dominant win. The Chargers are averaging just a little more than 43 points per game on offense and allowing a mere 10 points per game on defense. Last season, ACGC had the three-headed monster of Mike Fuller, Jathan South and Joe Crawford dominating on the ground, with Crawford finishing the season just nine yards shy of the trio each eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing. This season, Crawford hit that 1K mark and is up to 16 rushing TDs. Brexton Schneider stepped into an increased roll in the backfield, leading the team in carries with 869 yards and 15 TDs.

It appears that there is going to be a classic on the ACGC field for this game. Whichever team comes away victorious faces the winner of Sibley-Ocheyedan (5-4) and West Sioux (8-1).

I wish I had as fancy of stats as I did for football for the ACGC runners set to compete over the weekend, but, unfortunately, I don’t. I do, however, have some race times. According to Head Coach Rick Blake, Kent ran his best time of the season at the state-qualifying meet, setting a PB of 16:48.01. Petersen ran her best time in two years with a 21:03.90. I commend both of their efforts and will be rooting for them, as the thought of running for 16 or 21 minutes straight at a state-qualifying pace sounds like it would kill me.

Sports equinox

The 32nd ever sports equinox happened on Monday, Oct. 27. It’s the rare moment where the “Big Four” of North American sports leagues are all playing on the same day. It’s heaven for a guy like me. The Dodgers and Blue Jays battled in the World Series. The Dodgers came away with the win, but have since found themselves behind, currently down 3-2 in the series. On Monday Night Football, the Chiefs faced the Commanders on the Gridiron, where a dominant Patrick Mahomes performance propelled them to a win. Eleven NBA games were played, and I won’t bother naming all those results or the two NHL games that took place. But, nonetheless, they all came together to complete the equinox. Even the MLS had some playoff games on Monday night.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more at cyote@dmcityview.com.

Crawford joins Bryton Insurance Agency, expanding services to include life insurance

Oct 31, 2025 | News

Special to the Times Vedette

Hope Crawford

Bryton Insurance Agency, 128 W. Main St. in Panora, welcomes Hope Crawford as the newest member of its team. A Panora native, Crawford brings a strong foundation in client service, insurance knowledge and community values to her role as an independent insurance agent.

Crawford graduated from Iowa State University in December 2022 and recently returned to the area after living in Ankeny. Before joining Bryton Insurance, she worked as a recruiter at Grinnell Mutual, where she developed an understanding of the insurance industry and a passion for helping others navigate important life decisions.

With licenses in both personal and life insurance, as well as her associate in general insurance (AINS) designation, Crawford is well-equipped to guide clients through coverage options with clarity and care. Her addition to the agency marks an exciting milestone — Bryton Insurance is now offering life insurance for the first time, expanding its commitment to comprehensive protection for families and individuals.

Crawford is excited to serve her hometown and surrounding communities, offering personalized insurance solutions with empathy, professionalism and a focus on long-term peace of mind.

Crawford can be reached via email at hope@brytoninsurance.com or by phone at 641-755-2123.

Five soloists advance to State Solo Dance Contest

Oct 31, 2025 | News

Five members of the Panorama Dance Team qualified for the Class III State solo competition to be held Dec. 3-5 at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines. The Panthers produced nine soloists in the competition in Newton last Friday with all nine receiving Division I ratings. Competing at the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team contest will be, from the left: Addison Wagner, freshman; Maci Bauer, junior; Nella Rivas, sophomore; Hadley Fitch, junior; Cali Knudsen, sophomore; and Kathy Enyart, executive director of the ISDTA. Panorama is one of only three schools in the state to qualify five soloists in its respective class size. This is the first time in Panorama school history that five soloists have qualified for state competition.

Special to the Times Vedette

The Panorama High School Dance Team enjoyed a successful day at the regional state solo qualifying contests held in Newton and Pella on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 23 and 24. The Panthers advance five dancers out of 10 selected in Class III for the state competition scheduled in the Casey’s Center in Des Moines Dec. 3-5.

Nine dancers represented PHS and all earned top division I ratings.

Selected to compete at state are: Hadley Fitch and Maci Bauer, juniors; Cali Knudsen and Nella Rivas, sophomores; and Addison Wagner, freshman. Knudsen and Rivas are two-time state qualifiers having competed in 2024.

Additional solo contestants were: Lexi Wasson, senior; Jessica Randol, junior; and Berkley Schwartz and Ava Thorn, sophomores.

“Our soloists at Panorama were dedicated and committed above and beyond to the preparation of their solos. Their goal was Division I ratings and to sweep in the top 10,” Panorama Dance Team Coach Kristi Vance said. “They met those goals and made Panorama history.

“As a coach, I am so grateful for this team and the opportunity to coach these exceptional young ladies,” Vance added.

Panorama is in elite company with five soloists selected for state. Only two other schools in the state advanced that many dancers: Dowling Catholic in Class X and Pleasant Valley in Class XI. This is the highest number of soloists in one year during Vance’s tenure as coach.

Several other schools from the area also sent dancers to the competition. They performed well but were not selected for state: Karlynn Wetzel, ACGC in Class II; Bristol Lauffer and Ally Sommerfield, Glidden-Ralston in Class III.

West Central Valley featured four dancers with two selected for state competition in Class IV. Advancing for the second consecutive year are Scarlett Putney (third place last year) and Addison Leonard (last year’s state champion); Dallas Morgan and Adalyn Weber.

The Panther dancers are now working to prepare for the State Team competition to be held in conjunction with the solo contests. Panorama will compete in jazz, contemporary, lyrical and the mix.