By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

State football championships

It’s football championship week here in Iowa. Some champions have already been determined: Class 8-player, won by Bishop Garrigan over Woodbine, 44-42. Class A, won by MMCRU over Saint Ansgar, 30-17. Class 1A, won by West Lyon over Regina Catholic, 34-27. Class 4A, won by Xavier over Pella, 31-6.

Still to be determined today are Class 2A between Van Meter and Kuemper Catholic (likely finishing up as this column goes out), Nevada vs. Bishop Heelan in Class 3A, and Dowling vs. Iowa City Liberty in Class 5A. The games are all being streamed online for free at www.iahsaa.org/watch/. Tap in and watch some of the best football teams in the state try to etch their names into the history books.

World cup madness

The next Fifa World Cup is in 2026, hosted by the great U.S.A. I remember hearing rumblings of this happening back when I was in high school. The selection process takes years and is normally determined far in advance, mainly to help the hosting countries prepare for the influx of teams and fans.

The World Cup is the single greatest sporting event in the world. Better than the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, MLB playoffs, and even the Olympics. Every four years the greatest soccer talents in the world put their skills on display and play their hearts out for their respective nations.

It has created some of the most memorable sporting moments of all time, from the Diego Maradona “Hand of God”goal, to Zidane’s headbutt (2:30 in), to Tshabalala’s opening goal of the 2010 World Cup, to the overall stunning 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France that saw Lionel Messi capture the sport’s most elusive trophy in a game for the ages.

Solid performances at the tournament have jumpstarted many relatively unknown player’s careers and have produced incredible moments during qualifying games. This past week, we got one of, if not the, greatest qualifying game ever.

Denmark and Scotland were battling for a place in the 2026 World Cup. The winner of this Nov. 18 game guaranteed a place in the tournament. What transpired was absolute fireworks.

Scotland’s Scott McTominay opens the scoring with an incredible bicycle kick just three minutes in. Take a bow. Fast forward, Denmark answers back in the 57^th minute, followed by a red card for the Danes in the 61^st. Scotland takes the lead back in the 78^th minute, only for Denmark to answer right back in the 82^nd, tied 2-2, heading into the final minutes. And, of all players, defender Kieran Tierney produces a left footed curler in the 93^rd minute to give his nation the lead. Check out this angle. If that wasn’t enough for the Scottish fans in attendance, just three minutes later, Kenny McLean scores from within his own half, lobbing the keeper from some 60 yards out. Here are highlights to the game. Skip to 20 seconds for McTominay’s bike, 3:08 for the red card, 4:25 for Tierney’s strike, and 5:30 for McLean’s lob. “They will drink Glasgow dry tonight.” What a comment. What a game.

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

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The state volleyball championships wrapped up last week, and the semi-finals and finals for football are in full swing. Last week, Iowa PBS streamed the volleyball finals. I was able to catch a few of the games that reaffirmed my belief that volleyball is underrated as a spectator sport. The dives. The kills. The blocks. Last-second digs. The pancakes. It’s a joy to watch, and I’m lucky to have caught a few games. As for football, you can catch those games streamed on the IAHSAA website HERE. If you’re reading this as soon as our newsletter comes out, the 1A semi-final game between powerhouse Grundy Center and Regina will be just about wrapping up. I decided to do a wrap up of all the volleyball state championships, as well as where football stands as of press time.

Volleyball

• 1A: No. 1 Saint Ansgar (31-4) defeats No. 2 Janesville (33-12), 3-1
• 2A: No. 1 Denver (50-1) defeats No. 3 Hinton (30-3), 3-2
• 3A: No. 2 Assumption (28-7) defeats No. 5 Humboldt (33-7), 3-0
• 4A: No. 5 North Scott (27-10) defeats No. 2 Sioux Center (30-5), 3-1
• 5A: No. 1 Waukee Northwest (38-1) defeats No. 2 Ankeny Centennial (34-6), 3-0

Football

• 8-Player State
  FINAL: Bishop Garrigan (12-0) vs. Woodbine (11-0) on Nov. 20
• Class A
  FINAL: Saint Ansgar (12-0) vs. MMCRU (12-0) on Nov. 20
• Class 1A
  SEMI-FINALS:
  Grundy Center (11-0) vs. Regina Catholic (11-0)
  West Lyon (11-0) vs. South Hardin (10-1)
• Class 2A
  SEMI-FINALS:
  Kuemper Catholic (11-0) vs. Wilton (9-2)
  Osage (11-0) vs. Van Meter (9-2)
• Class 3A
  SEMI-FINALS:
  Solon (11-0) vs. Nevada (9-2)
  Bishop Heelan (9-2) vs. Wahlert Catholic (9-2)
• Class 4A
  FINAL: Xavier (12-0) vs. Pella (11-1)
• Class 5A
  SEMI-FINALS:
  Dowling Catholic (10-1) vs. Valley (9-2)
  Waukee Northwest (10-1) vs. Iowa City Liberty (10-1)

There’s lots of good football to be played, and that means there’s lots of good football to watch.

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

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

West Sioux’s record breaker

The ACGC football team plays in the quarterfinals for the third time in three seasons tonight, Friday, Nov. 7. Two seasons ago the Chargers ran into Madrid, falling 21-14. Last season, the team fell to eventual state champion, Tri-Center, 47-20. This time, ACGC goes up against West Sioux (9-1). Despite the fact the Chargers have not made it to the UNI dome during those three seasons, the teams that have won more overall games than them in the past three years is few and far between. 

Speaking of West Sioux, a former Falcons WR name is in the record books. And, outside of wanting to see the Chargers get one step closer to a state championship, it gives me another reason to root against the Falcons. That seems like an odd thing to say, but I’ll give you my reasoning.

In 2019, West Sioux WR Kade Lynott had 342 receiving yards in a single game — and on only 12 catches. That is thoroughly impressive. Arguably, even more impressive. Lynott, and his QB that day, Hunter Dekkers (yes, that Hunter Dekkers), both went on to play at ISU at various times. (They are also cousins.) The record those two came together to break that day was set by a friend of mine, Logan Garrels. He and I were basketball teammates in middle school and high school. I just ran into him last weekend for the first time in years. He’s got a kid now. Am I getting old?

Garrels had 340 receiving yards against Hoover in 2014. He had 20 receptions that day (sixth most in a single game) from his QB, Will McElvain. Some might recognize his name, as he spent a few seasons as UNI’s starting QB.

I only just found out that Garrels’ record was broken thanks to an IA football video detailing Lynott’s incredible performance. He bested my friends record by two yards. Congrats to him, but it gives me another reason to root for ACGC tonight.

Winter sports are right around the corner

This week, I have been interviewing the head coaches of the winter sports teams across ACGC and Panorama. During my first interview, which was with Lane Rumelhart, ACGC’s wrestling coach, he said it felt strange that we were already talking about wrestling season while the football team still had least one more game to play.

I agree. Sure, early November typically means that winter is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is approaching, singling the start of the holiday season. And, in truth, I conduct these interviews a fair bit ahead of time so I have time to write the pieces. These teams are not even holding practices for another two weeks or so. But, nevertheless, winter sports for both ACGC and Panorama bring exciting times.

Last year, both boys wrestling programs tied or beat the school record for the most state qualifiers for a single season — six for ACGC and five for Panorama. The school’s coop for girls wrestling sent two athletes to the state tournament. A year after the Panorama girls basketball team dominated, reaching the state final, the girls managed an above .500 record despite losing their head coach and two of the best players in program history. Last season, the ACGC girls basketball team finished an incredible 22-2 and return all but one starter. ACGC boys basketball team also had an incredible campaign but lost the majority of its firepower. The Panorama boys will be looking to improve under its second year being led by Josh Beardsley. All in all, there will be a lot to watch, cover and root for in the coming months.

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

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 32^nd 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.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

Volleyball stat leaders

Two weeks ago, I shared the stat leaders for varying statistics across all the classes in Iowa. I took last week off as I was in Traverse City, Michigan. Apparently, it is the cherry capital of the world. Also, they really drive home that it’s “TRA-verse,” and not “TRUH-verse.” I bought some cherry-flavored BBQ sauce and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Now, onto the important stuff:

5A

• Kills: Cambel Drapeau, Dubuque Senior, 401
• Assists: Brynn Bakula, Cedar Falls, 851
• Digs: Gracie Knock, Prairie, 473
• Blocks: Heather Hingst, Prairie, 121
• Aces: Lily Garrison, Ottumwa, 59
• Successful serves: Mackenzie Urbanek, Cedar Falls, 242

4A

• Kills: Rachel Borwick, Nevada, 420
• Assists: Gwen Farley, Dallas Center-Grimes, 904
• Digs: Lucy Simpson, Spencer, 525
• Blocks: Dara Mollet, Bishop Heelan, 113
• Aces: Julia Schlarbaum, Clear Creek Amana, 72
• Successful serves: Sydney Schroeder, Burlington, 415

3A

• Kills: Lauren LeClere, West Delaware, 442
• Assists: Emily Sebeniecher, Red Oak, 895
• Digs: Jayden Mueller, Central Lee, 557
• Blocks: Deidra Doeden, Cherokee Washington, 94
• Aces: Mariesa Gibbs, Waukon, 70
• Successful serves: Natalie Mensen, West Delaware, 451

2A

• Kills: Reese Naeve, Regina Catholic, 641
• (ACGC’s Stella Largent is second, with 500)
• Assists: Channing Johnson, Denver, 1017
• Digs: Addison Bollier, Regina Catholic, 718
• Blocks: Caitlyn Schneider, Union Community, 119
• Aces: Addison Rubendall, 75
• Successful serves: Lexie Benham, Denver, 440

1A

• Kills: Aubree Shields, Mount Ayr, 538
• Assists: Delaney Toneff, Dunkerton, 867
• Digs: Natalie Schroeder, Calamus-Wheatland, 600
• Blocks: Taylor Kipp, Dunkerton, 135
• Aces: Addison Hochstetler, North Tama, 98
• Successful serves: Daisy Fettkether, Dunkerton, 440

Roundball Rock

Basketball season for Panorama and ACGC is right around the corner. Despite the fact that the ball hitting the hardwood truly signals the end of warm weather, it is still one of my favorite sports to play and watch.

NBA basketball is already underway. Moving past the fact that a player, former player and current head coach were all arrested yesterday as part of a gambling investigation, which is apparently tied to the mafia, the start of the season has gone swimmingly. The first game of the season was a double OT thriller between the Houston Rockets and last year’s champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

NBA fans have bemoaned the presentation and coverage of the sport over the past several years. ESPN has become opinion heavy, and clicks oriented, and it bled into its basketball coverage. At least on one network, the coverage is changing — for the better. A new media rights deal has the NBA being broadcasted on a variety of different channels and streaming services. One of those channels? NBC.

Opening night tipped off on NBC on Tuesday night for the first time since 2002. With it came a basketball-centered, positive, opinion-lacking, peacock laser shooting, Roundball Rock playing intro, flooding fans with nostalgia. It’s worth the watch. The league arguably has more talent right now than ever before, and it deserves positive, inviting and enjoyable coverage. And, anytime Roundball Rock gets played is a good time. “SNL” and Tim Robinson did a great skit on it a few years ago; it’s also worth the watch.

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

Stat leaders

While checking out some of the team leaders in stats across both of ACGC and Panorama’s respective teams, I was curious who the pack leaders are across the state in some of the major categories as we begin to approach the postseason. Stats do not always translate to a high ranking on the recruiting boards, so I wanted to see which prospects across Iowa are receiving the most hype. This week is for football, and I plan to do the same thing with volleyball next week.

5A:

• Total TDs: Mack Heitland, Waukee Northwest, 23
• Passing TDs: Mack Heitland, Waukee Northwest, 21
• Rushing TDs: TIE
• Jaden Montgomery, Dubuque Hempstead, 12
• Javaris Morgan, Ankeny Centennial, 12
• Receiving TDs: TIE
• Ethan Headings, Iowa City West, 10
• Jordon Green, Waukee Northwest, 10
• Passing yards: Mack Heitland, Waukee Northwest, 1,563
• Rushing yards: Daniel Larmie, Ankeny, 937
• Receiving yards: Ethan Headings, Iowa City West, 913
• Tackles: Connor Stolpe, Dallas Center-Grimes, 66
• Sacks: Melakhi Hickey, Waterloo West, 7.5
• INTs: TIE
• La’Marious Clark, Ankeny, 4
• Josh Grete, Ankeny, 4

4A:

• Total TDs: Hudson Shull, ADM, 22
• Passing TDs: TIE
• Cash Parks, Xavier, 18
• Jami Sitzmann, Le Mars, 18
• Rushing TDs: Keshawn Wyldon, Burlington, 15
• Receiving TDs: Tycen Augustine, Le Mars, 10
• Passing yards: Cameron Boyd, Storm Lake, 1,465
• Rushing yards: Keshawn Wyldon, Burlington, 1,005
• Receiving yards: David William, Storm Lake, 813
• Tackles: Nick Milburn, Newton, 71
• Sacks: Drake Buthe, Glenwood, 5.5
• INTs: Rex Rhamy, Pella, 5

3A:

• Total TDs: Hudson Krukow, Central DeWitt, 23
• Passing TDs: Hudson Krukow, Central DeWitt, 18
• Rushing TDs: Kasen Thompson, Bishop Heelan, 15
• Receiving TDs: TIE
• Victor Ward, Charles City, 7
• Cade Olderding, Iowa Falls-Alden, 7
• Brady Meadows, Central DeWitt, 7
• Jameson Gregoire, Central DeWitt, 7
• Maddox Kelley, Solon, 7
• Passing yards: Hudson Krukow, Central DeWitt, 1,530
• Rushing yards: Dylan Maasdam, MOC-Floyd Valley, 913
• Receiving yards: Kurt Joy, Keokuk, 537
• Tackles: Jack Bellamy, Winterset, 72
• Sacks: TIE
• Damion Nowman, Saydel, 7.5
• Isaiah Lange, Mount Pleasant, 7.5
• INTs: TIE
• Grant Whitcomb, Bishop Heelen,4
• Brody Schumacher, Wahlert Catholic, 4
• Jace Bellamy, Winterset, 4
• Tyson Spargur, Saydel, 4

2A:

• Total TDs: Quinn Street, Osage, 26
• Passing TDs: TIE
• Brock Bading, Kuemper Catholic, 21
• Cal Bonifas, Bellevue, 21
• Rushing TDs: TIE
• Kyzer Arnold, Chariton, 13
• Laken Caves, Alburnett, 13
• Quinn Street, Osage, 13
• Makoa Kaleponi, Centerville, 13
• Receiving TDs: Keenan Kilburg, Bellevue, 12
• Passing yards: Cal Bonifas, Bellevue, 1.887
• Rushing yards: Jayden Nanthan, West Burlington Notre Dame, 1,021
• Receiving yards: Keenan Kilburg, Bellevue, 1,022
• Tackles: Jacob Langley, 82.5
• Sacks: Kade Spotts, OABCIG, 7
• INTs: TIE
• Gabe Brisker, Wilton, 5
• Chase Wagaman, PCM, 5
• Griffin Seydel, West Branch, 5

1A:

• Total TDs: TIE Garrett Luett, Underwood, 20
• Mick Hoffman, Cascade, 20
• Passing TDs: Mick Hoffman, Cascade, 20
• Rushing TDs: Evan Hildring, West Lyon, 12
• Receiving TDs: Brody Otting, Cascade, 10
• Passing yards: Mick Hoffman, Cascade, 1,489
• Rushing yards: Wyatt Gelder, South Hamilton, 878
• Receiving yards: Zach Nelson, Tri-Center, 746
• Tackles: Zane Mullenix, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 78.5
• Sacks: Carson Mueggenberg, Ogden, 7.5
• INTs: Drew Greve, Regina Catholic, 5

A:

• Total TDs: Beau Burns, BGM, 36
• Passing TDs: Blake Wiggins, West Sioux, 17
• Rushing TDs: Beau Burns, BGM, 26
• Receiving TDs: TIE
• Justyn Faulkner, Wapello, 7
• Brody Hamilton, Central Decatur, 7
• Passing yards: Asher Norman, Central Decatur, 1,527
• Rushing yards: Jaxon Gordon, Riverside, 1,605
• Receiving yards: Brody Hamilton, Central Decatur, 703
• Tackles: Brady Abbas, AGWSR, 55
• Sacks: Caleb Puderbaugh, Martensdale-St Marys, 8.5
• INTs: TIE
• Cole Jeppesen, Riverside, 5
• Tyler Gaunt, Midland, 5

8-player:

• Total TDs: Nolan Kriegel, Iowa Valley, 38
• Passing TDs: TIE
• Teagan Hanson, GTRA, 24
• Keagan Lee, Easton Valley, 24
• Rushing TDs: Nolan Kriegel, Iowa Valley, 26
• Receiving TDs: Eli Dee, Baxter, 15
• Passing yards: Teagan Hanson, GTRA, 1,602
• Rushing yards: Jamison Ewing, Southeast Warren, 1,299
• Receiving yards: Callan Messerich, Easton Valley, 822
• Tackles: Andrew Hofmann, North Iowa, 73.5
• Sacks: JW Linkenhoker, Fremont-Mills, 8
• INTs: Chase Klatt, Calamus-Wheatland, 8

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