Check out the action shots from Saturday’s big opener for the Hawks.  Dr. Meyer made a house call on Kinnick and came home with some awesome images of the 37-7 Iowa win.

Defense and special teams.  You can cut it any way you like, but SE Polk’s 28-14 win at Waukee comes down to the Rams’ improvement in these two areas.  The offense is fine and has a chance to be even more productive.  Tailback Jake Sargent destroyed the Warriors’ defense with a monster rushing night, as the blocking was good and his style was punishing.  A blocked punt resulted in a Matt Knipp touchdown and Brock Daniels returned a punt for an announced 95 yards for another score to lead the Rams to any early advantage.  It was 21-0 before Waukee knew what hit them.  The rest of the game was a lot of clock control by SE Polk and a few scares by Waukee, but mainly it was just good, solid defense by the Rams.  Waukee QB Johnny Getting is a talented player.  He tried to make it happen for the Warriors and made things tough on the defense with his great running ability, but he was the victim of having to scramble too much and a few dropped passes.  His final numbers did not indicate how well he played.  He is very mobile, has a strong arm and nice touch.  He needs some help, though, if Waukee is going to turn this around.  They fell to 0-3 to start the season, but could still be a good team.  The Rams improve to 3-0, and now have to prepare for Ankeny, which also is undefeated.  Check out the pictures from the game in this week’s SEP Spotlight.  As always, the pictures are courtesy of Dr. Todd Meyer of Meyer Chiropractic.  You can see his photo site here.  Congratulations to the Rams, and check back next week for more Ram highlights.

Both Coach Miller of Fort Dodge and Anderson of Urbandale will tell you their teams were a bit sloppy tonight.  However, you have to credit both teams on defense.   The Dodgers happened to make the most of the opportunity their defense gave them.    24-0 the final. more on the Blitz Extra next week. Here is a look at the Highlights of the game on the Blitz.

Scores of note:

Couple small School Powerhouse Programs are in mid season form no matter what class they play                                                                                             Emmetsburg 48, Spencer 23
Madrid 63, Monroe PCM 14

3 Powerhouse Programs lose but don’t hit the panic button, all steping up a class:                                                                                                                                     Council Bluffs Lincoln 49, Harlan 34
Regina, Iowa City 21, Solon 15
Hull Western Christian 14, Inwood West Lyon 13                                                          look out 2-a fans two impressive wins for Regina and Hull WC

I’m on the Webster Cityh Bandwagon.. Are you?

Webster City 35, Iowa Falls-Alden 14                                                           

TROJANS!!!   Pleasantville 21, Eddyville-Blakesburg 14

Bob, I have not had a chance to talk to you or post?  I thought I was busy. Road Trip to the new Target Field(more later), Softball Practice, Family Stuff, Clones Thursday , Friday Night Football, Huge Family Wedding/Hawks Saturday, More Softball Sunday- Fantasy Football Draft Sunday Night.. so I apologize and applaud you at the same time.    

Tonight our Video will be coming to you from Urbandale as the J-Hawks defense  prepares Fort Dodge.  Dodgers  Clayton and Caston are two kids I’m looking forward to seeing in person.     The winner of this game will  gain serious CIML Street cred for us here at ICS..

Blitz at 10:30..  

 Blitz Extra PELLA VS NEWTON to Follow

ICS was on the road to Ames to take in the ISU/Northern Illinois game last night.  ISU won, 27-10 in a very festive opener for the Clones and their fans.  Nice weather and a nice start for ISU.  I made the trip thanks to Dr. Meyer of Meyer Chiropractic.  As usual, he took great pictures and he let us have a peek.  We will try to get some Iowa/Eastern Illinois pics and then our recap of the high school games/Blitz Extra action over the course of the weekend, but it might wait until Tuesday with the holiday weekend…

There are some interesting matchups this week.  There always are in the week before district play starts in 8P through 3A.  4A is no exception, as there are several worthwhile pairings for Week Two.  Let’s take a glance at a few of these, shall we?  I like the Fort Dodge @ Urbandale game.  These teams were pleasant surprises in 2009, each going 7-2. Although Valley tripped up Fort Dodge in the Substate round, Urbandale then posted an impressive 48-0 victory over the Tigers to advance to the quarterfinals.  They may have lost to rival Dowling next, but the Jayhawks gained valuable playoff experience.  This will be one of those games that you look back on when the playoffs roll around…  Valley is at Indianola, and I can’t help thinking this is a huge game for both teams, even though the loser really isn’t hurt too badly in the overall scope of things.  Valley never lost these types of games until last season.  Are they still THE Valley?  Do they get it done?  Indianola needs an identity.  They are small in numbers and they have had success, but by success, I mean a few 5-4 seasons in the last decade.  Whether the Indians should be a 3A team or not is up for debate, but if they are going to be in the CIML, this could be a benchmark victory opportunity.  Travel game of the week: Ames goes all the way to Ottumwa.  Now that’s a haul to play football.  Not Mason City @ Ottumwa, but still…  Heelan @ Sioux City North is another of those 3A vs. 4A games, but you gotta think Heelan is immune to that.  They may have lost to SC East in Week Zero, but they were in that conference forever.  4A doesn’t bother them…  I think the 4A/3A matchup of Roosevelt @ Grinnell is a weird pairing, but I’m anxious to see what happens…  I posted my thoughts on Harlan @ CB Lincoln earlier, but it bears repeating that this is the kind of game fans want.  It may not have the appeal of Harlan/Dowling or Harlan/Valley, but I will take it…  Iowa Falls-Alden @ Webster City tells us if either, or perhaps both, of these schools are for real.  There are many games like this one, but it’s hard to tell early on which teams are ‘coming out of nowhere’ until they get a ‘big’ win…  A huge one at Solon!  Iowa City Regina comes to town to do battle with the Spartans.  This matchup has been painful for Regina, but when will they get their day?  Last year in the quarters, Solon romped, 42-7, and in Week 8, Solon won by the same score.  That was Regina’s only loss in the regular season.  In 2008, Solon dropped Regina 27-0 in Week 8.  Again, that was their only loss until the playoffs.  Both teams face new challenges in 2010, and Solon is now in 3A, but this early contest will really help the winner…  Northeast Iowa Alert:  LeMars @ Sioux Center and West Lyon @ Western Christian.  There are other good games in this region of the state, but these two games say a lot about the style and intensity of their brand of football.  These games capture the element of whatever it is that stands out about the good teams up there…  Oelwein @ North Fayette is a game that could easily be overlooked, but I think it has the makings for an entertaining battle.  If both teams are on, their styles should provide high drama…  AP @ West Marshall is a game that automatically makes me think even more about Ed Thomas.  When they play against Ken Winkler, it is very prevalent what could have and should have been.  Great programs should deliver a great game…  South Central Calhoun @ IKM, Manning.  Whew! Hard-hitting and fast-paced action.  What a brutal pre-district schedule for IKM, even as good as they are…  I don’t even know what to think of North Polk @ Eagle Grove.  I want so much for this to be an instant classic, but I can’t get a feel for it.  I’m hoping they deliver…  Lisbon @ West Branch seems like a great game to go to if you wanted to just gas up the car and watch teams you’ve never seen play before.  The Bears are always a threat to break out an undefeated team, but the Lions are ready to roar…  Treynor @ A-H-S-T will tell me how good the Cardinals are and how well the Vikings are prepared to bounce back after a very rare regular season setback.  If A-H-S-T should happen to roll here, what does that say about Nodaway Valley who beat them last week?  We’ll see…  I can’t seem to find a single 8P game that gets my full attention, so I guess I’ll just say that Laurens-Marathon will find out quickly how good they are when they host Armstrong-Ringsted…  That’s a fairly small sample of games, but it should give you something to think about for Week Two.  Remember, no matter what game you go to, they’re all great in one way or another, so enjoy it.  Would you rather be skimming for oil in the Gulf?

Just a few random notes for this morning.  David was at the Detroit/Minnesota game last night at lovely, new Target Field.  He witnessed a 2-1 Twin victory and some free baseball, as the game went extras. 

Twins Win

The Twins prevailed in the bottom of the 10^th on a double by Danny Valencia that scored Michael Cuddyer.  Minny keeps their lead in the Central at 4 over the White Sox.  Hopefully, David had a good time and didn’t mind the late drive home. 

Tommy Boy

Oh, and just because I like him, I want to mention that Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson ended a 10-start, nearly two month long win drought by dominating the Mets last night in Atlanta’s 4-1 win.

  The wild, 16-10 win by the Marlins over the Nationals featured a lot of hits.  Not all of them from bats, though.  Brawls and beanings and retaliation everywhere in this one. 

Melee In Miami

Nyjer Morgan was in the middle of the storm for the Nationals, and I think he will be having a discussion with the Commish soon…

 I am going to the Iowa State/Northern Illinois game tonight, so hopefully we will post some pictures tomorrow.  Also going to the Iowa/Eastern Illinois game Saturday, so it is the first time ever for me pulling off the combo package of taking in ISU and Iowa games in the same week when they did not play each other.  Should be fun.  We will try to get some Week Two notes together soon before kickoff for Friday night…Don’t forget there are games tonight, as well.  Eastern Iowa 4A action with Bettendorf going to Davenport to take on North, and Linn-Mar is at CR Kennedy.  Happy Thursday…

Here’s the ‘quick ten’ for a Wednesday…There are a lot of nice matchups this week, but here are ten games I’m giving the ICS stamp of approval to.  Again, in no particular order these are games worth noting if for no other reason than just because I say so…Week Two ‘quick ten’:

Lisbon @ West Branch

LeMars @ Sioux Center

Iowa Falls-Alden @ Webster City

Fort Dodge @ Urbandale

Oelwein @ North Fayette

ADM @ Ballard

Iowa City Regina @ Solon

West Lyon @ Western Christian, Hull

Valley @ Indianola

Harlan @ Council Bluffs Abe Lincoln

I won’t go into each of these right now, but they all have something that qualifies them as worthy in Week Two.  However, I think the fact that Harlan gets to play a 4A school is very intriguing.  Especially since CB Lincoln has improved so much and will be a player in the West playoffs this year.  This edition of the Cyclones will be playing for all the other great Harlan teams and defending their tradition against a bigger school.  Not bad for just a regular season non-district/conference game.  Also, the Ebertkowski kid for Lincoln is the real deal.  He broke on to the scene out of the blue as a sophomore and has dominated since then.  They have a lot of good players, but Big E is a special player and is fun to watch.  *Did you really think I was going to exclude Pleasantville?  They host Eddyville-Blakesburg.  The Trojans will try to rebound from a hurting administered by Carlisle last week.  I personally love the ‘Highway 5 Rivalry’, but maybe the size difference in the two schools has made the luster chip away from this once-competitive series.  Anyway, GO TROJANS!

Streaks (good or bad) that ended Friday night…

Regular Season Win Streaks:

Stanton (30-game, current state-best streak) lost to Lenox, 44-8

A-H-S-T (27 games) lost to Nodaway Valley, 9-6

Carroll (18 games) lost to Carroll Kuemper, 33-24

Prairie Valley, Gowrie (17 games) lost to Woodward-Granger, 20-19 (ot)

Centerville (15 games) lost to Albia, 28-18

Boyden Hull/Rock Valley (12 games) lost to Western Christian, Hull, 18-2

Tri-County, Thornburg (12 games) lost to Janesville, 62-12

Remsen Saint Mary’s (11 games) lost to Armstrong-Ringsted, 42-26

Overall Losing Streaks:

Independence (27 games) beat Waterloo Columbus, 27-24

East Central, Miles (19 games) beat Dunkerton, 34-27 *this win also ended a 14-game district losing streak.  It was East Central, Miles’ first win in 8P action since joining the format for the 2008 season

Nevada (15 games) beat Colfax-Mingo, 19-18

Seymour (11 games) beat Essex, 38-20

West Fork (11 games) beat Belmond-Klemme, 13-7

Alburnett (10 games) beat North Linn, 33-6

Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn (10 games) beat Westwood, Sloan, 42-6

Worried Warrior

*One thing I overlooked and neglected to mention in our Week One information was the fact that Van Buren, Keosauqua was forced to drop their 2010 Varsity schedule due to a lack of numbers.  The Warriors entered the year with a 17-game losing streak, but they will have to wait until at least next year to try and put an end to that.  They were to compete in 1A District 6.  Everyone on their schedule receives a bye week.  They are still fielding a JV squad, with hopes to return to full Varsity action in 2011.

**Solon added to the state’s longest current win streak with their 35-13 victory over Central Clinton.  That pushes the Spartans’ streak to 42.  They also now hold the state-best regular season win streak mark with 29 consecutive victories. 

***Woodward Academy wasted little time collecting their first-ever win for their new program.  I thought this would be a golden opportunity for Southeast Webster-Grand, Burnside to end their long losing streak, but it was not to be.  In a big way…  W.A. won, 62-0.  Wow!

***Week Two prep begins today.  Stay tuned and keep checking back…Contact us with any pictures you’d like to forward from your games, and please pass along any information about games, players, coaches, etc you feel to be interesting enough to share.  You can use the comments section or call to find out how to share your pictures, video, whatever.

Well, it was another great night for Southeast Polk.  A 2-0 start to the 2010 season actually doubles their win total from last season.  But last season was the last thing on the minds of these Rams.  A fluid, efficient offense and a staunch and unrelenting defensive effort combined to stymie the visiting Roughriders of Roosevelt.  49-7 was the winning margin, and it was never in doubt.  Jake Sargent went over 100 yards rushing again, and Kyle Starcevich was cool and effective once again.  Brock Daniels had a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown that ignited the crowd, but the real star here was the defense.  Another solid performance from a unit that will be imposing as they gel and the year goes on.  As for Roosevelt, they showed some flashes and they have some talented kids.  QB Tajh Washington looks pretty good and Jahzel Fristo is a quality back with some speed and moves.  I saw at least ten Roughriders in street clothes on the sideline, so maybe some key players will come back and help.  The Metro could be up for grabs, so it’s up to them.  As we mentioned last week, this feature for Southeast Polk is enhanced greatly by the photography of Todd Meyer.  Todd is helping us out in a big way this year, making the SEP Spotlight possible.  You can thank Todd by keeping Meyer Chiropractic Clinic in mind when searching for a chiropractic care provider.  Dr. Meyer has you covered, and will be glad to help you.  Check out the link to his website and give them a call.  If you want a copy of any photos in the spotlight, Todd’s photo site allows you to purchase as many as you wish.  Check out his work for football and much more.  Keep checking back here regularly, as we will be doing the spotlight and all of our other features weekly and helping you stay on top of high school football in our great state.  Congratulations to the Rams and we’ll look forward to the road matchup next week with Waukee.

We all know every game is important.  Home openers, pre-district rivalry games, doesn’t matter.  They all count when you only play nine games.  But make no mistake, teams need to get off to a good start, and winning your first game goes along way in shaping the season.  Tonight a lot of teams will face tests that should provide a vital piece to the puzzle.  I wanted to give you a short list of games I think are worth noting, if for no other reason, just because I say so…In no particular order of importance or designation, here are the top ten games of Week One from an ICS focus:  *Lenox @ Stanton.  Two of the best 8P programs in the state, these two have won their share of big games.  Stanton hasn’t lost a regular season game since 2006, while Lenox has only lost 3 regular season 8P games since joining the format in 2004.  *Woodward Academy @ Southeast Webster-Grand, Burnside.  I know, this one could be a mess, but hey, SEW-G,B has lost 35 in a row and they’re hosting a school that is playing in their first game ever.  I like the intrigue of this setting.  *Pekin @ Sigourney-Keota.  Two powerful programs face off in a game littered with history and a ton of wins.  *Carroll @ Kuemper.  Rivals, friends, enemies, who knows what will happen.  I know it will be a good game, though.  *Pella @ Newton.  Wow.  That just looks weird in print.  After a long and prosperous 4A run, Newton drops down to 3A, and this could be a nice rivalry in the making.  Chapter one of a great story?  *Ballard @ Dallas Center-Grimes.  Not much to say, except these games are always good and it’s just a great matchup.  *West Marshall @ Madrid.  Winkler.  Hinkel.  The Jungle.  How can you not love this one?  *Waukee @ Sioux City East.  Maybe another ‘what?’ game, but I think this gives us a good look at a surprise team for later on.  How good is East?  Waukee needs a rebound from that Ankeny loss.  *Ottumwa @ Valley.  This will let us see how Valley bounces back from a Dowling beatdown.  Ottumwa could be a formidable foe, and a tough test for a Tiger squad that surely doesn’t want to fall into an 0-2 start.  *Council Bluffs Lincoln @ Johnston.  Lincoln has improved vastly over the past few seasons.  Graduation may have hit them hard, but they need a statement road win, and a victory over a good Dragon team would qualify.  Johnston wants no part of that.  *Pleasantville @ Carlisle.  Yes, that’s 11 games, but ICS hails from Pleasantville, so it is always a focus game.  The Highway 5 rivalry is old and probably not as big as ‘the old days’, but it still matters, believe me.  GO TROJANS!  No matter what game you’re going to, remember it’s a big game on some level.  Enjoy Week One and please tell a friend about ICS and check back often.  Don’t forget to watch the Blitz and the Blitz Extra on Channel 5 at 10:30…  **Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention Council Bluffs St. Albert throttled Lewis Central last night, 41-7.  Not a big surprise, but still impressive that the Falcon Express just keeps chuggin’ along.

Well, it’s time…Week Zero was fun, but now we get it kicked in to full gear.  All across the state, the magic will be back.  The concession stands, the bands, the crowds filtering in, the coaches pacing and worrying even after years and years of opening nights.  It will all be on display and the grass will smell sweet and the programs will get folded and rolled up, and probably thrown to the ground at some point or thrust into the air like a victory torch.  I honestly can’t think of much in life that’s better than a Friday night football game, especially right here in Iowa.  It doesn’t matter where you go, either.  The rituals and traditions may differ, but it is essentially the same feeling at every game.  Get out and embrace it if you are able.  Enjoy it and soak it in.  Now, to get you up to speed with some of the teams that are enjoying, or enduring, good streaks or bad streaks, here are some quick numbers to look at for the matchups in Week One…

Des Moines North is at Marshalltown in a game that features a 13-game losing streak by the Polar Bears and a 10-game win streak in regular season play by the host Bobcats.  At Muscatine, we have a Davenport North team mired in a 14-game losing streak and Muscatine, the only 4A team to win their last game of last season other than state champion Iowa City High.  Speaking of City High, They open at Dubuque Senior riding streaks of 14 consecutive overall wins and 19 conference wins.  Dowling Catholic takes their 13-game regular season win streak to Council Bluffs to take on Thomas Jefferson High.  Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley is now in 3A, owns a 12-game regular season win streak and will host Western Christian, Hull.  Nevada will look to end a 15-game skid when they host 2A Colfax-Mingo.  Clear Lake travels to Charles City to put their 23-game regular season win streak on the line, while North Fayette takes a 13-game regular season win tally into their matchup with Waukon.  Independence starts their 2010 season at home hosting Waterloo Columbus looking to break free from their 27-game losing streak.  Anamosa has lost 10 in a row going into their game with Monticello.  Marion is a proud owner of a 15-game regular season win streak, and they will host Mount Vernon.  Solon moves up to 3A, and their first test is to protect and add to their state-best mark of 41 consecutive wins.  That streak includes 28 straight regular season games also.  Centerville rolls into action at home against Albia looking to add to their 15-game regular season win streak.  Emmetsburg takes a 19-game regular season win streak to Estherville against Lincoln Central.  Carroll has an 18 consecutive regular season win streak, and they will go to rival Kuemper to defend it.  Here is an interesting one…Southern Cal was the Class A champion last year, but they merged with Rockwell City-Lytton to form 2A South Central Calhoun.  They finished with a 13-game win streak, fitting for a very solid program.  West Branch heads to West Liberty with their 16-game regular season win streak in tow, while Shenandoah would dearly love to end their current losing streak of 18 games as they host Underwood.  Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn has lost 10 in a row, and they do battle with Westwood, Sloan.  The state mark for futility currently resides with West Harrison, Mondamin.  They travel to West Monona, Onawa hoping and praying this is the night it ends.  “it” is a 43-game monster that needs slayed.  West Fork has lost 11 in a row.  They host Belmond-Klemme.  BCLUW has lost 10 in a row.  They host East Marshall.  Prairie Valley has a 17-game regular season win streak and is at Woodward-Granger.  Camanche is trying to shed a 37-game losing streak, and they will start the quest at Northeast, Goose Lake.  Alburnett has lost 10 in a row and takes on North Linn.  Van Buren is riding a 17-game losing skid.  They host Winfield-Mt. Union.  A-H-S-T ended the decade on a roll.  They bring a 27-game regular season win streak into their opener at Nodaway Valley. AND HERE IT IS!  The ICS “Keep An Eye On This One” game…Southeast Webster-Grand, Burnside has the misfortune of owning a 35-game winless run.  They open this season at home against Woodward Academy.  Now, W. A. is a new program playing in their first-ever game.  New teams usually struggle to get things going.  This is a huge opportunity for SEW-G,B…North Tama is rolling along with a 22-game regular season win streak, and they host GMG, Garwin.  Spalding Catholic has dropped 10 consecutive tilts.  They host Harris-Lake Park.  Here’s a good one…St. Mary’s, Remsen has an 11-game regular season win mark.  They are on the road against 8P State Champion Armstrong-Ringsted, winners of their last 9 overall.  Riceville has lost 10 in a row.  They host Kee, Lansing.  CAL, Latimer is in the middle of an 18-game skid.  They host Laurens-Marathon.  Meskawki Settlement School has dropped 9 in a row and travel to Tripoli looking for their first victory for their program ever after stating up last season.  North Sentral Kossuth has won 18 consecutive regular season games.  They play Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka.  There are a few actual district matchups in Week One, and they are all in 8P-District 4.  Two of those games feature streaks…East Central, Miles has lost 19 games in a row, including 14 district contests.  They host Dunkerton.  Wyoming just ended a 20-game skid in Week Zero, and now they host Preston, winners of 11 straight regular season games.  This one is the “Somebody’s Gotta Win” game of the week…Essex is at Seymour in a battle of 15 straight losses (Essex) and 11 straight losses (Seymour).  Tri-County, Thornburg has a 12-game regular season win steak, and they host Janesville.  Mormom Trail hopes to escape their 9-game skid when the go to Harmony, Farmington.  Here is a fantastic Week One matchup…Lenox at Stanton.  Oh Yeah…Lenox has won 14 regular season games in a row, while Stanton possesses a state-best 30 straight regular season wins.  I wish ICS could be at that one.  As for tonight, there are a couple of games going on.  One features defending 1A Champion Council Bluffs St. Albert.  They host 3A Council Bluffs Lewis Central in a pseudo-rivalry matchup.  St. Albert owns an impressive 14-game win streak and a 16-game regular season win streak.  Their last loss in the regular season?  That’s right, Lewis Central knocked them off, 27-24 in ot on Sept 5, 2008.  There are the streaks.  We will get into some more about the Week One matchups and our thoughts, as well.  Stay tuned…

Just a few tidbits to clean up Week Zero…Dowling ran their regular season win streak to 13 with their victory over rival Valley, 34-7.  North dropped unlucky #13 in a row, 55-0 to Ames.  Marshalltown got their 10^th consecutive regular season victory, 31-19 over Roosevelt.  Harlan rolled over Denison-Schleswig, 49-7 and moved their overall win streak to 15 and their regular season mark to 17.  East Central, Miles dropped their 19^th straight with a 41-6 setback to Preston, winners of 11 straight regular season games.  Meskwaki Settlement School is still looking for their first-ever victory after losing to Central City, 62-26.  On the positive side, Midland, Wyoming put a 20-game skid to bed with a 22-12 victory over Springville, which is the last team they defeated before going on their long streak.  Also, Ogden snapped an 11-game losing steak by getting past Colo-Nesco, 24-21.  Congratulations to both schools getting back in the win column.  One game on tap for tonight:  Danville @ Louisa-Muscatine.  Week One will be a full slate, and a good one.  We will talk about the matchups and the inside slant leading up to kickoff, so stay tuned.  Do not forget to watch the Blitz and the Blitz Extra this Friday night after returning from your game.  Channel 5 will have all the games covered and tons of highlights every week.  David will feature the big Dowling/Valley matchup on the Extra this week, so be sure to watch.

Here at ICS we have some  support  from others who share our passion for high school sports here in Iowa.  This year we will expand on that with even more relationships.  We’d like to welcome our latest partner to jump on board with us for 2010, Meyer Chiropractic Clinic PC.  They are located at 2020 Grand Avenue in West Des Moines, just past the Hy-Vee at EP True and Grand.  Meyer Chiropractic has been in West Des Moines since 1991, serving central Iowa customers in need of physical wellness.  Make sure you give Meyer Chiropractic a look when you or your family needs chiropractic help. We always ask that you thank our partners by using their services when you can. Dr. Todd Meyer will be happy to help you get the attention you need and the treatment necessary to get you back on the right track. Spread the word and check out the website at toddmeyerdc.com, or call 222-1911.  Dr. Meyer also brings a passion for sports and a talent for photography to us, which we will benefit greatly from.  We will be running a weekly feature showcasing Todd’s photo work from each Friday night game he attends.  Todd lives in Pleasant Hill and his children attend school in the Southeast Polk School District, so Ram fans will like the gallery of action shots.  But you don’t have to be a Ram fan to appreciate the great photography, so please frequent this feature in the coming weeks.  This feature will be called the “SEP Spotlight” and we already have a SEP/Lincoln gallery we will link to for this week.  Todd stores these photos on his own site, tmeyerdc.smugmug.com, where you can see all of his work and buy any photo you like.  SEP won this game, 27-24 over Lincoln.  This was a good game that was tight all the way.  Lincoln has some good players, but Bernstine and Ward appear to be their best weapons.  To beat Lincoln, you will have to contain them.  Polk was led by some very tough running by Jake Sargent and a solid defensive front seven.  Sophomore QB Kyle Starcevich grew comfortable and looked pretty good in his first varsity action, as well.   Check out Todd’s pics!!  SEP SPOTLIGHT .

We might also get some bonus ISU or Iowa photos along the way.  Again, thank you very much to Meyer Chiropractic and welcome aboard!

Week Zero is out. We did update our rankings so you will be able to view them right here on our home page. As mentioned, don’t get to excited about these until we see results from next week.  Obviously we gave you plenty to look at from Valley-Dowling.  In other games of note Ankeny did put up some numbers through the air against Waukee.   Soph. Joel Lanning was money when the Hawks did go to the air. However, don’t rush to the JerPa is going Mike Martz just yet.  The hawks still rushed the ball 40 times and only put it up 12.  That said, Lanning was 10-12 for 297 and 4 TD’s so the threat is there, but I’m not sure we should consider them a pass first team by any means.    

Interesting win for Sioux City East over Heelen. A good start for the one time state champs, and probably not time to panic for the fans of the Crusaders.  

Rain delayed Johntson’s trip to Ottumwa on Friday but Coach Woodley and the Dragons have to feel good about getting a season starting win on the road. 

More to follow..

Stay sweet

Great to start the season. As expected Dowling had the skill positions covered and then some. Valley Irons out some things on offense.. My thoughts are they will be a strong outfit. Don’t get caught up on scores, these teams are both solid. Dowling still #1 Valley a top ten club.
Here are some of the extended Highlights you will see on the Blitz Extra next week!

ICS will, as David posted, be at the Dowling Catholic/Valley game to kickoff the new season.  It doesn’t get much better than that. 

A grand traditional rivalry game to get things started is alright by us.  Coach Wilson and Coach Swenson make for great theatre no matter what the setting, but this one just gets the blood pumping a little bit faster than usual.  The band and the fans and the opening whistle cannot appear soon enough. 

Week Zero is not usually afforded so many good games, but with the new wrinkles in the 4-A (West) schedules, we are treated to some early goodies.  Here are some notable lidlifter thoughts for Friday…There are six local 4A tilts to choose from in and around Des Moines for fans who might not get to take in such action when their own school is usually in play.  If you are so inclined, here are your choices:  The aforementioned Dowling/Valley game, Lincoln @ SE Polk, Ankeny @ Waukee, Ames @ North, Indianola @ Hoover and Marshalltown @ Roosevelt.  Johnston is also at Ottumwa if you feel like driving or just love the Dragons or Bulldogs. 

There is a pre-conference/district twist this season that will be very interesting, and that is the incorporation of a few 4A vs. 3A games.  I like it.  3A Sergeant Bluff-Luton is at 4A Sioux City West and 4A Sioux City East is at 3A Sioux City Heelan this week.  Sounds great to me.  Des Moines North will look to end a 12-game skid in their opener against Ames, while Marshalltown wants to expand on their nine-game regular season win streak, as they travel to Des Moines to collide with Roosevelt.  Dowling doesn’t need extra motivation or any ‘themes’ against Valley, but they are riding a 12-game regular season win streak as they prepare for the Tigers. 

In 3A, Denison-Schleswig is at defending state champion Harlan, winners of their last 16 regular season games and 14 consecutive overall.  In 1A, Rockford takes on Nashua-Plainfield, a team that did not make the substate round last year, but won their last two games to finish strong. 

In Class A, there is a great matchup between 2009 finalist Mason City Newman and Northwood-Kensett, and Ogden goes on the road to Colo-Nesco looking to snap an 11-game skid.  The team with the highest hopes this Friday may be Midland, Wyoming.  They are at Springville in 8-player, trying to put a 20-game losing skid to bed.  Right behind them is East Central, Miles which has lost all 18 of their 8-player games since splitting up with Preston in 1A.  They take on Preston and their 10-game regular season win streak this week.  A newcomer to 8-player, Tripoli is at West Central, Maynard.  Tripoli made substate last year in Class A.  Finally, Central City is at Meskwaki Settlement School, a team that started play last season with an 0-8 mark in their first season.  Plenty of chances for some teams to taste victory for the first time in a long time and maybe, for one, the first time ever…Good luck to them and all the other teams under the lights to start the 2010 campaign.

After much debate I put together a full preseason look.  I group teams into three categories every season.  Semi-tough, Dome Contenders, and Dome Busters.  I did put together a top ten but don’t consider this a great barometer for preseason until teams have all played one game.  After we get through week one and week 0 I think we get a true preseason top ten.  We will be at Valley/Dowling week 0 and will get you plenty of VID.  db

Every two years, the football districts for 8-P through 3A are re-aligned due to IHSAA policy and changing classifications of some participating schools. This season is one of those years. There were several moves for 2010-2011 that that will affect the districts we had just gotten used to, which you can see at the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s website, iahsaa.org. Teams are often shuffled around to change the look of the districts as long as geography allows it, and growing or shrinking enrollments are responsible for some programs moving up or down a class. Consolidation, program-sharing and schools fielding a team for the first time will alter the landscape, as well. Here is a ‘cheat sheet’ for quick reference of the teams that moved from one class to another…

Newton is the only 4A school to change status. They will move to 3A, where they will compete in District 8.
Making the move from 3A down to 2A:
Estherville Lincoln Central (2A District 1)
JSPC (2A District 2)
Forest City (2A District 3)
Iowa Falls-Alden (2A District 3)
New Hampton (2A District 3)
Clarke, Osceola (2A District

Making the move from 2A up to 3A:
Red Oak (3A District 1)
Rock Valley/Boyden Hull (3A District 2)
Humboldt (3A District 3)
Center Point-Urbana (3A District 5)
Solon (3A District 6)

Making the move from 2A down to 1A:
IKM-Manning (1A District 1)
Ridge View, Holstein (Buffalo Ridge) (1A District 1)
Pocahontas Area/Pomeroy-Palmer (1A District 2)
Sibley-Ocheyedan (1A District 2)
Dike-New Hartford (1A District 3)
Eagle Grove (1A District 4)
Hudson (1A District 4)
South Hamilton, Jewell (1A District 4)
North Cedar, Stanwood (1A District 6)

Making the move from 1A up to 2A:
Denver (2A District 3)
South Winneshiek, Calmar (2A District 4)
Durant-Bennett (2A District 5)
Eddyville-Blakesburg (2A District 6)
Fort Dodge Saint Edmond (2A District 7)
I-35, Truro (2A District 8 )
Pella Christian (2A District

Making the move from 1A down to A:
West Sioux, Hawarden (A District 1)
Belmond-Klemme (A District 2)
West Hancock, Britt (A District 2)
Grundy Center (A District 3)
Edgewood-Colesburg (A District 4)
Belle Plaine (A District 6)
Iowa Valley, Marengo (A District 6)
Guthrie Center (A District 7)
Riverside, Oakland (A District 8 )

Making the move from A up to 2A:
Southern Cal and Rockwell City-Lytton are combining (SCAL-RCL) (2A District 2)

Making the move from A up to 1A:
AGWSR (1A District 3)
Wapsie Valley, Fairbank (1A District 5)
Cardinal, Eldon (1A District 6)
Highland, Riverside (1A District 6)
Treynor (1A District 8 )

Making the move from 8-P up to A:
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira (A District

Making the move from A down to 8-P:
Kingsley-Pierson (8-P District 1)
Newell-Fonda (8-P District 1)
River Valley, Correctionville (8-P District 1)
Riceville (8-P District 3)
Tripoli (8-P District 3)
Midland, Wyoming (8-P District 4)
Boyer Valley, Dunlop (8-P District 7)
Fremont-Mills, Tabor (8-P District

Combo move from A and 8-P up to 1A:
Alta (A) and Aurelia (8-P) are combining and moving up as Alta/Aurelia (1A District 2)

New Team:
Woodward Academy (1A District 4)

We touched on the teams involved in these streaks during the individual district rundowns, but I wanted to put them in a tidy package that would be easy to read and reference back to for later use.  We have a few groups of good streaks and bad streaks to look at, so enjoy…

First up is overall win streak.  These teams won their last game of the decade at the very least.  Most won many more. 

41- Solon

14- Iowa City High, Harlan, CB ST Albert

13- Southern Cal

9- Armstrong-Ringsted

3- Garner-Hayfield

2- Iowa Falls-Alden, Nashua-Plainfield, Pekin, Guthrie Center, Murray

1- Muscatine, Waukon, Mount Vernon, Oskaloosa, South Tama, Columbus Junction, Sigourney-Keota, Clarinda, Grundy Center, West Monona, Kingsley-Pierson, Don Bosco, Montezuma, Colo-Nesco, Martensdale-St. Mary’s, Charter-Oak-Ute, Harris-Lake Park, Central City and Elk Horn-Kimballton

Solon hasn’t lost a game since the 2006 2A final, 16-7 to Central Lyon.  Just phenomenal.  An amazing run by the Spartans.  They will be tested in 2010, though.  They move up to 3A and lose a ton of senior talent, most notably James Morris.  Garner-Hayfield won their last three regular season games but failed to qualify for postseason action.  Therefore, they ride the longest win streak into the new decade among non-playoff teams from 2009.

Here’s a look at the top current regular season win streaks of 18 or more:

30 Stanton

28 Solon

27 A-H-S-T

23 Clear Lake

22 North Tama

19 Emmetsburg

19 Iowa City High

18 Carroll

18 North Sentral Kossuth

13 other teams have a 10-game streak or better, as well.  Stanton lost to Adair-Casey, 52-40 on October 6, 2006, but every Friday night since then has ended well for them.  Of course you knew Solon would be right there, also.  A-H-S-T has a couple of wins over Madrid in their streak that also dates back to 2006.

Here are nine schools with 20 or more consecutive district/conference wins:

49 Harlan

33 West Lyon

27 CB ST Albert

26 Sioux City Heelan

23 Stanton

22 Tri-County, Thornburg

22 Solon

21 Madrid

20 A-H-S-T

15 other schools have a streak of 10 or better to go with these teams, but the top nine all go back to at least 2006, with Harlan’s amazing run dating all the way back to November 1, 2002 when they lost in overtime, 24-21 to Atlantic.  Wow.  Just an outstanding job by Coach Bladt and the Little Cyclones.

Well, for every good streak there is an equal and opposite bad streak.  We will not dwell on these for the sakes of the schools involved, but as you hear all of the time now, “It is what it is”.  For the benefit of those who need to know, here are two sets of losing streaks that are currently ongoing…

Overall Losing Streak:

43 West Harrison, Mondamin

37 Camanche

35 Southeast Webster-Grand, Burnside

27 Independence

20 Midland, Wyoming

18 Shenandoah

18 CAL, Latimer

18 East Central, Miles

18 Russell *School closed after 2007 season

14 other teams have streaks of 10 or more losses also.  Four teams lost a substate game in 2008 and then lost all of their games in 2009.

District/Conference Losing Streak:

This is tricky, because no matter how much I researched, I could not pinpoint the actual number for two of the “top” teams on this list…Camanche has lost at least 35 district games in a row, and possibly as many as 39.  Their last win was in 2A District 4 in 2004.  They had a district record of 3-4 that year.  Southeast Webster-Grand, Burnside has lost at least 26 district games in a row, and 33 at most.  They went 2-7 in Class A District 1 in 2005.  After those two teams, it is clear…

35 West Harrison, Mondamin

22 Van Buren, Keosauqua

21 Independence

21 Jesup

16 Midland, Wyoming

15 Mormon Trail, Garden Grove

Eight other teams have active district/conference losing streaks of 10 or more games.  Good luck to all of these teams and here’s hoping 2010 brings a win or two to get back on track.  I would like nothing more than to write a post about a playoff team that was on this list to start the season.  The best part is, it can happen…