Had a chance to travel to Carroll tonight. I wanted to get a chance to see Blake Haluska up close. He reminded me a lot of Brett Meier. I saw Brett his Junior year against Harlan. In that game, Meier was under a ton of pressure and did not quite have the poise and moxie he later showed in his brilliant senior year. However, you could see the potential.

Tonight Blake took some shots early. In fact, he was sacked on the first play from scrimmage, but he marched the Tigers to the end zone on that opening series against DCG. Like Adam, Sean, and even Meier, this kid has the tools. I’m not sure Carroll is 5 td’s better than DCG, but Blake did not give the mustangs a chance to get back into the game. My thought is sign the kid now! ISU and Iowa were both after Meier. He proved that given talent around him to be a solid D-1 player. Austen Arnaud the same thing. These are kids you want to keep in state. Ask Iowa if they would roll the dice and take a chance on Joel Osborne? Yea? Duh… Just a thought. Couple thoughts….. Caleb Byers from Murray 6 td’s tonight,….STUD.
I’ve felt all along that I have Dowling ranked to low at #8 and they proved that to me tonight.. Maybe it’s Valley #1 Dowling #2.
Great win for Butch and West Branch tonight., and also for my Trojans!! Keep em’ going Coach K.!

It’s hard to believe, but here we are staring week five right in the face.  It’s already the midpoint of the season and that means the playoff picture gets clearer and clearer with each passing week from here on out.  There are a lot of matchups this week that will have a major impact on which teams will stay on course for a title and which teams will stay in the playoff discussion.  On the flip side, that means there will be numerous teams that will basically be eliminated from postseason hopes with losses Friday night.  If your team is 0-3 or 1-2 in district play after this weekend, it’s going to take an epic turnaround just to be in the mix for the field of 32 advancing teams  in each class.  Playoffs aside, let’s take a look at some of the key matchups this week starting with Class 3-A.  In District 1, Heelan is at MOC-Floyd Valley Friday, and both are 2-0 in the district.  District 2 has one of the premier matchups with a battle of unbeatens.  Clear Lake hosts Charles City with the winner garnering sole possession of first place and the loser facing a potential four team tie for second.  In District 5 there are two games of note, with Clear Creek-Amana hosting Mount Pleasant and Williamsburg traveling to Oskaloosa.  All four teams are 2-0 in the district with Williamsburg and Mount Pleasant both at 4-0 overall.  In District six, Pella and Grinnell look to stay undefeated, as the Dutch host Carlisle and the Tigers will entertain Knoxville.  In District 7 the big game is in Carroll, where the Tigers welcome Dallas-Center Grimes to town.  Both are 4-0 and with all due respect to Boone, this should be the biggest game in the district this season.  ICS will be there to cover the action for the Blitz Extra on ABC5 as our feature game for next week.  Looking at Class 2-A, Gilbert at Dike-New Hartford in District 3 and Sumner-Fredericksburg at North Fayette in District 4 should be exciting matchups, and CMB at West Marshall in District 7 is near the top of our list of favorites at ICS.  Depending on what Bondurant-Farrar does, The winner of CMB vs. WM should be the champion, but there will be no shortage of playoff caliber teams in District 7.  That leaves us with the marquee matchup in 2-A, and we go to District 8 to find it.  Six of the teams in this district are going to battle it out for playoff spots, but the winner of the IKM/Manning vs. O-A/BC-IG will have the upper hand on the title.  They are both 4-0 and have an amazing eight communities in their names.  Class 1-A will have its share of nice contests as well.  In District 1, West Lyon and HMS are unbeaten in district play, and they battle Friday for sole possession of first.  HMS looks to stay undefeated on the season.  District 2 serves up yet another head to head between unbeatens, as Fort Dodge Saint Edmond goes to Emmetsburg, looking to knock off the E-Hawks and stay on top of the district.  Gladbrook-Reinbeck is next in line for Aplington-Parkersburg at the Sacred Acre in District 3.  Wish them luck, they will need it.  District 5 leaders West Branch and Belle Plaine square off with both squads looking to gain the upper hand and stay unblemished in the district, and it may not be a headline stealer, but Pleasantville will host Wayne and it is Homecoming for the Trojans.  Hey, one team will go to 2-1 in the district, so cut me some slack.  Go Trojans!  In Class A, Akron-Westfield has gotten off to a nice start in District 1 at 2-0.  They welcome LeMars Gehlen, also 2-0, to town for a shot at the drivers seat in the district race.  In District 2, all the games will be good, but the best should be Southern Cal at Algona Garrigan.  Both are undefeated in district play, and with six tough teams here, every win is huge.  The only two teams in District 3 with clean district slates are Northwood-Kensett and Mason City Newman, and as luck would have it, they square off Friday in Mason City with the winner to be alone atop the standings.  In District 5, Highland, Riverside and WACO are both only 1-3 on the year, but they are 1-0 in the district, so their tilt Friday is a spotlight game.  In District 7 Earlham takes their 4-0 record into a contest with S.E. Warren that will leave only one of them unbeaten in the District, and Bedford at Fremont-Mills, Tabor in District 8 play is a matchup of teams with 1-0 records in the district.  That brings us to the 8-Player class, where Woodbine at Remsen-Union, Armstrong-Ringsted at North Sentral Kossuth, Janesville at Ventura and Tri-County at Melcher-Dallas represent the matchups between teams unbeaten in district action so far.  Melcher-Dallas actually hasn’t played a district game yet, but they obviously haven’t lost one either.  That’s it for today, but don’t forget the weather is going to be perfect for the week five games, so get out and enjoy it.  ICS:  We Love Iowa High School Football…Do You?                       

Let’s take a little bit closer look at what has happened so far in 4-A as we cross the midway point of the season.  Keep in mind there are 48 schools in 4-A, fighting for 32 postseason berths.  A conference title assures you of a spot, and the point standings determine the 25 wildcard teams that will also advance.  16 total teams from the “East” and 16 more from the “West” will make up the field, so that means only the remaining 16 will not move on.  Through four weeks of play, there are some teams that look dominant, many that look like they are trying to find their identities, and still many more that are struggling to stay alive and just win some games.  Nothing unusual there.  But this year, with the expanded playoff field, teams are going to be “in it” longer, so there will be more significance to a lot of games that otherwise would not have hit the radar.  Starting in the Mississippi Athletic Conference, there are three squads making early bids for supremacy.  Bettendorf has only lost six conference games this decade and is the current defending state champion, riding a 17 game win streak dating back to a 21-14 semi-final loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier in 2006.  They are currently 4-0 and own an impressive 89-12 overall record since 2000.  So it’s no surprise that the MAC title will have to go through them.  So far they have defeated key opponents Pleasant Valley and Clinton with big games against North Scott, Burlington and Davenport Assumption left.  North Scott is also 4-0 and hosts Bettendorf this Friday.  North Scott has also defeated Pleasant Valley, but their first three victories were against opponents with a combined 1-11 record.  The Lancers will find out where they stand against the Bulldogs.  Burlington is at Pleasant Valley this week, and the Greyhounds are definitely off and running at 4-0 so far.  They blanked Davenport Assumption 22-0 in week one, Davenport Central 16-0 in week two, and only gave up a total of 13 points in their last two wins.  If they can stay on track, a possible showdown of unbeaten teams with Bettendorf looms in week eight at home for them.  That leaves a logjam in the middle of the conference with Pleasant Valley, Clinton, Davenport Assumption, Muscatine and Davenport North fighting it out for records that will get them in the playoffs.  Unfortunately for Davenport West and Davenport Central, things are not looking good at 0-4, but with five games left, they can hope to turn it around.  In the Mississippi Valley Conference, the Mississippi Division is looking like Iowa City High and “Others” so far.  The Little Hawks have been outstanding, and already own a 27-23 victory over Cedar Rapids Washington, a team many tabbed as a potential finalist in 4-A, and an impressive 21-0 shutout of Cedar Rapids Xavier as well.  They will take on 3-1 Dubuque Hempstead this week.  Hempstead‘s only loss was a 42-19 setback to Cedar Falls last week after a 3-0 start.  An upset in Iowa City would more than rejuvenate their spirits, and could possibly force a four-way tie for the lead if combined with wins by Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Waterloo West.  3-1 West has only lost to Dubuque Wahlert, but faces a stiff test with a Cedar Rapids Xavier team that just upset Cedar Rapids Kennedy last week 31-13.  3-1 Kennedy will have to rebound quickly if they want to get in on that possible scenario.  They host 3-1 Cedar Rapids Washington.  It looks like a four-way tie for second with 2 losses each is a more plausible outcome, but we shall see.  Wahlert is 2-2, having lost to Iowa City High and Hempstead, but they are taking on 3-1 Cedar Falls with a chance to jumpstart their season with a win.  Iowa City West will go against Cedar Rapids Prairie to round out the division.  The Trojans are 0-4 and have not looked good, but hope springs eternal when you have the kind of tradition West has enjoyed.  In the Valley Division, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Washington and Cedar Rapids Prairie are on top at 3-1 each.  Washington at Kennedy is the big game involving these teams this week.  Washington beat Cedar Falls 28-9 in week one, but the Tigers have bounced back nicely with two shutouts and a 117-19 advantage in three straight wins.  Washington beat Prairie 20-7 in week three, but the Hawks have won their other three games by a convincing 102-6 total with two shutouts.  So the top of the division is strong, but it gets rough after that.  Cedar Rapids Jefferson is 1-3, but that lone win was over Xavier, 7-0.  Then Jeff was pasted by Kennedy 37-0, Cedar Falls 34-0 and Prairie 30-6.  Linn-Mar is 1-3 as well, with a win over Dubuque Senior that ended a 20+ losing streak.  They started a new one last week, losing 41-14 to Washington.  The Lions will take on 0-4 Waterloo East which has only won 2 games this decade, one in each of the last two seasons.  Dubuque Senior is also 0-4 and heads to Jefferson with hopes of getting things on track.  So there’s the ‘East Side Story’, now let’s focus on the “West” half of the state.  In the Missouri River Conference, It is basically a toss-up to this point.  The non-conference games have really left us clueless on what teams will emerge here.  Only their head-to-head games will help sort this out.  Sioux City North, Council Bluffs Lincoln and Council Bluffs Jefferson are all 2-2, while Sioux City North is 1-3 and Sioux City West is a resounding 0-4.  If anything, I would venture to guess West will not win many, if any games, but you never know in this conference.  North owns the most “impressive” win with their 20-19 defeat of Ottumwa, but Lincoln also defeated Des Moines Lincoln 14-9.  That’s pretty much it.  Let’s move on.  Newton is still an independent football school, and they are 1-3 this season after a 17-1 record in their first two regular seasons without a conference affiliation.  Granted, they have lost to Ottumwa, Waukee and Valley.  Plenty of time to turn it around for the Cardinals, who travel to 1-3 Fort Dodge this week.  Fort Dodge is in the Iowa Conference of the CIML, where Newton used to play.  The Dodgers beat Roosevelt 24-7 in week two, but have faltered in their other three games giving up 104 points in losses to Waukee, Ames and CB Jefferson.  Mason City has gotten off to a nice 3-1 start, but the three wins were against 0-4 Des Moines North, 0-4 Hoover and 0-4 Sioux City West.  Much more telling was their loss to Ames, 48-17.  They take on Marshalltown, which is 2-2 with wins over Des Moines North and Sioux City North, and losses to Valley and Johnston.  With games left against Ames and Waukee, and one more loss than Mason City, the Bobcats might need this win a little more than the Mohawks.  Waukee is the mystery team in the Iowa Conference.  They have big-time talent, but 2 non-conference losses to Ankeny and SE Polk leave precious little room for slip ups with Ames, Valley and Marshalltown yet to play.  Waukee is the type of team that I could see winning all three of those games, or just as easily losing all three.  Where will they stack up?  Ames is 3-1 and is equally puzzling.  A 35-14 loss to Johnston to open the season is understandable, but what do the wins over Des Moines East, Fort Dodge and Mason City equal up to?  I see them battling with Marshalltown and Waukee for spots two through four in the conference, but that could all change this Friday.  If Ames could somehow pull the upset on Valley, that changes the face of the conference.  If not, they still have a great chance of finishing 7-2 or 6-3.  However, beating Valley is easier said than done.  Valley is 4-0 and hasn’t lost a conference game since 2002.  A 2006 loss to Dowling is the only regular season loss for Valley since 2002, as well.  They’ve only lost four conference games this decade and own a 90-12 overall record in that time.  Bottom line is Valley will win this conference unless a major upset or two occurs.  They are the number one team in the state right now for good reason.  The number one conference in the state?  That distinction no doubt belongs to the CIML Central.  Five of the six teams have been ranked in the top ten, and four currently are.  The final non-conference record of the Central teams this year was 22-2.  Not bad.  Now comes the dogfight.  Indianola is 4-0, but their chink in the armor is the 2-14 record of their foes.  Hoover, Sioux City West, Sioux City East and Des Moines Lincoln only averaged 10.75 points against the Indian defense, while Indianola averaged 43.  They host a 4-0 SE Polk team that has averaged 47.5 points while only giving up 11.5, with big road wins over Ottumwa and Waukee.  Can the Indians stop Jeff Woody?  They will have to.  Ankeny is 4-0 to follow up their state runner-up finish in 2007, and they have been stingy on defense.  They have also defeated Ottumwa and Waukee, and their opponents overall record is 7-9.  They host Dowling this week to open conference play.  Dowling has looked very good in three wins over Metro teams and despite losing 22-0 to Valley, managed to perform well in that one too.  This game is always hard-fought and will showcase some of the best athletes in the state.  Johnston is arguably the closest thing to Valley in our part of the state.  They are scoring 43.25 points per game and only allowing 10.25.  They own big wins over Ames and Marshalltown among their 4-0 record.  Larpenter is a force to be reckoned with, and they have no shortage of weapons.  Not to mention a huge chip on their shoulders from not making the playoffs last year.  This Friday they host Urbandale, who may feel a little left out of things right now, being the lone team in the conference not ranked.  But, at 3-1, the Jayhawks are eager to get things going.  They lost to Des Moines Lincoln 13-12 to start the season, but have rebounded to win their last three over CB Jefferson, Des Moines North and Sioux City East.  The last five weeks of the season in the Central Conference will be outstanding, trust me.  No matter what happens, five of these teams will make the playoffs with legitimate shots at going far.  That leaves us with the Metro Conference.  What can I say?  The non-conference schedule turned out to be brutal.  Their overall record was 3-21.  I know they will have spirited games and great moments between rival schools, but unless one team really emerges, it will be a frustrating disappointment of a season for the Metro.  Honestly, I think East, Lincoln and Ottumwa have a chance to turn it up a notch, with East being my pick to get it done.  East has some very solid talent and great coaching, so I look for them to be the team to beat.  They host Lincoln this week, right off the bat, so we will know soon.  If it is a two team race, those teams should both make the playoffs, so there’s a lot to play for.  Ottumwa has a new coach and low numbers, but they have always been tough, and have had a rough schedule so far.  Roosevelt, Hoover and North are winless and a little hard to put a finger on at this point.  I think North might be better, and should get some conference wins.  Hoover is at North and Ottumwa is at Roosevelt to get things underway.  That’s it for today, I just wanted to pour out the 4-A teams on the table and see what we have so far.  We will discuss 3-A through 8-Player games of note and some other thoughts before kickoff Friday…         

When you get a chance to cover Harlan, you do it.  ADM hosting the Cyclones, and this is a Tiger Squad that has some Playmakers.  An overtime thriller!  This is going to be one of our best Blitz Extra’s.   Here’s a sample.

Last night East traveled to Sioux City and downed SC West 34-13.  After a rough 0-3 start, look for the Scarlets to make a run.  I’m only speculating, but if East gets by Lincoln next week, they may run the table in the Metro to finish 6-3.  I think they are capable of it, anyway.  Also, Cedar Falls dropped previously unbeaten Dubuque Hempstead 42-19, sending a message to their Mississippi Valley foes that their loss to CR Washington may have been the only bump in their road.  We’ll see, but it looks good for the Tigers.  ICS will send a split squad to Adel tonight to cover the Harlan/ADM game for the Blitz Extra.  Actually, I’m the only one not going, but it gives us a chance to hear from one of our favorite announcers, Ron Novotny, who covers Harlan sports.  You will enjoy listening to his call when the Extra features this game next week.  Tonight’s Blitz Extra is the SE Polk/East rain-dominated highlights, so be sure to tune in.  As for tonight’s games of note in week four across the state, there are plenty of decent contests to garner our attention.  Marshalltown comes to Johnston tonight, and while the Dragons should handle the Bobcats, it is an opportunity to get a look at Chance Creekmur and this passing game for Marshalltown, while watching Johnston’s well-oiled machine in action.  3-0 Mason City?  Tonight they play at Ames, which is 2-1.  This might be a good indicator of whether there is playoff potential here.  Mason City has been down, winning only 3 games since 2003, when they won four.  Ames hasn’t made the playoffs since 2005.  The winner of this one has a shot to put together a nice season, the loser won’t be out of it by any means, but will have to regroup based on their schedules.  Valley at Newton used to scream classic, but Newton will have their work cut out for them in this one.  Valley has shut out back to back foes and is at full strength, which as far as Valley is concerned, is a scary thought for the rest of the pack.  A nice test for Bettendorf tonight, as they travel to Clinton and a hostile environment to take on the River Kings, who are coming off a painful loss to a suddenly tough Burlington squad, 7-6.  I like the Bulldogs.  North Scott needs a win at Pleasant Valley to keep pace at the top, and the Iowa City battle for the boot is tonight as well.  Look for City High to have no problem with football and footwear this evening.  In 3-A, Decorah gets an early district test versus West Delaware that the Vikings need to pass to stay unbeaten, and Benton, Van Horne hosts Maquoketa in a nice district four tilt that should be a good one.  Grinnell goes to South Tama and Pella travels to Chariton in efforts to stay undefeated in district six action, while Boone at Nevada steals temporary limelight from Dallas Center and Carroll in district seven.  I mentioned the Harlan/ADM game, but it bears repeating that this is a great chance for you to get to see the Cyclones in person if you can get out there because they are always worth the price of admission.  As far as 2-A goes, the district four battle between MFL and North Fayette looks enticing, as do many others, but let’s look at district seven and our local teams there.  Nice matchups tonight include Colfax-Mingo at Bondurant-Farrar, West Marshall at North Polk and the big CMB at PCM game.  I really like this district, and it looks like it will play out nicely as the season goes on, but I’m curious which teams will emerge and survive in the end.  In 1-A, Nashua-Plainfield gets their turn to play on the ‘Sacred Acre’ against Aplington-Parkersburg, but they are up against it, for sure.  Clayton Ridge at Northeast and H-M-S at Hinton are also games of note, as well as Wapello at West Branch.  As always for ICS, Pleasantville is our top priority, and they have a tough task tonight going to Pella to take on Pella Christian.  This was a great game last year…For the Trojans.  Look for the Eagles to be very revenge-minded against the team that shut the door on their playoff plans for 2007.  Griswold at Tri-Center shouldn’t disappoint, either.  In Class A, Rockwell City-Lytton at Newell-Fonda should be fun.  This wood be a great small school game to attend.  How about the Lisbon/Don Bosco matchup?  Do you think these wrestling-rich communities have rowdy, enthusiastic crowds that can get up for this one?  Lone Tree at New London is an early big game in district five, and North Tama at HLV will surely be a heated contest.  Don’t overlook the AHST at Boyer Valley game, this may have your district eight winner, possibly.  Locally, I guess Van Meter at Earlham will tell us something, but I’m more interested in how much of a game, if any, Colo-Nesco is capable of giving Madrid.  In 8-player action, Aurelia at Ar-We-Va, West Central at Springville, Twin Cedars at Harmony, East Union at Murray, Lenox at Lamoni and Stanton at Essex look to be the most headline-worthy contests, but there will no doubt be many other great games statewide.  Enjoy week four, and let us know what you think.               

We’re now a third of the way through the season, and into district play in 3-A through 8-player, a time where 0-2 and 1-1 teams can regroup and hope to contend for an upper-half finish and a playoff spot.  A lot of teams picked up big wins to get back on track while others remained undefeated and on course.  The weather was awful all across the state with constant downpours blanketing most games.  Nearly all games in central Iowa had heavy rain from start to finish.  In 4-A play, most of the big dogs rolled.  Valley, Iowa City High, Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Johnston all pitched shutouts to move to 3-0, while Dowling bounced back nicely from their loss to Valley last week with a 35-0 blitzing of Lincoln.  Ankeny and S.E. Polk also cruised to easy victories.  Add to that impressive wins by Indianola and Urbandale, and you’ll find the Central Conference of the CIML is now 16-2 overall with one more week of pre-conference action to go.  If you’re wondering what the opposite of that success looks like, check out the Metro Conference.  Sadly, they are now a combined 2-16, and it hasn’t been pretty getting there.  This week, Metro teams scored a total of 39 points in their six games, with 19 belonging to Ottumwa in their 20-19 loss to Sioux City North.  Lincoln and Hoover were shutout and Roosevelt had its third effort of seven or less points.  In week one, East scored 21 in a loss to Dowling and in week two Ottumwa scored 21 in a win over Newton, representing the highest Metro point total for a single game so far.  Ouch.  The six teams have a collective 11.5 ppg average through three weeks.  Not good.  Hopefully things will get much better, but probably not before they play each other.  East will travel to winless Sioux City West this Friday while North heads to Council Bluffs to take on Jefferson (1-2).  Possible wins, but both are long road trips, and those are the BEST chances for Metro victories.  Congratulations to Linn-Mar for snapping their painful 24 game losing streak with a 24-6 triumph over Dubuque Senior.  On the other end, Bettendorf extended their 4-A best win streak to 16, and Valley raised their 4-A best consecutive conference wins total to 27 and their 4-A leading regular season wins total to 20.  Out of non-playoff teams from 2007, Johnston leads 4-A with four consecutive wins.  In 3-A, there are still 15 unbeaten teams and what looks to be some great district races getting underway.  Grinnell, Pella and Dallas Center-Grimes lead the way locally, with several other teams gearing up as well.  DC-G is undefeated thanks to pulling out a 2 OT grudge match with Ballard 6-0.  This week, Harlan at ADM will be a great local matchup and a great opportunity for those of you who haven’t witnessed the Cyclones in action to get a look at Coach Bladt and one of the most storied programs in our state.  Not to mention a good ADM squad that has playoff talent.  Out of 3-A non-playoff teams from 2007, Grinnell leads the way with six straight wins.  In local 2-A action there were two games that stood out to me.  One is West Marshall downing PCM 38-14.  Not a major surprise, but an impressive win for the Trojans.  Both will have playoff runs.  The other was Colfax-Mingo over North Polk.  This was a big win for a program that hasn’t had many over the last few seasons.  They are now 3-0 after going winless last year, and only winning twice since 2004.  Maybe they can recapture the magic of their 2003 campaign that ended in a 9-0 district championship effort.  If they do, they will have earned it.  District seven is loaded with Bondurant-Farrar, CMB, West Marshall, North Polk and PCM.  Also, Gilbert and Roland-Story remained unbeaten and intact in District three.  This week, CMB is at PCM in a great battle of acronyms and talent.  Out of non-playoff teams from 2007, Cascade leads 2-A with seven wins in a row.  Solon is tied with Bettendorf and Stanton to lead the state with 16 straight wins overall.  In 1-A there are some very good teams, but Aplington-Parkersburg is focused and locked in on their mission.  The Falcons are flying high right now, looking tough to beat.  They also have one of the tougher districts, so they will be adequately battle-tested .  It could play out nicely in 1-A when it gets down to the UNI-Dome.  Imagine A-P, CB St. Albert and Emmetsburg all fighting for that trophy…Locally, it looks like Guthrie Center is going to be the team to beat, but out of nowhere comes the Raiders of Mount Ayr.  Look out here, they share the lead for 2-A non-playoff qualifiers from 2007 with eight straight wins, along with Fort Dodge St. Edmond.  Pella Christian should be in the mix as well.  This week, hopefully for us Trojan fans, Pleasantville can go there and get a big win.  In Class A, the only thing locally to ask is “can anyone knock off Madrid?”  I doubt it, but we’ll see.  Earlham and Colo-Nesco are entertaining thoughts of it, but they are probably high hopes to put it nicely.  Madrid goes to Colo-Nesco this week.  Statewide, it looks like the survivors of District two will be tough to deal with, it is loaded.  Of non-playoff teams from 2007, Boyer Valley, Dunlop leads the way with four straight wins.  In 8-player football, there are some really good games to be played, thanks to the realignment due to the addition of teams this year.  Good teams dropped from 11-player to strengthen the overall field and it will lead to better district races and playoff matchups.  A nice, wide-open fight.  By the way, I mentioned Stanton is tied with Bettendorf and Solon to lead the state with 16 straight overall wins, but Tri-County also leads the state with 21 straight regular season wins, and out of non-playoff teams from 2007, West Central, Maynard and Coon Rapids-Bayard both have won five straight times dating back to last season.  More high school football later in the week…As for the big Iowa/ISU game from Saturday, I don’t think we really learned that much, other than Iowa has a decent defense and ISU has some nice young talent.  Both teams are flawed, both teams will struggle at times in conference play, and both teams will win a game or two they maybe “shouldn’t”.  Anyway, they both have a long way to go before striking fear in any teams’ hearts.                         

Just a little dose of the Monsoon we endured at SEP vs DM East. Camera down but we did survive and will live another day.  Congrats to Coach K and the Trojans who got the win tonight!!

We’re gearing up and getting ready to cover the East @ SE Polk game tonight for the Blitz Extra, but the big game tomorrow is on our mind as well.  ISU has managed to win 7 of the last 10 against Iowa, so the rivalry has managed to climb back to legitimate status.  The 15 wins in a row Iowa rolled up from ‘83 to ‘97 kind of put the game on the backburner, so to speak.  It really lost all luster for both sides.  Now it is competitive and more exciting, but Iowa is starting to wonder what happened to the spell they once had over the Clones.  Now it is a toss up at best.  Home-field advantage is about the only difference, but even that isn’t enough to be sure, just ask Iowa’s 2002 team that went to the Orange Bowl with only one loss.  I’m not predicting anything because it’s just too hard to guess what will happen.  ISU is notorious for getting up for this game, while the Hawks are constantly being hammered for taking it too lightly.  I doubt they take it lightly at all, but the fans have to have something to blame it on.  This should be a good game, with both teams coming in 2-0 so far.  I can’t tell where the advantage is, but my guess is a successful running attack and no turnovers will be the difference.  Who can keep the ball longer and not make big mistakes?  One thing will be different this year, and that is the fact we will more than likely see at least four quarterbacks play in regular, non-mop up time.  Both teams are using two now, and it will have a weird impact on the matchup.  One of them will need to be a difference maker in this game to set them apart for the rest of the season.  Still, it will probably be a running back that is the star of this one.  Myself, I hope it is a Hawkeye.  I also hope Pat Angerer keeps his interception streak alive and that Iowa’s d-line plays a solid game.  I mentioned the Orange Bowl, and that was a loss to USC for Iowa, so let’s hope these new ISU uniforms don’t negatively remind Iowa of that butt-whipping.  ISU looks like USC-Light.  For the record, the uniforms ISU wore last year in Ames were the best they have ever had by far.  Nice.  As for Sunday, I just found out the Colts/Vikings game will not be televised here.  Is that possibly true?  What the heck is going on?  Horrible.  I will watch whatever is on, but AD vs. Bob Sanders is too good to miss, it’s just unfair.  Anything will be better than the Browns/Cowboys stink bomb offered up last weekend.  I didn’t see Minnesota/Indy being a matchup of 0-1 teams, and I didn’t see Chicago/Carolina as a battle of 1-0 teams either.  As for my Dolphins, it was a case of pure, unfiltered blind luck that Farve and the Jets got away with a win, even as badly as Miami played.  Oh well, 15-1 is still possible.  At least they finally have a better qb than New England…I think.  Let’s end with a few baseball tidbits for today, shall we?  As usual, this one is kind of odd, but cute.  It is very hard and rare for a player to hit over .370 for an entire season, but it is really hard to hit over .370 and steal over 30 bases.  So hard, in fact, that it has only been done five times since the Black Sox scandal of 1919.  In 1920, George Sisler hit .407 and had 42 SB.  In 1921 he followed that up with .371 and 35 SB.  In 1922 he capped this magnificent run off with a whopping .420 average and 51 SB.  No one else did it again until 1987 when Tony Gwynn hit .370 and had 56 SB.  Since then, Ichiro Suzuki is the only other player to accomplish the feat, hitting .372 in 2004 and stealing 36 bases.  The only player who came even remotely close to doing this since Sisler was Rod Carew in 1977 when he hit .388 and stole 23 bases.  I don’t know what to say about this fact, but it struck me as impressive.  Also, do you know who had the most triples in a season with the fewest doubles?  In 1992 Deion Sanders of Atlanta hit 14 triples in only 325 plate appearances while only hitting six doubles.  Only two players hit at least two triples every year from 1974 to 1993.  It makes sense, but it’s still not a slam dunk…George Brett and Robin Yount.  Brett has a ton of great stats, but for today’s last item I will end with the fact that Brett is the only player ever to win batting titles in three different decades.  1976, 1980 and 1990.  Now go watch a football game and take some rain gear!                         

AS FOR THE ISU VS IOWA GAME, I DON’T DO PREDICTIONS.

SOME KEYS:

-IOWA HAS MORE TO PROVE THIS SEASON THEN MAYBE EVER.

WATCH TEMPO, HOW MUCH TIME IS ON THE PLAY CLOCK WHEN THE BALL IS SNAPPED? IOWA’S TEMPO LAST YEAR WAS EMBARRASSING, WHILE ISU WAS CRISP. THE HAWKS HAVE ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE IN THE FIRST TWO GAMES BUT KEEP AN EYE ON IT SATURDAY.

-IOWA’S DEFENSIVE LINE COULD DICTATE THE OUTCOME OF THIS GAME, IN TURN IF THE CYCLONE QB’S ARE SPECIAL IT COULD MAKE THE GAME FUN.

-GENE HAS TO HAVE A BETTER TEAM THAN HE HAD LAST YEAR AND THE CLONES BEAT THE HAWKS ONE YEAR AGO AND I‘M CONVINCED THEY HAVE A TON MORE TALENT AND MORE CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO SATURDAY.

GAME HAS BECOME FIERCE AND CLOSE, BUT THAT CHANGES, HAWKS WIN IT COMFORTABLY SATURDAY

As Emotional as week one, Ed Thomas lead the Falcons back on their home field for the first home game of the 2008 season.  Ed Thomas Field sets in the heart of Parkersburg, in the middle of the town that was shredded by a tornado on May 25th.  Three Months Later, Coach Thomas talks about Heart and much more as the school, the state, and media from all across the country gathered for the Falcons first game.  Brandon Bingham was there for ICS..  ENJOY.

Another exciting week of football on all levels.  Thankfully, the NFL season is upon us, and football in all its glory is in full force.  For the most part, this week will be geared towards the Iowa/Iowa State game, but let’s not forget all the great matchups Friday in high school action and the full slate of Sunday NFL pairings.  First, let’s take a look back on some of the high school action from week two, where plenty of great non-district battles were fought.  ICS was at Valley/Dowling where the Tigers showed their might by shutting down the Maroons 22-0.  This game was a great example of Valley’s ability to win big matchups by taking their opponents out of their comfort zone.  Valley attacks your strengths and makes you go to ‘Plan B’.  Only they’re fully ready to shut down that option as well.  It also helps to have almost exclusively senior starters at all positions.  Oh, and any team that figures out how to stop Cutkomp and Burkett will be the first to do so.  Good luck with that.  Valley is big, fast, experienced and fluid.  The latest starter at qb is a good one, and he is smooth and comfortable in the offense.  Dowling is very good.  They will make noise and win some big games, make no mistake about that.  This was not their night, but their young guys will get better and their big guns will be just fine.  Marshalltown rolled over North 51-14 to go to 2-0, and they host Valley this Friday in one of their bigger games in recent years.  They will need a great performance to stay with the Tigers, but win or lose, the Bobcats are going to be in the mix at the end of the season.  In 3-A, it doesn’t get much better than a game like Heelan vs. Harlan.  What a great matchup.  Last year they split two games, and Heelan came into this one loaded with talent and confidence.  Wegher was electric and Heelan won 28-13 behind his 300+ yards rushing and all-around feats.  The Uof I recruit is the real deal.  Harlan had won 46 regular season games in a row, but the 2007 runner-ups now have a 2 out of 3 run against them.  Keep searching for the last team that could say that.  Council Bluffs Lewis Central always battles hard with CB St. Albert, and this year they slipped by them in a 27-24 OT thriller.  This was the Falcons’ second straight overtime contest with a 3-A opponent, and the loss snapped their state-best 24 game win streak, but something tells me they will recover nicely and be just fine in 1A district play. Don’t cry for them, Argentina.  Pella edged Oskaloosa 35-30 in another edition of their long-standing rivalry, while ADM got back on the winning track by slipping past Ballard 10-6.  I guess most alarming to me in 3-A was Carroll pasting Carlisle 40-0.  Wow.  They must really have something going on in Tigertown this year.  Don’t expect a too tough a test from JSPC this week, Carroll should roll.  Gilbert and Roland-Story are impressive in 2-A through two weeks, and Colfax-Mingo, CMB and PCM are all 2-0 as well.  In 1-A, Aplington-Parkersburg is still the story, as they will be all season long, but locally, Guthrie Center looks good, and kudos to Woodward-Granger matching their 2007 win total in just the first two outings.  Same old song and dance in the local Class A teams:  Madrid is the team to beat.  Our fathers knew this and our children will be saying the same thing.  Earlham would like to have a shot, and North Mahaska probably will be in the mix, but “Welcome to the Jungle” is alive and well.  They beat a nice 2-A Bondurant-Farrar squad 36-22 last week, and they are fired up for district play.  This week, here are some of our favorite games locally, and a couple of state-wide matchups of note:  East @ SE Polk might not seem like a great contest with the Rams being big favorites, but this is the first time they’ve played in awhile, and it might renew some good old fashioned “dislike” between the bordering districts.  I already mentioned Valley @ Marshalltown, but don’t forget Waukee @ Newton.  The Warriors really need to get on track after two tough losses, and Newton is a tough place to visit.  Centerville @ Pella will be a good one if the Big Red are for real, and beating Pella would prove that to me.  Norwalk travels to Grinnell for a battle of unbeatens also, but the Tigers historically defend the home turf well.  Ballard plays at Dallas Center-Grimes in a nice matchup, and Colfax-Mingo will be put to the test with a visit from North Polk.  PCM @ West Marshall should be a good game to watch.  This one is just out of ICS driving range for this week, but we would have loved to go see it.  Mount Ayr @ I-35 could be a surprisingly nice game.  At the least, it will tell us which of these two, if not both, should compete for their district title.  Outside the ‘quadrant’ there will be many good games, but ICS is focusing on two for certain.  One is Solon @ Wilton, a great 2-A matchup, and the other is Aplington-Parkersburg @ Grundy Center.  Both games will be exciting and full of great players and drama.  As always, we encourage you to get out and go to a game if you can.  We will have some Iowa/ISU and NFL stuff this week as well, so keep checking back.                

A LOOK AT OUR BLITZ HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS WEEK.  YOU CAN SEE SOME VALLEY/DOWLING AND WAUKEE/SEP HIGHLIGHTS.  MUCH MORE TO COME..

IF YOU NEED TO PURCHASE A COPY OF THE BLITZ OR BLITZ EXTRA CLICK ON STORE.. AND CLICK ON THE WEEK YOU WANT! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CALL ME OR CONTACT ME UNDER CONTACT INFO!

WEEK 2 ICS RANKINGS ARE UP-CLICK ON ICS RANKINGS FOR RESULTS. AP MOVES TO #1

One week in the books and it was a great way to start the season.  There were a ton of great games statewide and a lot of impressive performances from 4A to 8-player.  One thing is for certain, and that’s the fact that in 4A, the CIML is going to be as tough as ever.  Most rankings list five CIML squads in their top ten, with Valley of the Iowa Conference leading the way at either the top spot or number two.  Then you have what shapes up as the most balanced, rugged conference in the state this year, as the Central Conference offers up four teams ranked between the fourth and eighth spots.  S.E. Polk, Johnston, Dowling and Ankeny all will be in the fight for the conference title, as well as aiming for a deep run in the playoffs.  Throw a talented, improved Indianola squad and always tough Urbandale in the mix, and you have as good of a race as possible in one conference.  This week Ankeny travels to Sioux City to take on North, while S.E. Polk is at Waukee in a tough matchup with the Warriors.  The big game is the latest edition of the long time rivalry between Valley and Dowling.  They share the same home field and the same hopes for return visits to the UNI-Dome.  The rivalry is as strong as ever, and the games have been very good as of late.  Both teams know there will more than likely be a rematch down the line come playoff time, but look for the atmosphere to be electric as always at Valley Stadium for this one.  The ICS crew will be there to cover this game for the Blitz and the Blitz Extra, so be sure as always to tune in to ABC5 for all the action.  Last week there was a matchup that pitted runner-ups from last season in a unique head to head battle.  3A runner up Sioux City Heelan took on 1A Lawton-Bronson, which placed second in Class A last November before moving up a class for this season.  You do not often see such a disparity in school size for opponents, but it’s even rarer for the schools to be finalists from the previous season.  As expected, the big dog had little trouble with the overmatched smaller squad and ended up cruising, 62-13.  In a similar battle, 3A Carlisle disposed of 1A Pleasantville much to my dismay, 35-14.  However, if you’re looking for a feel-good story for the little guy, take solace in the fact that 1A Mount Ayr downed 3A Clarke 37-7 and 1A Council Bluffs St. Albert nipped 3A Glenwood 25-22.  That victory ran the Falcons state-leading win streak to 24 straight games.  Last week I mentioned the top schools in each class that were non-playoff teams but ended the season with win streaks a year ago.  The list looks like this now:  4A Cedar Rapids Prairie and Waterloo West have won three in a row.  3A Grinnell and Epworth Western Dubuque have won four in a row.  2A Cascade has won five in a row.  1A Mount Ayr and Fort Dodge St. Edmond have won 6 in a row.  A Gilbertville Don Bosco has won 6 in a row.  In 8-Player, East Mills is currently at 10 in a row.  Van Buren was 0-10 last year but managed to bury those memories with a 54-0 pasting of Cardinal of Eldon.  That’s the Keosauqua Way!  2A Bondurant-Farrar throttled 3A Saydel 63-0 last week with their new Toronto Blue Jay-looking helmet logos.  A very impressive showing against the bigger school, but something tells me this week may be different.  Bondurant-Farrar gets to host a Class A team, however that team happens to be Madrid.  This week serves up Pella @ Oskaloosa, always a good rivalry game, and Albia @ Centerville for a little ‘near the border’ brawl.  Pella Christian @ PCM should be a nice battle, and a lot of eyes will be on West Marshall in Parkersburg to take on Aplington-Parkersburg in their home opener.  What a night it will be there…Roland-Story takes on Southern Cal and I-35 is at Guthrie Center in two more nice matchups.  As for some statewide tilts of note, keep your eyes on Iowa City High at Cedar Rapids Washington.  Washington dumped Cedar Falls last week 28-9 and is ranked #1 in 4A in almost every poll.  City High is ranked fifth or sixth in those polls.  Bettendorf at Muscatine could get interesting as well.  In 3-A, Harlan at Heelan is a headline grabber.  One or both of these teams will be making plans for November football in Cedar Falls.  Clear Lake at New Hampton shouldn’t disappoint.  Sigourney-Keota at Solon would be a great game to go to.  These teams have been 2-A powers for a long time and have different styles that should make for a very interesting contest.  Also, Lewis Central at Council Bluffs St. Albert promises to be a dogfight.  There are many others as well, leaving you no shortage of games to choose from if you want to get out and take in a non-district or non-conference ballgame.  One way or another, check in here Saturday for our webcast and highlights of Dowling/Valley, and don’t miss the Blitz and Blitz Extra on ABC5 at 10:30 Friday.            

OUR network that runs at the top of the site has some fresh stuff running.  If there is ever an old story you are looking for you can search for it under Videos at the top of the site.  I’ve been locked down to the editor this week getting the first Blitz Extra Ready.  We have put together some great shows, stories, and projects as a company, but this may be the best thing we will ever have in our archive.  This is one of the best moments, and stories in Iowa High School Foortball History.  

I knew back in May that Ed Thomas would have the Falcons ready for week one.   Folks, they are not just ready, they may be the best 1-A team in the state of Iowa.    

Please tune in and watch the Blitz Extra Friday Night!!