Rece Davis did the Play by Play Friday night.. I visited with Rece, Chris Spielman, prior to kickoff. These men were well prepared and a very gracious.  I observed Herm Edwards on the field prior to kick off also and he was also a real pro.  ESPN found a way to showcase this event with out taking away from the game. 

A quick interview with Jon Thompson. The superintendent of Schools for AP

some 4-A preseason thoughts..

8-MAN FOOTBALL

CLASS A

1-A

2-A

3-A

Contact: Dave Bingham, Keep it Memorable Sports

(515) 577-1437 or kimsports@msn.com

Cory Hart, Casey’s General Stores (515) 965-6100

***For Immediate Release***

“Touchdown in the Heartland” Honors Parkersburg Community and Coaching Legend Ed Thomas

　
August 26, 2009 (Ankeny, Iowa) – A documentary covering the events of the Aplington Parkersburg 2008 football season will be showcased on ESPN, at the Iowa Hall of Pride, and will be available for sale at Casey’s General Stores statewide in Iowa. Portions of the DVD sales are going to the Ed Thomas Foundation. Casey’s hopes to have the DVD in stock in early September. The two-hour documentary “Touchdown in the Heartland” was completed prior to the loss of Coach Ed Thomas. Now, with the blessing of the Thomas family, Keep it Memorable Sports, Casey’s General Stores, The Iowa Hall of Pride and WOI-ABC-5 are all working together to support this documentary.
　
ESPN will air part of the documentary during the pre-game of their Broadcast of the Aplington-Parkersburg vs. Dike-New Hartford football opener at 6 pm CST, Friday August, 28th.
In central Iowa, ABC-5 will simulcast the ESPN broadcast. The Friday Night Blitz and Blitz Extra shows will follow the broadcast with more live coverage of the game and a special look back at Aplington-Parkersburg vs. Emmetsburg Quarterfinal Game from last season.
The Iowa Hall of Pride will also pay tribute to Coach Ed Thomas throughout the football season. The Documentary and several other video clips will be on Display along with other memorabilia honoring Coach Thomas.

ABOUT “TOUCHDOWN in the HEARTLAND”
In just 34 seconds 220 houses were knocked to the ground, 22 businesses destroyed and six people died.
The high school and the Ed Thomas Football Field was the heart of the small town, also taken by the tornado. It was the home of one of the best football programs in the state of Iowa.
The idea to create this documentary was to capture the Aplington-Parkesburg football team and its role in the rebuilding and rebirth of a community.
Aplington-Parkersburg High School Football Coach Ed Thomas stands in the center of this amazing story. Despite the devastation, Thomas encouraged everyone that the Falcon football team would take the field for their first home game. His perseverance generated a spirit of pride that brought the community together, and helped everyone move forward.
Thomas coached for 37 years. His teams won two state championships, made the playoffs 19 times…and four of his former players are currently in the NFL.
Upon the completion of this documentary, Coach Ed Thomas was tragically killed.

“Touchdown In the Heartland” was created to honor those lost and those who sacrificed their time and resources to rebuild Parkersburg. Now the hope is that this story captures the essence of one of greatest coaches to ever work with student athletes.

Keep it Memorable Sports covers Iowa sports through the minds of the athletes and captures the heartfelt moments found on the sidelines and behind the scenes. Since 2001, KIMS is a leader in preserving high school sports for years to come.

FOUND OUT THIS WEEK THAT ESPN WILL AIR FOOTAGE FROM OUR DOCUMENTARY “TOUCHDOWN IN THE HEARTLAND.”  IT CAN BE SEEN ON ESPN’S E:60 NEWS PROGRAM TONIGHT STARTING AT 6 CST.  ESPN WILL AIR PORTIONS IN THE PRE-GAME AND BROADCAST OF THE AP-DNH GAME ON FRIDAY STARTING AT 6PM CST.  THIS WILL ALSO AIR STATE WIDE IN IOWA ON LOCAL STATIONS.   WE WILL BE IN PARKERSBURG WITH A LIVE REPORT ON ABC-5 AT  5, 10, AND AT THE TOP OF THE BLITZ AT 10:30..    OUR BLITZ EXTRA PROGRAM FOR WEEK ONE WILL BE A LOOK BACK AT THE EMMETSBURG VS AP PLAYOFF GAME LAST SEASON. 

MORE DETAILS ON “TOUCHDOWN IN THE HEARTLAND” WILL BE RELEASED LATER THIS WEEK.

WE SHOULD HAVE SOME NEW VID UP THIS WEEK ON THE PRESEASON SHOW WE DID WITH MEDIA COM LAST WEEK,  IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT CHECK YOUR LOCAL MEDIA COM GUIDE..

Week Zero featured a few teams in 8-player that made the ICS preseason radar.  David indicated that Northeast Hamilton and Ankeny Christian Academy were teams to watch, and neither had trouble with their openers.  The boys from Blairsburg ripped Central City, who made the list as well, 43-14, while ACA disposed of Twin Cedars in a big way, 70-0.  Let’s take a look ahead to Friday night and see what is in store for us in the first full weekend schedule of games across the state…ICS Spotlight Games include (1A) Prairie Valley @ (A) Southern Cal, (A) Mason City Newman @ (1A) St. Ansgar, (A) Bishop Garrigan @ (1A) Saint Edmond, Fort Dodge, (1A) Belle Plaine @ (A) H-L-V, (2A) Central Lyon @ (1A) West Lyon, (2A) Mid-Prairie @ (3A) Williamsburg, (2A) North Fayette @ (3A) New Hampton, (2A) Kuemper Catholic @ (3A) Carroll, (3A) Clear Lake @ (2A) Humboldt and (3A) Harlan @ (3A) Denison-Schleswig.  Now, that’s a pretty impressive list, but it is by no means all of the great matchups on tap.  There are great non-district ‘rivalry’ games and games that will feature teams ‘on the rise’ to make us stand and take notice.  Also, there are these great 4A tilts to look forward to:  Cedar Falls @ Cedar Rapids, Washington; Ankeny @ Waukee and Ottumwa @ Southeast Polk.  Those are ICS head-to-head matchups of teams to watch, but there are many more 4A games as well.  It will be a fantastic opening night, without a doubt.  It should be no surprise where the ICS crew will be, though.  The eyes of the state and, thanks to ESPN, much of the country, will be on Parkersburg for the Dike-New Hartford vs. Aplington-Parkersburg game.  This will be two seasons in a row that this matchup will draw record crowds and massive media attention.  Last year, the storms that leveled Parkersburg and reeked havoc on Dike were the focus on opening night.  ICS was there and it was electric.  Great teams, great game, great communities involved.  At the center of this was Ed Thomas, a beacon for the rebuilding and healing.  This time Ed will not be there.  But the people who looked to him and the football team for strength last year will be the ones showcasing that resolve and marching on.  It will be big.  It will be loud, and at times, I expect it to be quite emotional to say the least.  But it will most certainly be a fitting tribute to Ed Thomas and the importance of the Sacred Acre.  David will have thoughts to share and wonderful video for the website and the ‘Blitz Extra’ on ABC 5 next Friday Night, but if you are going to be there, feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section or through your e-mails to ICS.  Good luck to all the teams and great young men out there waiting for the whistle Friday night!    P.S.- GO TROJANS!              

Tonight we get a taste of high school football, “Week Zero” style.  10 games that count are being played across the state tonight, nine in 8-player and one Class 2A vs. A matchup.  If you are from any of these communities, then you are officially on the board.  For the rest of us, there will be a lot of ‘watermelon’, black vs. gold, ‘soap’, blue vs. white, etc. games.  Scrimmages will have to do for now, but next Friday night there will be a full slate of games to kickoff the season and get it going for Iowa high school football in 2009.

Bob it wasn’t a dream.  In fact if our loyal High School football fans want proof.. just click on the ICS football rankings… I woke up with a yellow note book the same day.. and this is what was written on it…  In your Hand writing..  

NEW WEB LOGO

I woke up this morning at about 4 a.m.  I called David and told him to meet me for a quick coffee at the office.  We drank our coffee and laughed off the Yankees sweep of Boston then watched some football videos to get our day started.  Then, we stretched out and went for a quick bike ride, followed by some lifting, sprints and a quick catch with the football.  More football videos and coffee, followed by our conference/district breakdowns for all classes of high school football for this fall.  Team by team, we poured over the schools and talked about the upcoming season…What we expect, who we can’t wait to see, good teams, bad teams, sleepers etc.  Just a typical morning at ICS.  Then, the alarm clock sprang into action waking me from my joyous slumber.  I peeled off my Dan Marino pajamas and proceeded to get ready for another Monday of work.  I dropped off my son at the high school for the first day of two-a-days at 6:45 and went on in to the office.  It is on.  High school football is back and ICS could not be happier.  I told my son how I would much rather be going to football practice than work, and how lucky he was.  He is 15 and going into his sophomore year.  He didn’t exactly spring out of bed, 15 year old boys don’t do that.  And, he didn’t find consolation in my statement, but I think he understood the message.  Football is officially in the air.  We are jacked up and we hope you are too.  Get yourself in the right frame of mind by watching some of David’s videos and the streaming video here on the site.  You can order any of the available team videos and highlights right here anytime.  Three weeks of practice and a full slate of games on the 28th!